At its Oct. 24 meeting, the Noblesville Common Council approved its proposed 2018 budget.
The budget totals $65,170,279, approximately $40 million of which makes up the general fund. The city says the 2018 budget is balanced and builds reserves by approximately $5 million.
“As a growing community, Noblesville’s population increase comes with higher public demands and expectations, which were addressed in this year’s budget through more resources and personnel,” Mayor John Ditslear stated in a press release. “The budget also is structured so financial information is tracked and reported to help policy makers and citizens easily understand how the city is actually using its resources and allocating funding to priorities.”
Sixty-five percent of the $40,904,122 general fund budget pays for public safety expenses, which includes hiring four firefighters and buying a new fire engine.
City wide, the budget also will fund the hiring of seven new, full-time jobs and the conversion of two part-time jobs to full time, which include employees in the controller’s office, clerk’s office, and street, parks, maintenance and engineering departments.
The budget also pays for:
- $2.6 million for road resurfacing and sidewalk/trail improvements
- A 2 to 3 percent pay increase for full-time and part-time employees. Full-time employees who receive benefits will receive a total approximate 5 percent pay increase to offset a change in the employer/employee split for health insurance premiums
- Two renovations to Forest Park – the replacement of bathrooms and rehab of the tennis court
- Two Zagster bike-sharing locations within the city
- Partnering with Nickel Plate Arts to manage the city’s Cultural Arts Distrct, grow the community’s art resources and create further opportunities to develop the local arts economies.
“The efficient use of tax payer dollars continues to be our top priority,” Noblesville Common Council President Megan Wiles stated. “The council and finance committee worked closely with Jeff Spalding, our new controller, throughout this process to make sure that we were presenting a fiscally sound, conservative and transparent budget.”
BUDGET BREAKDOWN
- 28% Fire department – $18,360,865
- 17% Police department – $10,920,617
- 17% Street department – $10,896,461
- 12% Other administrative – $7,938,008
- 8% Contingency reserve – $5,469,500
- 5% Planning, engineering, economic development – $3,408,507
- 5% Parks department – $3,055,414
- 4% Facilities maintenance – $2,572,999
- 3% Personal services reserve – $1,663,000
- 1% Pension obligations – $816,927