Last week, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun asked local governments to “prove” they need tax revenue that’d be impacted by a property tax bill he backed.
Now, Monroe County Council President Jennifer Crossley has an answer.
“We welcome anybody from his office, his lieutenant governor or anybody to come and speak to us so we can also prove to you what this will look like if those cuts were to go into place,” Crossley said to the Indiana Daily Student.
The Monroe County Council unanimously tabled discussions of a resolution opposing the Braun-backed Senate Bill 1 on Tuesday after a state Senate committee amended it extensively that morning. Councilor Marty Hawk was not present for the vote but later joined the meeting virtually.
Councilor David Henry said Tuesday the council may need to consider a “strategic pause” in local decision-making as the bill is being deliberated and the county faces inflation.
Henry told the IDS on Wednesday that many of the decisions the council has weighed so far this year started before the current legislative and gubernatorial terms.
“Anything that’s really being proposed since the beginning of my new term, or the beginning of the year, should get an extra set of eyes on it in terms of whether or not this is an urgent appropriation or something that can really wait until we understand what our funding picture will look like once SB 1 and other legislation is signed into law,” Henry said.
That includes the funding for the new jail, he said. The county has tried to address conditions in the current jail for over three years, ultimately deciding to build a new facility. After years of delays, the county council approved the purchase of a jail site in November. Hard construction costs for the 400-bed facility are estimated to be $80.9 million.
The council should start working with departments to determine what’s essential, Henry said.
Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam, a Republican, told the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee last week the proposed changes could dramatically cut the city’s services. Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun, Association of Indiana Counties Board President Sue Ann Mitchell and Indiana County Councils Association President Anton Neff also testified.
The original bill, subtitled “Property tax relief,” would have put a cap on property tax bill increases and increased the homestead standard deduction for property owners. It lined up with a proposal by Gov. Mike Braun during his campaign last year.
According to a fiscal analysis by Legislative Services Agency, the first iteration of SB 1 would’ve decreased taxes by $1.15 billion in 2026. County governments and school districts would see some of the largest decreases in revenue: $211 million and $536 million, respectively.
Monroe County would’ve lost over $25 million in revenue in 2026, with $10,240,500 in revenue removed from the Monroe County Community School Corporation.
However, the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee passed an amended bill Tuesday which walks back much of SB 1, including the cap on yearly property tax bill increases.
It now includes new restrictions on school referendums. Under the amended bill, these referendums would be limited to even numbered general election years. Schools also wouldn’t be able to introduce funding referendums in back-to-back years, with some exceptions. MCCSC passed such a referendum in 2023, which funded early childcare education.
The updated bill also freezes the maximum levy growth quotient in 2026 and caps it the next two years.
The latest fiscal analysis estimates the total net revenue change under the updated legislation will be around $238 million in 2026. That’s around $7.6 million less tax revenue for Monroe County and around $1.5 million less for MCCSC.
Braun’s office responded to the amendments with a statement saying the committee “has taken steps in the right direction.” Still, it said homeowners need broad and immediate reduction in taxes.
"The Governor will carefully review the changes to his plan and looks forward to working with the House and Senate to strengthen the amended bill to include broad based and immediate property tax cuts for Hoosier homeowners who have been hit the hardest by skyrocketing home value inflation,” the statement read.
The Monroe County Council first read a version of the resolution opposing SB 1 in January, which received ardent support from several councilors, including Trent Deckard.
“Senators, house members, you could cut it in half, and then cut that into quarters, and you’re still going to be killing us,” Deckard said Jan. 28 about the unamended bill. “That’s how bad it is.”
On Tuesday, Councilor Kate Wiltz said she hadn’t had a chance to familiarize herself with the amendments from that morning, which other councilors agreed with.
Deckard said property tax relief is important, but the government still needs to be able to fund its operations.
Councilor David Henry said the “long session” at the statehouse will hopefully allow amendments to the bill to improve it. Crossley said the council will continue to watch how the legislature’s bills develop.
Hawk, the board’s sole Republican, said at the end of the council meeting she attended the Senate tax and fiscal policy committee meeting virtually Tuesday morning. She said Holdman recognized the committee and governor’s need to both work with local governments and provide tax relief, particularly for seniors and disabled veterans. The committee added specific tax relief for those groups Tuesday.
