SHOALS, Ind. — Martin County fiscal leaders advanced the proposed 2027 county budget, approved critical emergency appropriations for volunteer emergency communications, and confronted mounting real estate assessment appeals during a packed public hearing and regular monthly council session.

The council officially launched its formal 2027 fiscal review by conducting public hearings for both Martin County civil government and the Martin County Solid Waste Management District. According to figures advertised to taxpayers, the county’s estimated 2027 civil maximum levy stands at $3,179,380, alongside an estimated $145,000 in property tax cap credit reductions.

During the ensuing regular meeting, council members responded to urgent infrastructure and departmental needs, voting to fund $25,000 for emergency 800 MHz radios for two volunteer fire departments, finance repairs for storm-battered roads and culverts, cover flood damage deductibles inside community corrections, and standardize hourly pay rates between 911 dispatchers and jail officers.

Public Hearing Details 2027 Tax Projections

County administration officially opened the public hearing by reading the formal Notice to Taxpayers, noting that 10 or more taxpayers may object to a budget, tax rate, or tax levy by filing a petition within seven days of the hearing.

Tax-supported funds advertised for Martin County’s 2027 fiscal year include:

• General Fund: The budget estimate was advertised at $4,780,613. The maximum estimated funds to be raised from taxes stand at $2,500,000 against a current levy of $2,210,487, reflecting a 13.10% increase.
• Reassessment Fund: A budget estimate of $281,825 was submitted, with maximum estimated tax collections of $175,000—a 9.59% increase over the current $159,693 levy.
• Cumulative Bridge Fund: Budgeted at $236,663, with estimated property tax collections of $220,000, representing an 18.21% increase over the current $186,108 levy.
• County Health Fund: Advertised with a budget estimate of $90,485 and maximum tax revenue to be raised at $80,000, an increase of 14.87% over the current $69,641 levy.
• Cumulative Capital Development (CCD) Fund: Submitted with an operating estimate of $188,000 and maximum taxes to be raised at $230,000, up 15.05% over the existing $199,916 levy.

Immediately following the county presentation, the council conducted the public hearing for the Martin County Solid Waste Management District. County officials noted that because the solid waste operation is funded via user fees rather than property tax revenues, no tax rate or levy is assessed. The district’s total estimated 2027 operating budget was advertised at $739,241.

With no members of the public rising to remonstrate, the council closed the public hearing. Formal adoption of the 2027 operating budgets is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5, at 6:30 p.m.

Assessed Value Surges and Circuit Breaker Impact

Later in the meeting, officials entered into the record the state-mandated 2027 maximum levy and circuit breaker tax cap reduction estimates from the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) for each underlying taxing unit across Martin County.

The DLGF data illustrated notable increases in projected tax cap losses across local schools, towns, and emergency districts:

• Martin County (Civil Unit): Estimated maximum levy of $2,983,534, with circuit breaker reductions of $145,000 (a 16% increase).
• Center Township: Civil maximum levy of $29,128 with a $2,090 circuit breaker reduction (a 26% increase); Fire levy of $10,549 with a $450 reduction (a 15% increase).
• Halbert Township: Civil maximum levy of $60,707 with a $2,580 circuit breaker reduction (a 33% increase); Fire levy of $7,866 with a $1,270 reduction (a 10% increase).
• Lost River Township: Civil maximum levy of $15,200 with a $470 circuit breaker reduction (a 22% increase); Fire levy of $6,685 with a $640 reduction (an 18% increase).
• Mitcheltree Township: Civil maximum levy of $55,113 with a $1,270 circuit breaker reduction (a 21% increase); Fire levy of $6,639 with a $160 reduction (a 26% increase).
• Perry Township: Civil maximum levy of $87,823 with a $5,075 circuit breaker reduction (a 15% increase); Fire levy of $19,055 with a $900 reduction (a 13% increase).
• Rutherford Township: Civil maximum levy of $19,608 with a $620 circuit breaker reduction (a 9% increase); Fire levy of $17,192 with a $545 reduction (a 9% increase).
• City of Loogootee: Civil maximum levy of $832,597 with circuit breaker losses of $53,400 (a 7% increase).
• Town of Crane: Civil maximum levy of $65,560, facing circuit breaker deductions of $19,280—a 194% increase.
• Town of Shoals: Civil maximum levy of $297,115 with circuit breaker reductions of $63,930 (a 59% increase).
• Shoals Community School Corporation: Maximum levy of $1,943,857, facing $154,200 in circuit breaker tax cap losses (a 42% increase).
• Loogootee Community School Corporation: Maximum levy of $1,976,088, with $188,310 in circuit breaker deductions (a 10% increase).
• Loogootee Public Library: Maximum levy of $204,682 with circuit breaker reductions of $10,690 (a 13% increase).
• Shoals Public Library: Maximum levy of $133,915 with circuit breaker losses of $6,210 (a 29% increase).

The sharp escalation in circuit breaker deductions sparked extended council discussion regarding trending property reassessments and homeowner tax caps.

“The reassessments is going up in value. So then that’s throwing you against them,” council members noted.

Assessing staff affirmed that surging real estate market trends have sharply inflated local valuations, prompting widespread appeals from property owners.

“The values are high, but it’s—I hate to say arbitrary, but it’s all over the board,” staff explained. “In our county, we’ve had quite a few appeals to the reassessments. I mean, a lot of appeals.”

Emergency Radios for Volunteer Fire Departments

Public safety communications took precedence under additional appropriations, with the council approving $25,000 from the Local Income Tax (LIT) Public Safety Fund for new emergency radios.

The request was originally submitted to assist the Lost River Fire Department, which faced an outstanding invoice of $10,217.50 for replacement communications gear. Officials explained that frontline volunteer firefighters have been operating with outdated 800 MHz units issued by the state over two decades ago that can no longer be repaired.

“All of our 800 radios are the original ones that the state gave us back in 2004, 2005,” fire command stated. “The one bad thing about the old ones is they’re outdated and they can’t be repaired. Out of the 11, I’ve got four that are operating.”

Fire leaders noted that while dual-band radios cost approximately $4,300 each, upgraded single-band units cost roughly $2,654 under government discount pricing. Seeing that both Lost River and Shoals Fire Departments faced acute shortages, council members moved to exhaust the full advertised appropriation rather than leaving money on the table.

“I think given the situation we need to buy $25,000 worth period,” one council member stated. “Don’t leave $2,000 left. See if they’ll work with us on a deal.”

The council voted to approve the full $25,000, funding 10 new radios split evenly between the Lost River and Shoals volunteer departments, with any minor overrun around $600 to be covered through departmental budgets.

Community Corrections: Flooding Loss and Case Management

Community Corrections leadership appeared before the council with multiple budgetary requests, beginning with emergency funding following an office water pipe break.

“Not last week, but obviously it was the week before we had a water leak in the office, and that leak subsequently destroyed our commercial printer copier fax machine,” the director said. “We did turn in a building liability claim, and so they are going to cover anything in excess of our $5,000 deductible.”

To fund the deductible, the council unanimously approved a transfer within the CTP Fund, moving $4,500 from equipment leases and $500 from office supplies into office equipment to purchase a replacement machine quoted at $8,225 from Hoosier Business Machines.

The council also approved an additional appropriation of $2,500 from the Riverboat Fund (Fund 7303) to support the salary of Road Crew Supervisor Krista Nicholson. The director noted the supervisor works between 25 and 27 hours weekly and continues operations through the winter months:

“She’s been with me, believe, for two years now. And they didn’t used to do road crew in the winter. It would kind of back off, obviously, but she works the guys through the winter as well.”

Addressing full-time personnel, the director announced the impending year-end departure of an experienced case manager handling high-risk offender caseloads:

“I’m going to be losing a full-time case manager at the end of the year. And so that full-time case manager is very integral to the sheet of our higher risk case management load. And what I would like to do is possibly advertise that position early and get someone in there to train with her for that last month so that she’s still available to do that.”

The council approved adding a temporary “Training” line item to the salary schedule, funded via grant project income at an hourly band of $15.00 to $26.10, allowing a replacement to train part-time during December before transitioning to full-time status on Jan. 1.

Additionally, the council approved an appropriation of $8,121.52 within the Drug Free Community Fund (Fund 1148) to align with state-mandated comprehensive plan expenditures overseen by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Departmental Actions: Health, Highway, and Maintenance

• Health Department: County Public Health Nurse Julia secured an additional appropriation of $26,000 from Fund 1159 reserves to bridge departmental payroll and operations through the end of the year following previous 73% state funding reductions. Julia reported that staff hours remain consolidated across environmental health, septic inspections, and school nursing while the county awaits the Indiana General Assembly’s upcoming budget session next spring.
• Highway Department: Highway Superintendent Tracie secured an additional $100,000 from the Restricted MVH Fund (Fund 1173), dividing the funds evenly between road stone ($50,000) and culverts ($50,000) following heavy storm washouts. Highway staff highlighted an aging steel culvert near the bridge and gypsum plant requiring an estimated $40,000 replacement.
• Building Maintenance: County maintenance staff requested $2,000 to replace fasteners on a 15- to 16-year-old metal pole building experiencing roof leaks during heavy rains. After discussing past regional hail storms, council members instructed staff to check for hidden storm damage before proceeding with screw replacements while approving the $2,000 appropriation.
• Department Supplies: Modest additional supply appropriations were approved for the Purdue Extension Office ($1,000) and the Veteran Service Officer ($500), the latter having depleted his $500 annual budget assembling printed claim packets for local military veterans.
• Voting Machine Lease: The council approved an administrative appropriation of $12,700 for Fund 1143 (DLGF Fund 191) to rectify a state software glitch from the prior year’s budget forms that failed to record the recurring voting equipment lease.
• Salary Ordinance Amendment: Council members amended Salary and Wage Ordinances across Funds 1122, 9148, and 1222, raising part-time jailer base compensation to $23.00 per hour to ensure parity and ease cross-training between jailers and 911 dispatchers.

Financial Reports and Community Updates

During financial reporting, the council reviewed the Martin County Ambulance Service quarterly billing summary, showing $702,289.43 in cumulative outstanding receivables dating from 2022 to 2026. Officials noted historical recoveries average between $130,000 and $140,000 annually.

Council members praised County Treasurer for active fund investment, noting Martin County earned $274,026 in interest during the first half of 2026 by leveraging TrustINdiana and local certificates of deposit earning 4.0% to 4.5%.

In community briefings, Purdue Extension 4-H Educator Darrin announced that local students will attend the NSWC Crane STEM Day open house at WestGate Academy showcasing hypersonics and rocketry, alongside upcoming events including DNR Hunter Education, Manufacturing Day for county eighth graders, and the Harlem Wizards basketball game at Shoals High School.

A regional outreach representative from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office addressed the council, urging local residents to check IndianaUnclaimed.gov for forgotten funds—noting the state returned $88 million last year—while cautioning property owners against fly-by-night contractor scams in the wake of recent severe storms.

The Martin County Council adjourned to reconvene for its next regular session and final 2027 budget adoption on Monday, Oct. 5, at 6:30 p.m.