As 2025 draws to a close, the Crawfordsville budget is ending strong, as Mayor Todd Barton discussed on November’s General Update of Crawfordsville Connection. But the future hints at real concern if the Statehouse doesn’t address the flaws of Senate Enrolled Act 1 (SEA1). Signed into law this year, SEA1 changes the property tax code for Indiana. Combined with additional changes to the income tax code, the fiscal outlook for Indiana towns and counties looms like a cliff in 2028 unless the law changes. Here’s where things stand, what’s ahead, and guidance from Mayor Todd Barton on how citizens can engage and advocate.
This year will end with Crawfordsville resolving some natural shortfalls in police and fire department balances. As NPR reported in October, maintaining emergency vehicles represents a vulnerability in community budgets. Fire trucks that cost $300,000 ten years ago now approach a million dollars, and ambulance prices have skyrocketed as well. The city’s new financial advisory group dug deep into historic data, identifying chronic shortfalls and areas of overspending. Their work gave city leadership the confidence that the 2026 budget is “clean”—accurately matching anticipated spending to projected revenues and responsibly adjusted based on clear trends rather than departmental wish lists.
With guidance from a professional firm, Barton and his staff created a 2026 budget that anticipates areas where the departments have run short or enjoyed a surplus of funds. The analysis provided clarity for adopting a budget that positions the city well for the coming year.
What concerns Barton—and similar city leaders elsewhere—are the graduated cuts that grow in 2027 and reach their zenith in 2028. The bright spot is that the city’s assessed property values grew by $117 million, beating the previous record of $70 million, thanks in part to investments from companies and housing. In spite of the healthy economic growth, Barton says, is that the city tax rate is going to drop.
Barton explains that there are two big pieces to the budget hit from SEA1: property tax caps and limits on local income tax flexibility. The impact for Crawfordsville is stark:
● In 2026, a loss of approximately $290,000 in property tax revenue
● In 2027, about $500,000 lost
● In 2028, a staggering $2.34 million annual property tax loss
● Coupled with income tax restrictions, total city revenue could drop by $5.7 million in 2028—about 20% of the general budget
Though there’s the possibility of restoring some of the lost income tax revenue if the county council approves raising local income tax rates, the property tax cap is far less flexible.
Barton notes a particularly frustrating piece of SEA1: before Crawfordsville can adjust its public safety income tax, it must first seek approval from the county council—even though those funds would support just the city’s own residents and services. “Why do we need to ask somebody who lives in Linden for permission to tax ourselves in Crawfordsville?” he asks. This loss of local control is a key issue mayors across Indiana want reformed.
Preparing for the fallout to SEA1 has consumed elected leaders at the local level. Barton serves on the legislative committee for Accelerating Indiana Municipalities (AIM), the association that brings Indiana’s towns and cities together to advocate in Indianapolis. Throughout 2025, he’s worked alongside a group of seasoned professionals and financial experts to draft recommendations to fix the broken parts of SEA1. The law, as Barton puts it, didn’t just “make some adjustments” to the previous property and income tax code but “disassembled the whole thing,” creating chaos for city budgets. The group’s proposals are ready to be introduced as legislation in hopes of averting a disaster for local governments throughout the state.
Some elements of SEA1 Barton finds especially vexing include rules that say:
- A city like Crawfordsville must get county approval to raise its own public safety tax, even though the costs and benefits are entirely local.
- The city now must recalculate and reapprove its income tax rate every single year, introducing uncertainty and undermining its credit when issuing bonds for big projects.
- The law undermines logical local control, making it harder to adapt services to local needs, and disproportionately shifts the tax burden from business and industry onto regular homeowners because of the way breaks and caps are structured.
Barton is straightforward about the prospects for change. Despite promising noises from state legislators, “I’m not as optimistic that we’ll see all those things happen. I think we’ll see some of those fixes get implemented…they have to, because local governments are going literally fall off the cliff in two years. Many don’t know it yet, but they are.”
Barton’s approach is clear: he submits a “clean” budget to the council, within the real funding stream, not padded with dreams or set up as a wish list from every department. If looming cuts must come, the burden will be spread across departments and programs, not concentrated on one area like public safety or parks. He remains deeply committed to preserving investments in public amenities—parks and quality-of-life projects—that are crucial to attracting and retaining residents and growing the economy.
“Other communities are hitting the panic button, slashing everything. We’re going to be a little more cautious. But if cuts have to come, we’ll share the burden,” Barton says. The ultimate goal is to retain the kind of city that attracts young families and businesses without sacrificing essential services.
Statehouse and federal politics are “absolute insanity,” in Barton’s words, but the job for local leaders is to “stay focused, do the right things, and we’ll work through it.” He credits regular communication with other leaders and refusing to get distracted by political noise as critical to keeping the city on track.
Though the loss of state support for childcare has already closed local centers and hurt working families, Barton is determined not to let such setbacks define the community. Crawfordsville’s model, he says, is to focus on what it can control, keep budgets honest and keep investing in the factors—jobs, housing, parks, safety—that make people want to live here.
What can citizens do? Stay informed and follow what’s happening, even if legislation is complex. Contact state legislators to voice concern about the loss of local control and potential cuts to public safety and quality-of-life amenities. Remind lawmakers that citizens do care about local government’s ability to provide these services—even though most don’t call about their property taxes, people vote with their feet and their voices for communities with strong services and vibrant futures.
For those reaching out, Barton suggests a simple, honest approach: explain your concern for preserving quality of life, local services and the city’s ability to plan for the future. Don’t get bogged down in technical details: legislators need to hear that these issues impact real people. Barton’s closing advice applies now more than ever: stay informed, stay engaged, and help keep Crawfordsville strong by holding state leaders accountable for supporting Indiana communities.
Possible sidebar
Here are the area representatives:
Beau Baird, Representative District 44.
317-232-9627
H44@iga.in.gov
Mark Genda, Representative District 41
317-232-9767
H41@iga.in.gov
Matt Commons, Representative District 13
317-232-9626
H13@iga.in.gov
Jeff Thompson, Representative District 28
317-232-9651
H28@iga.in.gov
Brian Buchanan, State Senator District 7
317-232-9400
S7@iga.in.gov
Spencer Deery, State Senator District 23
317-232-9400
S23@iga.in.gov