City Council's 2026 budget cuts are in - here's what to know

Hey Locals,

Welcome back to our Thursday edition of the newsletter – available only to paid subscribers. We love doing this important work, and we appreciate you making it possible!

Today, we’ve got details on City Council’s 2026 budget cuts and why they matter, followed by our take on the situation. We hope this helps you process how local government is changing in real time under Indiana’s property tax reductions, and we hope it prepares you with insights going into the 2026 state legislative session, which begins Jan. 13.

As City Council member Nathan Hartman (R-3) pointed out on Tuesday night: Council has been tasked with carrying out the consequences of the state’s decision to slash property tax revenues. Yet, council members here – in Indiana’s second-largest city – were not invited to join any discussions at the statehouse about how these cuts might affect their work. In his closing comments, Hartman invited fellow council members to work more closely with state legislators in the future, and show them the results of their actions.

In case you forgot: You can get more involved, too. There’s a free pizza lunch-and-learn public panel on Nov. 5 about what to expect at the Indiana legislature’s next session. The panel will be 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Allen County Public Library Downtown, and registration is required to save your seat. 

Now, let’s get started!

What’s happening?

• In a two-and-a-half-hour meeting on Tuesday night, City Council approved about $8.6M in cuts to the city’s 2026 budget – less than half of the proposed $17.3M cuts.