Bargersville’s 2022 budget prioritizes police spending and phase two of Kephart Park.
The town’s budget is $10.5 million, with $9.7 million in projected revenue.
The town is expected to have less revenue in 2022 than 2021, due largely to a decrease in support income. This comes from utility reimbursements that are usually allocated to specific town departments for administrative costs.
Support income decreased nearly $500,000 from the projected revenue for 2021.
“Some of the departments that are actually shared in (the support income) actually had a net budget decrease,” said Adam Stone, Bargersville’s financial consultant. “So because their budget actually had a net decrease, we’re sharing out less, so the support income is less.”
Of that $10.5 million, $1.7 million will fund the police department. New expenditures for the department include training a new police dog, hiring two new officers and promoting an existing officer. The department will need to outfit the K-9 and new officers with equipment and purchase five new patrol cars. Three are replacing current vehicles, and two will be added, said town spokesperson Laura Kennedy.
The budget will also cover the continued construction of a new police station at Whiteland and Morgantown roads, which will replace the location the department is renting.
Non-departmental spending and capital projects take up the largest chunk of the 2022 budget, at $4.5 million. Half of that will be allocated to Kephart Park and a new trail dubbed Morningside Path.
“We’re trying to include some of the capital projects that we’ve been talking about and that our residents have looked at, or they’ve been talking about,” said Julie Young, town manager. “So a trail project, working on a park project, continuing street improvements.”
Kephart Park will cost about $9 million to complete over the next several years. Phase two, which adds play spaces and landscaping to the park, will be completed in 2022 and will cost about $2.5 million.
Morningside Path, which will connect the park to the Morningside at Lennar subdivision, is budgeted to cost up to $50,000.
The town expects to end this year with about $2.5 million in excess revenue due to incoming grant money, Kennedy said. If this surplus holds true, the surplus will be invested in key projects, like park improvements.
The budget also includes a 3% cost of living salary increase for town employees.
