Life after budget adoption: what’s next for Indiana counties?

After budgets are adopted and submitted in Gateway, the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) will review and issue a Notice of Final Budget Recommendation (more commonly referred to as the 1782 Notice).  Taxing units have ten calendar days to review the Notice and request budget revisions in writing to the DLGF.

Reviewing the 1782 Notice

When your taxing unit receives its 1782 Notice, carefully review the documents.  If there are discrepancies between the adopted budget and the 1782 Notice, attempt to determine why the revisions were made.  Reasons for revision by the DLGF may include:

• budget reductions due to insufficient funding,
• decreased tax rates due to higher certified assessed values,
• revised miscellaneous revenues to reflect certified state distributed revenues; and
• reductions of property tax levies to keep the levies within the maximum allowable by law.

In some cases, the DLGF may deny or modify budgets and levies.  The most common reasons for budget and/or levy denial/modification are:

• the Notice to Taxpayers was not posted in Gateway by the deadline (10 days prior to the public hearing)
• there were fewer than 10 days between the public hearing and adoption meetings, or
• budget adoption occurred after the November 1 deadline

There may also be new changes for the upcoming budget year that taxing units will want to make sure are included in the budget, if applicable, such as:

• a maximum levy increase due to an annexation or requested through an appeal process; and
• a new debt service levy for a recently issued bond or lease.

Fortunately, the 1782 Notice provides a window of opportunity to request changes and provide DLGF with necessary documentation to ensure the final budget certification reflects the best interests of your taxing unit.

For more information on this topic, or to learn how Baker Tilly municipal specialists can help, contact our team.

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