Westfield’s 2025 budget focuses on public safety, infrastructure & economic development

Submitted

The Westfield 2025 Civil City budget was introduced to the City Council at its Monday meeting. The budget will be eligible for adoption at the Sept. 9 council meeting. The 2025 proposed Civil City budget totals $124,630,158, with an operational budget of $78,265,507, which excludes bond payments.

Mayor Scott Willis’s budget aligns spending with revenue forecasts to maintain a flat tax rate while serving Indiana’s fastest-growing community.

There has also been a significant change in the financial planning strategy for the upcoming fiscal year. Department leaders were tasked with implementing zero-based budgeting rather than adjusting based on the previous year’s spending. Zero-based budgeting is a strategic approach requiring a fresh evaluation of all expenses incurred during the budget cycle. It ensures the budget closely aligns with the strategic objectives outlined in Mayor Willis’s Advancing Westfield vision. This will ensure the budget yields the highest value for residents and the community.

“By going through this process, budget items that had been unused for years were reallocated appropriately to economic development, infrastructure, and public safety investments,” Willis said. “We also consolidated line items to gain stronger purchasing power moving forward.”

Willis’s 2025 proposed budget continues strategic investment that prioritizes public safety, economic development, road and infrastructure improvements, and quality of life initiatives for residents.

“The Mayor’s recommended budget addresses the needs of the fastest-growing city in our state, the entire Midwest, and the sixth-fastest in the nation,” Council President Patrick Tamm said. “It addresses the immediate and long-term objectives and ensures strong fiscal health for Westfield. The City Council will continue to work with the Mayor productively and collaboratively as this process progresses.”

Key features of the 2025 budget include:

Public safety

• Hiring additional personnel to both Westfield Fire and Westfield Police to meet the community’s growing needs
• Adding additional outdoor warning sirens
• Designing and constructing a new police department headquarters to meet the expanding needs of the department

Roads & infrastructure

• Increased funding for the resurfacing program
• Design and construction of several Capital Improvement Plan projects, including roundabouts at 161st Street and Spring Mill Boulevard, 181st Street and Wheeler Road, and expansion of 191st Street from Tomlinson Road to Grand Park Boulevard

Economic development

• Acquisition of land for downtown parking garages
• Funding for a streetscape project for the Park Street area
• Acquisition of land near Grand Park

Quality of life

• Funding for new community initiatives, including a Neighborhood Grant Program for improvements
• Continued funding for community events such as Westfield Rocks the 4th, Jams at the Junction, and Westfield in Lights
• Completion of Simon Moon Park Phase 2
• Constructing permanent restrooms at Freedom Trail Park
• Funding for a new park