Hamilton County Councilman Mark Hall’s April Timesheet

Welcome to the Timesheet. This column is a report of work done on behalf of the people of Hamilton County. It’s to be informative, too – a place to learn about projects and how our county government works.

As your employee, it’s important to me that you know what is being worked on as transparently as possible in government. You hired me as your County Councilman, and my hope is that you’ll choose to be informed by regularly reading this column, getting involved, consider volunteering, and by asking questions. Council meetings are at 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of every month at the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center in downtown Noblesville. Meetings are also available to watch online for those unable to attend in person.

Here is where my time this past month has been spent.

In addition to the County Council public meetings, April work included: a Board of Commissioners public meeting, a Regional Development Commission meeting, reviewing a Central Indiana Water planning meeting notes, and watching a Noblesville Town Council meeting.

The personnel committee met in person where we addressed salary reclassifications for prosecutors and job description changes for the Sheriff. The finance committee did not meet in April. The Insurance committee met where we reviewed an update on the performance of Riverview Clinics for County Employees.

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This month I received nine constituent service requests and communications.

One request was regarding the cleanliness of the County Sheriff’s vehicles. The constituent expressed concerns over how the cruisers looked and wanted to understand what the county did to wash the vehicles and keep them looking sharp. I did some investigating and looped the sheriff’s department in for questions and learned that the county doesn’t have a contract with any car wash service companies. Rather, we have a car wash bay that deputies, staff, and command staff can use anytime to wash their county owned vehicles. This was a purposeful decision rather than incur an estimated $30,000 to $50,000 annual cost for washing vehicles.

The second request was regarding the county property tax revenue annually and how much those figures have changed since 2022. The answer required some research, but the revenues were $66 million, $76 million, and $87 million in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively. The constituent was researching property tax revenue growth over these past few years.

The third request was concerning the sentencing of convicted criminals in Hamilton County Courts, specifically how Hamilton County jurists sentence persons convicted of burglary and robbery against the state sentencing guidelines. This one is ongoing with research as I’ve communicated both with the prosecutor’s office as well as a Judge to better understand. To date, the research indicates that there are recommendations but no hard and fast guidelines. The constituent’s concern is that we have become too soft as a county and they feel as though the system is not punishing people, especially repeat offenders in line with the State of Indiana’s recommendations.

The fourth constituent’s inquiry had to do with their tax bill. This taxpayer experienced a substantial increase in their assessed valuation and wanted help to understand how it was arrived at and if it was accurate. Like most requests of this type, research with the assessor’s office is required and we discovered that in their situation the difference consisted of a new outbuilding and the increased value of a second outbuilding. I also encouraged the taxpayer to schedule time with the assessor’s office and go through their tax bill in detail asking for an explanation.

The balance of emails, messages, and conversations were regarding the HCRUD (Hamilton County Regional Utility District) and its implication on Jackson Township. This included questions about the new development being considered in Jackson Township, reorganization and included comments expressing support for and opposition to the Utility district in general.

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Noteworthy items from April include working with Commissioner Heirbrandt and the County Attorney, to look for ways to help offset the costs of testing to opt out of connection with the sewer if required. Also, meetings with Chief Mann and Deputy Chief Whitesell to get an update on constituents’ crime concerns.

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The most noteworthy topic from April continues to be Property Tax reform. To be clear we need property tax reform. Potential changes in revenue require purposeful planning. For now, until we understand the final impact on Hamilton County, my position remains to pull back on long-term spending commitments that have not already been funded. Early in May, I will be briefed in detail as to the expected impact on the county’s 2026, 2027, and 2028 budgets.

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It was an honor to represent you this month at the Invest Hamilton County: Child Care Action Investment Kickoff meeting, the National 911 Dispatchers Week celebration, the Hamilton County 4-H Expo Building Renovation Sneak Peak Event, and at the “Role of Indiana’s Leaders in ending hunger” film screening and conversation.

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This is my timesheet. This is where my time went during April 2025. While my job is primarily the financial oversight of the county budget, it is important that I understand the Board of Commissioners’ priorities and balance them with the stewardship of taxpayer dollars. That is the job, and I am excited to do the people’s business.

As a taxpayer myself, and listening to so many of you, our employers, it’s important for the taxpayers to have access to all the information you want. I work for you, and although you may not choose to do a deep dive into what your County Council does, it’s important that you can always do so.

Feel free to contact me at (317) 832-1104 or mark.hall@hamiltoncounty.in.gov with questions, feedback, or if you would like to talk about county business.