Hamilton County Councilman Mark Hall’s August 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 county government. You hired me as your County Councilman, and my hope is that you will choose to be informed by regularly reading this column, getting involved, considering 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, August work included: watching Board of Commissioners meetings, Noblesville and Cicero Council public meetings, several department 2027 budget review meetings, a three-hour department by department budget review meeting with the Auditor and his staff, two benefits insurance renewal meetings, a not-for-profits grant review committee meeting and a Redevelopment Commission meeting.

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The August in-person Personnel Committee meeting was canceled. The Finance Committee did not meet in August. The insurance committee met in August with our benefits consultant NFP to review proposed changes to the 2027 employee benefits and a follow up meeting late in August to discuss final changes for 2027 regarding employees Pharmacy Benefits Manager options.

Worth noting, quoted health insurance increases for county employees were for an 8 percent increase. After changing the benefits manager for 2027, we expect to save a little north of $1 million. Budgeted employee health insurance cost projections for 2027 are $30 million.

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During August I received over 40 constituent service requests and communications. This column doesn’t allow space to describe all the calls, messages, and texts from folks that were impacted by the floods. Please allow me grace as I summarize dozens of interactions into three primary areas. Questions about immediate needs (food, shelter, pets), communications about short term issues (homes, mitigation and remediation) and lastly messages about the long-term issues (recovery, FEMA, county, state of Indiana and federal benefits). I did the best I could by responding in a timely fashion to direct folks and connect them to the right people and places to get to a safe place, to begin the cleanup, and to begin their recovery journeys.

Unfortunately, many lost most of what they had. Fortunately, and amazingly, no immediate lives were lost. Leave it to be said that we witnessed the very best of Hamilton County. Neighbors jumped in to help others, public safety officials worked tirelessly risking their lives to save others and the compassion and humanity of people with no agenda other than helping, won the day.

A neighbor wrote to me about the road conditions on Carrigan Road between Little Chicago and Hague roads. This one was already on the radar and after a few communications with the County Highway department a bid was awarded this month to repair the road.

I have continued communication and support for a constituent who has a pond adversely affected by a new M/I Homes edition on the east side of Little Chicago Road. In short, retention pond creation in the new addition has adversely affected the water levels and water quality in his pond. Through numerous communications back and forth with the City of Noblesville planning department, M/I Homes local leadership, the homeowner and Hamilton County Planning, some progress has been made but the situation has not been fully remedied.

I received a follow up communication from a constituent regarding the county’s health insurance and PBM, Pharmacy Benefits Manager regarding their public records requests for the insurance committee meeting notes. I have reached out to the county attorney and made inquiry as to why the request remains open. Essentially, all county offices are in 2027 budget preparation and add to that the absence of two paralegals, whose responsibility it is to fulfill these requests, has caused delays in getting the information out to the constituent.

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Of special note this month was attending the Koteewi Archery facility groundbreaking ceremony. This new world class facility will host some of the world’s finest archers in regional and national competitions.

It was an honor to represent you at the OneZone Commerce Voices of Leadership Luncheon listening to all four candidates for Secretary of State explain their visions for running that office.

Additionally, I confirmed that the County Regional Utility District has prepared their plan for reimbursement of affected Jackson Township homeowners who choose to maintain their private septic systems by having them tested. The RDC allocated funds for this program last year and as the Utility District moves services into Jackson Township impacted homeowners need this solution implemented by 2027 as the project moves forward.

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Lastly, as is my custom, I spent what seems to be countless hours with my copy of the 2027 Hamilton County budget book. Official meetings occur in early September, but to do the job well, studying the book repeatedly is what’s required to be able to discuss each department’s requests with the department heads as they ask your council to approve their 2027 budget. The binder is hundreds of pages long, full of budget requests that are submitted by all the departments. As is my practice, I’ll read each budget submittal and then spend half a day in the Auditor’s Office reviewing the details behind each department’s budget. Items over $100,000 require detailed review.

It takes a great deal of time to get through it all, but it prepares me for the budget hearings and separating department needs from wants.

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This is my timesheet. This is where my time went during August 2026. 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.