The City of Noblesville has released its year-end report. The 2017 Annual Report details major accomplishments from every city department and within the community during the past year.
“2017 was an exciting year in Noblesville. We saw policy or strategy changes in a number of departments so employees are more efficient and citizens are better served,” said Mayor John Ditslear. “Throughout 2017, we remained steadfast in preparing for the future. I know the momentum of our current projects will continue to grow in 2018.”
This is the second year the city has compiled a comprehensive year-end report. Previously, each department previously created its own annual report. In addition to city departments, the 28-page report covers downtown, the Common Council, traffic, tourism and upcoming projects. The report is available as a print version and an interactive one (which includes hyperlinks to additional information on a variety of subjects on each page).
“I am proud to share the hard work being done within our community. I believe residents will find this report informative and useful. I hope they enjoy learning more about our city and its services,” Ditslear said.
Executive summaries by department from the 2017 Annual Report can be seen below. To read the full report on the City of Noblesville website, click here.
2017 Annual Report executive summaries by department
Police
Keeping the city safe is the reason the Noblesville Police Department (NPD) exists. The department accomplishes its mission by using policing techniques that work and by connecting with community partners to leverage our capabilities. NPD believe that progressive, results driven policing can walk hand-in-hand with a focus on community and a commitment to residents’ and visitors’ quality of life.
NPD continues to interact with the community in a variety of ways. The department is very active on social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Nixle and Nextdoor. NPD also offers many participative programs such as Crime Watch, the very successful Citizens Academy, National Night Out and Shop with a Cop. Noblesville also sponsors one of two Scouting Police Explorer Posts in Hamilton County with hands-on and classroom learning. The program provides experiences to help the community’s youth mature and to prepare them to become responsible, caring adults.
In an effort to be more responsive to problems residents report, the department has formed three new units designed to help solve problems rather than just respond to incidents. Providing efficient, effective, service-focused police services keeps people in Noblesville safe and comfortable. Please let NPD know what they can do to help you.
Fire
2017 was another record-setting year for the Noblesville Fire Department. NFD responded to 5,741 calls for assistance, a 2.8 percent increase over 2016. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls made up the majority of the runs. EMS responses were 69.2 percent of NFD’s calls. July was the busiest month with 534 EMS calls, while June was the busiest month for fire calls with 134. NFD has experienced a great deal of personnel change this year. The department lost more than 72 years of experience with the retirements of three firefighters. The department hired four new employees to help offset the loss. Several members also have moved into new roles. NFD promoted one division chief, one captain and one lieutenant. In 2017, the EMS Division provided 3,363 hours of EMS training for NFD personnel. EMS also welcomed new personnel as the department hired one new EMT and one new paramedic, with each successfully completing their respective field training programs. Additionally, two employees graduated from paramedic school and completed the NFD Paramedic Field Training Program.
Planning
In 2017, the Planning Department restructured with the hiring of an assistant planning director and the addition of another associate planner to aid in increased code enforcement efforts and building permit review. The restructuring also created an opportunity for the promotion of two existing staff members to senior planner and an existing senior planner into a newly created development services manager to assist guiding large projects through the planning processes. The department staff now totals 14 employees.
Through voluntary annexations, the City of Noblesville expanded its corporate limits by 370.54 acres in 2017, and new non-residential square footage increased 12 percent when compared with 2016. Overall, the department saw a 5 percent decrease in single-family detached residential permits from 2016 to 2017 and a 23 percent decrease in Plan Commission filings. This trend is partly attributed to the ongoing implementation of the Housing Study, which is detailed and summarized in the full report.
Economic Development
Business development in Noblesville in 2017 resulted in many new businesses opening in new and existing locations. The city has seen plenty of dirt moving this past year. Downtown continues to provide vibrant art and cultural emergence that lends to the city’s ability to attract new and unique business enterprise. State Road 37 and 146th Street saw retail build out and Exit 210 continues to thrive in attracting retail, commercial, office and industrial companies.
Three important factors affect the ability of businesses to grow. Technology has changed the face and pace of how business is conducted. This has resulted in the need to be fast and flexible to attract new businesses and assist in the expansion of existing Noblesville businesses. Site readiness and new building inventory will allow Noblesville to continue its fast growth trajectory. Demand for an available and prepared workforce is challenging every city in the nation including Noblesville, but collaboration between the city, Noblesville Schools, Ivy Tech Community College, Noblesville businesses, Work One and the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce continues to evolve new and innovative ways to address and prepare a workforce pipeline.
Parks and Rec
A summer full of events, golf and recreation programs proved to be one of the best years yet. Noblesville hosted and held more than 80 community events including 55 at Federal Hill Commons. These events were well received and attended by the community and brought in more than 150,000 attendees.
In addition to free events, Noblesville Parks donated over $62,000 in staff and facility support to local not-for-profits in 2017.
The city also worked with the Clauson family and Indiana Racing Memorial to memorialize Bryan Clauson with a historical marker and bench in Forest Park.
In 2017, the city opened Federal Hill Commons, began construction on Finch Creek Park and held public meetings to update Seminary Park. Southside Park also received renovations to its amenities. The parks staff added two new full-time employees in the maintenance division.
Two Eagle Scout projects enhanced city parks with the addition of a bocce ball pit in Forest Park and a swing bench at Hague Road Nature Haven.
The partnership between Noblesville Parks and Ivy Tech Community College of Hamilton County continues to increase. The Recreation Annex had more than 20,000 participants last year and the parks department also has taken over management of the auditorium and foyer rental space.
Park improvements in 2017 included LED light conversions at multiple parks, surface repaving and Shelter No. 3 replacement at Forest Park, and seal coating and striping parking lots at Dillon Park.
Streets
The mission of the Street Department is to provide the residents of Noblesville with services that improve their quality of life. Through one central location and two satellite salt facilities, the Street Department is able to maintain more than 500 lane miles of city streets. The department is able to do this with the support of a staff of 37 employees. Some of the services provided are urban forestry maintenance; roadside maintenance; asphalt and concrete repair; snow removal; right-of-way utility cut inspection; brush and leaf collection; and street sign, traffic signal and street light maintenance. The Street Department also maintains Riverside Cemetery. In the future, the Street Department would like to improve upon these services and provide additional preventative maintenance to city streets.
Engineering
The Engineering Department has a staff of 12 employees and manages the installation of all public works infrastructure for new residential, commercial and industrial developments. A major responsibility of the department is the scoping, design, management and inspection of all capital improvement roadway projects. In general, staff manages all major roadway projects – annual resurfacing, sidewalk and alley replacements – from preliminary conception to final completion. In 2017, the city added 9.3 miles of trails to its existing network.
The Engineering Department also provides construction management and support services for other city departments and develops procedures and guidelines for prospective developments. The Engineering Department handles right-of-way and property purchasing and management. It also oversees the city’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Program, manages ADA and Title VI programs, and administers the city’s Traffic Committee and field support for traffic operations.
Information Technology
The Information Technology Department is a behind-the-scenes group of employees. While most of the work is rarely seen by the public, one of their major roles is maintaining and updating the city’s website. The department is made up of seven employees, including two who are geographic information system (GIS) employees. IT maintains all of the city’s networks, computers, servers, cameras, printers and phones. Basically, anything that plugs in is handled by IT. The department also assists Noblesville’s Police and Fire staffs with laptops, dispatch software and equipment upgrades. Like public safety, IT is on call around the clock to assist those who work non-traditional shifts.
Utilities
The Noblesville Utilities Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed in 1948 and designed for peak flows up to 850,000 gallons per day. Today, the plant is designed for peak flows up to 20 million gallons per day (MGD).
Several significant upgrades and changes over the years were needed due to the growing community and ever changing environmental requirements. Noblesville Utilities continues to implement the latest technology in the field, always searching for more economical and efficient ways to run the city’s facility.
In 2017, the Phosphorus Removal Project (PRP) began at the treatment facility and Phase IV of the Long Term Control Plan (LTCP). The PRP will convert the city’s treatment facility into a Bio-P removal process, removing phosphorus and reducing levels down to 1 part per million at the discharge into White River. The project is scheduled to be completed in August 2018.
Phase IV of the LTCP is about separating the storm water from the sanitary in combined sewers and installing new storm sewers. To date, 5,167 feet of new storm sewer have been installed and 1,271 feet remain to be installed.
Controller
The Controller’s Office became a new department in 2016 as the Clerk-Treasurer position was separated into two different offices – the elected city clerk and the appointed controller. The Controller’s Office oversees the city’s finances and handles the annual budgets. Jeff Spalding was appointed as the new controller in February 2017.
A guiding theme for the Controller’s Office was to “right size and realign” the overall structure of the Civil City budget to best use taxpayer dollars wisely and allocate finances logically and clearly. The Controller’s Office worked with Human Resources to establishe a deferred comp program to help employees plan for retirement. The two also worked to convert the city to Kronos, a payroll software that is more streamlined and efficient.
As a way to provide more financial transparency, the city is working with OpenGov to create a new standard in Noblesville for how city government plans, operates and communicates with elected officials, staff and citizens. With OpenGov, more data will be available and will be easily consumable.
Courts
The Noblesville City Court constitutes the judicial branch of city government and handles city ordinance violations, parking violations and infraction violations. In 2009, the City Court began receiving tickets from the City of Westfield–Westfield Police Department. Under the agreement, Noblesville retains 50 percent of all fines assessed and collected.
Case types:
- Ordinances (OV) – An ordinance is a law enacted by a municipal body, such as a city council or county council. Ordinances govern matters such as zoning, traffic and animal control. Noblesville City Court had 981 ordinance tickets filed in 2017.
- Infractions (IF) – An infraction, as filed in City Court, is a non-criminal violation of a state statute (traffic in the city’s case). Since an infraction is not considered a criminal offense it is not punishable by incarceration. Instead, such violations are treated as civil offenses. Noblesville City Court had 4,373 infraction tickets filed in 2017.
If a judgment of conviction is entered with either violation, the court may impose fines established by the ordinance or by state statute applicable to the violation. Court costs are assessed and unlike fines, may not be suspended. In moving traffic violations (ordinance or infraction) the court has the authority to suspend the driving privilege of the violator. A deferral program is available to avoid having points and a conviction applied to your driving record.