Redkey OKs its 2025 budget

REDKEY — The town has a budget.

Redkey Town Council approved its 2025 budget Tuesday.

Next year’s budget before “home-ruled funds” comes in at $598,536, approximately $111,000 more than the current year’s budget.

At previous meetings, council discussed the budget totaling $791,822. That amount accounts for $193,286 in “home-ruled funds” not reviewed by Indiana Department of Local Government and Finance. (Those funds are included but marked separately in the budget document approved by council Tuesday.) “Home-ruled funds” in Redkey’s budget for 2025 are $157,836 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, $25,000 in local income tax dollars, $7,350 in economic development income tax dollars and $3,100 for police special education.

Most of the increase in next year’s budget goes into its general fund. Redkey’s 2025 budget includes about $480,000 in the general fund, up approximately $102,000 from the current year.

Redkey initially considered approving its 2025 budget after a public hearing Oct. 15. (According to the notice to taxpayers on Indiana Gateway, the website used for budgets by Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, Redkey hosted its public hearing Sept. 19. Redkey's notice for the Oct. 15 meeting described it as a special meeting.) At that time, council members and town employees voiced questions about changes to the budget for next year. Council decided to push back its budget approval to take a closer look at it.

Clerk-treasurer Gloria May created the budget with help from consulting agency Local Government Services, which has been providing assistance to May’s office since April. Janet Alexander of Local Government Services met with council — absent Dave Dudelston and Floyd Life — and town employees during a 3-hour public meeting Oct. 22, explaining the budgeting process and discussing Redkey’s budget for 2025.

Town employees weren’t shown the 2025 budget until a few weeks before the state’s deadline to adopt a budget for the next year. (All Indiana governmental reporting units have until Nov. 1 each year to file the following year’s budget with the state.) Firefighter Mark Leavell advocated Tuesday for the clerk-treasurer’s office beginning the budgeting process in June or July next year.

“We need to … get this done earlier, because, I think Janet did a great job of putting it together to get us by with the state, but there was absolutely no local input from any local departments on this budget,” he said.

“Maybe that's my fault because I was new,” responded May, who took office in January. “That’s probably my fault, and I take that responsibility, and next year, I’ll know more, and I’ll get it to you sooner.”

“Well I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes this year, but I was new and I didn’t have a lot of training,” she later added. “I plan on doing better next year.”

Council then agreed to approve the budget.