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DLGF > County Council Budget Review County Council Budget Review

Indiana Code 6-1.1-17-3.5 requires county fiscal bodies to annually review the proposed budgets and levies of certain civil taxing units and to issue non-binding recommendations regarding those proposed budgets and levies.

County Council Budget Review Form

The Department of Local Government Finance has developed forms to assist units in posting their proposed budgets and levies and to assist county councils in reviewing the proposed budgets and levies. The County Council Budget Review Form is to be used by civil taxing units required to file their budgets pursuant to IC 6-1.1-17-3.5.

The information below provides additional guidance on how to use the county council review form:

  1. Each civil taxing unit will download the worksheets for the county using the links below. Within the compressed file, the unit can locate its file by looking for its DLGF-assigned unit code (i.e. Adams County = 0110000).
  2. In the form, the following information will be pre-populated based on data available to the DLGF:
    1. State assessed value growth quotient.
    2. County assessed value growth quotient.
    3. 2011 pay 2012 certified net assessed value for the unit.
    4. 2012 certified budget, levy and tax rate by fund.
  3. The civil taxing unit will enter its proposed 2013 budgets, levies and rates by fund into Columns "C", "I" and "O", respectively. These columns are highlighted in orange on the form. The form will then calculate percentage change and comparisons to state assessed value growth quotient and county growth quotient.
  4. When the unit has completed its work, it should save the form and then submit a copy of the form to the County Auditor. The form may be submitted in person, by fax or by e-mail.
  5. Upon receipt of the form, the County Auditor should complete the receipt box with the date of receipt and a signature of a representative of the County Auditor's Office. The DLGF will use this information to determine when the filing occurred for the purposes of the September 1 deadline. (Taxing units must submit their proposed budgets for county council review before September 2.)
  6. The County Auditor should complete the fields for County Average Total Proposed Budget Increase Percentage and County Average Total Proposed Levy Increase Percentage. This information is to be calculated by averaging the total proposed budget increase and total proposed levy increase for all units in the county. This will allow the county council to compare the proposed budget of a particular unit to the increases in the budgets and tax levies of other taxing units in the county as required by IC 6-1.1-17-3.5(f)(2).
  7. The county council should review the form for each applicable taxing unit and make its determination as to the county council recommended budgets, levies and rates. These recommendations should be populated into Columns G, M and S. These columns are also highlighted orange on the form.
  8. The County Auditor should ensure that the taxing units receive notice of the county recommendation. The County Auditor will also need to provide the DLGF with documentation of the county council's recommendations.

Forms are now available for those counties with approved 2012 budgets.

Feedback

If you have any questions about the non-binding recommendation process, please e-mail Assistant Budget Director Dan Jones at djones@dlgf.in.gov.