Marshal Thomas Waikel, right, looks over budget paperwork with Council Vice President Ken Long and Councilman Jim Smiley. The town council held the first of two budget workshops Tuesday, Aug. 19. The police department has proposed an increase of 1.01% for 2026. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — “This was a little bit painful and harsh realization, I just think it’s not going to get easier in the next two years,” stated Milford Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall. “I don’t want to give you guys a false assumption that it’s going to be this great next year, because it’s going to get worse.”

The Milford Town Council convened Tuesday, Aug. 19, to look over prospective 2026 budgets for the fire, police and clerk’s departments. Departments are looking at modest increases in light of budget cuts and, Gall said, the predicted strain of inflation in the next two years.

Fire Department

Gall applauded Chief Brian Haines for his proposed increase of less than 2%, making for a total budget of $103,975 for the Milford Volunteer Fire Department.

Vice President Ken Long asked if there were any “looming issues” with the replacement of equipment or firefighters that might be coming up.

“For what the fire department is responsible to pay, this is sufficient,” said Haines. “We spent the time to figure and look at it … I’m not saying we won’t be back to say, ‘hey, something happened.’”

When asked by Long about the department’s oxygen bottles, Haines said they had just been tested and are good for another 10 years.

The Milford Volunteer Fire Department is contracted with the town of Milford, Van Buren Township and Jefferson Township. The 2026 funding provided by Jefferson Township totals $20,000. In addition, the fire department looks to use Jefferson Township’s accumulated fire fund for gear.

Police Department

Marshal Thomas Waikel proposed a budget of $527,499, a 1.01% increase over last year.

The largest expenditure for the police department is employee wages, followed by insurance and fuel. Rather than a large overall increase, Waikel planned for a 2% wage increase for police department employees. The 2026 wages budget would be $266,262, totaling less than last year’s $269,911. The misleading decrease is due to the retirement of tenured officer, former Marshal Derek Kreider.

If the department receives the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant it plans to apply for, that will cover 100% one officer’s wages for the year of 2026. It received this grant last year. After three years, the amount covered decreases. Applications are due in October, with results in December.

The town is also in contract negotiations with Milford School, which covers the cost of a student resource officer. Last year, the department was covered for $20,000.

With the J.A.G., the department’s spending would be $53,104 over budget. Without it, the overage would be $129,510.

Long remarked the potential $53,104 overage is “not that bad … I’m trying to glass half full this.”

Resident Greg Baumgartner asked how the town deals with deficit spending and Gall replied “with savings.”

“The police department is … about 95% funded by property taxes. So, some of those littler taxes might go up a little bit to offset some of the shortage, but basically it’d be spending our savings,” she explained.

“Which is what we don’t want to do,” Long said.

“It’s always the goal to achieve that zero deficit. In the past two years, I’ve made some pretty aggressive cuts,” said Waikel. This has included taking the number of officers Milford pays for down from five to four, with one being funded by the J.A.G.

Without grant funding, Gall said, “we’ll have to have some pretty serious discussions.”

Clerk’s Department

The clerk’s department had the largest proposed increase of 11.59%, making for a budget of $444,534. There is an overage of $46,544.72.

Increased expenditures Gall outlined include a 2% wage increase for Assistant Clerk Renda Loetz; a 4% increase for trash service, to act as a buffer over the 3% increase stipulated by Milford’s contract with Sweetheimer; and insurance for the Wee Warriors daycare building on West Syracuse Street. The town’s general insurance from EMC has gone up 16.3%.

Hydrant rentals will increase from about $500 per rental to $839.06 due to this year’s water rate increase and added hydrants in the Eastfield housing division. These fees are paid by the town of Milford to the water department.

Gall mentioned working with the town’s financial advisors, LWG CPAs and Advisors, to see if this rate can be adjusted.

“I think there’s some ways we can maybe get some savings but only if it makes sense. If it doesn’t make sense, then we shouldn’t change the hydrant fee or it’ll affect the water department, then you’ve got another problem over there,” she said.

Milford will be look at “zero additional funding” in the next two years, Gall said. Spending through any budgeted funds would mean eating into the town’s savings.

“More stringent cuts are to come, because the following year is already set at a 0% increase, and the year after that, as well. So unless there’s some legislative change, we have to stay where we’re at right now, which is basically 0% funding, so we actually end up with a net loss,” she explained. “It’s not significant, it’s very small, but it’s basically a 0% increase … with inflation going crazy, it’s going to be very, very difficult.”

One future option she noted is to work with Kosciusko County on adopting an income tax for the town of Milford.

“And unfortunately right now, there’s going to be no other option for us if we want to maintain the buildings that we have and the things that we have …” she said.

Gall expressed hope for relief for small towns during Indiana’s next legislative session, but said there was no guarantee.

“It took them a long time to do something this drastic … we just need to make sure we’re being as conscious as we possibly can be and are doing the absolute best we can for our residents … all this stuff is out of any of our control. … Individually you can only make so much difference but together we can all get there,” she said.

Baumgartner asked why Gall budgeted an increase for Loetz but not for herself.

She replied, “I’d rather have (that money) to be able to spend on the town operations than just for me personally. I do benefit from some of the town operations going smoother … I’d take that any day over another little increase,” she said.

Next week’s workshop will cover park, street, water and wastewater department budgets and all remaining funds. It will take place at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 25, in the Milford Community Building.

A budget hearing will take place before approval by the council in October, after which Milford’s budget will go before the Department of Local Government Finance for final approval.