Councilman Jim Smiley, left, and Utilities Superintendent Steven Marquart chat before Milford Town Council’s second budget workshop Monday, Aug. 25. Water and wastewater budgets saw increases, while park and street saw decreases due to wage reallocation and spending cuts to prepare for larger projects. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — Milford Town Council held its second workshop for the 2026 budget Monday night, Aug. 25. Utilities Superintendent Steven Marquart presented his proposed budgets for the water, wastewater, street and park departments.

Major factors in this year’s budget proposals include a 2% increase for employee wages and a 16.3% increase in Milford’s general insurance from EMC. Other insurance quotes were sought, but no companies responded to the town’s inquiries.

Still, the park department actually saw a slight decrease of 0.92%, making for a total of $56,450.

The biggest adjustment came from a reduction in the employee wages category, based on the amount of time town employees have actually spent working on park matters. Funding for wages is allocated based on hours worked in each department. The current split is 40% street, 30% water and 30% wastewater.

Park’s wages category now mainly covers pay for seasonal lifeguards and part-time groundskeeper, Frank Bauer, who does most of the work on Waubee Lake Park. It was noted the park budget was still doing well even after increasing lifeguard pay to $20 per hour this year.

There was also a small increase in the maintenance and repairs category in case of a recurring sewer issue.

The street department saw a greater decrease of 27.88% from last year, to $394,370.

“I would advise caution to make sure we don’t overextend ourselves … with the way things are going to be, at least through calendar year 2027,” said President Doug Ruch.

Marquart agreed and noted several categories saw major cuts in advance of large paving projects. Streets and alleys, for example, went from $70,000 to $30,000.

Marquart budgeted an additional $15,000 in the engineering category to pay for a pavement asset management plan, pending council approval. Pavement ratings affect Milford’s eligibility for the Community Crossings Matching Grant, which it relies on to help pave streets each year.

As discussed at August’s regular meeting, INDOT shows an inventory of 13.29 miles of street in Milford, but Marquart’s records show 15.71 miles, prompting him to seek USI Consultants’ services for a new street inventory.

Councilman Jim Smiley asked if increased street mileage could get the town more tax dollars.

“If we can prove to INDOT that they’re wrong,” Clerk-Treasurer Tricia Gall answered.

The rentals budget also went up, Marquart explained, because that category includes portable restrooms, a more frequent expense now due to increased activities and events in town.

Water And Wastewater

For water, Marquart proposed a budget of $507,532. With the water department’s regular activities, the increase over last year is 8.55%.

Factoring in the bond, Milford must pay as part of its responsibility for water utility improvements — a new filtration plant and storage tank, lead line removal, looping dead-end water mains and several more — the increase is 60.39%. The bond is for $7 million, with $4.3 in forgivable loans. Milford is responsible for the rest.

“We’re building up our reserve for when our bond gets finalized,” said Gall.

The water department budget is about $67,000 over the estimated revenue of $439,825, though Gall noted the town has only been billing with its increased water rate for a couple months.

“I don’t know if we’ll really be in that bad of a situation, because I don’t really know how to estimate how much we’re going to get,” she said.

The increase in employee wages is offset by the decrease in that category for the park budget.

A licensing fee for the new water system has not been factored in, as construction is estimated to take 18-24 months and has not started yet.

“As far as looping of the water mains and all that, I thought they were going to be on location in July,” said Ruch.

“We thought so, too, but they have told me that receiving product has been a problem … on meter pits alone, I was told meter pits are nine, 10 weeks out,” Marquart replied.

He said the predicted start for both water treatment work by R. Yoder Construction and water line work by Selge Construction is in October.

This year’s proposed wastewater budget is $581,700, an increase of 3.37% over last year.

The repair and maintenance supplies category rose from $25,000 to $50,000.

“There’s quite a lot of things I’ve had to invest in. Oil, grease, things like that,” explained Marquart. “And things are starting to break.”

He sought a revised quote from Astbury Water Technology, which tests for phosphorous, ammonia, suspended solids and more. The town does some of its own tests as well, but some, like sludge and toxicity tests, have to be outsourced. The revised quote will be slightly higher, but it has not been accepted yet.

Additional Funds And Police Update

The council wrapped up the meeting with a discussion of budgets for all additional funds:

• The rainy day fund, $50,000, up from $30,000 last year. The current balance is $106,000.

• Redevelopment and Tax Increment Funds, $255,450, no change from last year. The current balance is $984,000. The average annual receipts total $140,000.

• Local roads and streets, $50,000, no change from last year. Receipts so far this year have been about $15,000. The current balance is $186,000.

• Economic Development Income Tax, or E.D.I.T. fund, $500,000, up from $450,000 last year. This increase is to allow flexibility when it comes time to purchase right of way for the Waubee Lake Trail.

• Cumulative Capital Improvement, or CCI tax rate, $30,000, no change from last year. Current balance is $72,000. This fund is for any general purpose.

• CCI cigarette tax, $0 additional funding. Current balance is $62,000. This fund is often used to buy police vehicles.

• Cumulative Capital Development, or CCD fund, $100,000, no change from last year. The current balance is $199,000. Receipts this year total $36,000. This fund is used police and fire spending.

• Cumulative sewer fund, $0 additional funding. Receipts this years have been approximately $15,000. The current balance is $123,000.

• River boat fund, $15,000, no change from last year. The current balance is $64,000.

“If we have a need in the year and we don’t have pre-approval to spend the money in the budget, we can always do an additional appropriation as long as we have the money,” Gall said. “This just gives us some money, if we have an emergency, we don’t have to do that right away.”

Marshal Thomas Waikel also appeared with an update on sending Officer Ben Sanders to crime scene investigation classes at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

I.L.E.A. used to cover lodging and meals for students but is no longer providing this service. The council approved an additional amount not to exceed $3,000 for two weeks of food and lodging, on top of the $1,600 for classes and equipment. The additional money will also come out of the department’s unrestricted opioid fund.

Waikel noted the equipment, like a digital camera for photographing crime scenes, will return to the department with Sanders and be used going forward.

For all proposed budgets, a public hearing will take place in October before approval, after which the proposed town budget will go before the Department of Local Government Finance.

The next Milford Town Council meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, in the Milford Community Building.