Lebanon police headquarters bond question

What a vote means

A yes vote

The city may lease-finance the new station. Ballot: up to $216 a year for a $250,000 home. The mayor projects much less once LEAP district development is on the tax base.

A no vote

The city may not borrow for this project, and a similar question must wait 700 days (350 with a petition). The city has not said what it would do instead.

On the ballot

In full

Lebanon voters are asked whether the city may borrow up to $52.2 million, through a 20-year lease with the Lebanon Public Building Corporation, to design, build and equip a new police headquarters at Meridian and Superior streets. Today's station was built in 1962 and renovated in 2004. The city says it is too small and worn out for a department it expects to grow from about 46-49 to 100 officers. The council chose to put the project to voters rather than wait for a petition.

What is being asked for

Most it could charge

Not stated on the ballot. DLGF and the council resolution give a maximum added debt service rate of $0.1903 per $100 ^[1][2]

Most it could raise a year

$4,454,550 a year of added debt service levy. The maximum annual lease rental is $4,689,000. The principal is up to $52,165,000, plus up to $35,918,413 in interest and fees, for a combined total of about $88.1 million ^[1][2]

For how long

20 years

What it replaces

Nothing. This is new debt for a new building. The city's current debt service levy is $1,645,913, at $0.1019 per $100 ^[2]

On a median home

$250,000 (Boone County Auditor certification) ^[1] — Ballot figure: +$216 a year at the maximum levy ^[1]. Net change vs. today: this is a new levy, so the ballot figure is also the maximum increase on today's bill (our reading). The city's projections, attributed to Mayor Matt Gentry and the city's financial adviser Baker Tilly ^[5][6]: About $152 a year if $1 billion of new commercial value is added; Roughly $30 a year once planned LEAP district investments (Eli Lilly, Meta) are on the tax base. These depend on future assessed values and were not independently verified.

If it passes

• The city may enter the lease, and the building corporation may issue bonds of up to $52,165,000 at an estimated 5.50% interest. The lease runs no more than 20 years, and the added levy may be up to $4,454,550 a year ^[2][1]
• The mayor's timeline (IBJ, June): design over the winter, groundbreaking in late spring 2027 and completion by fall 2028 ^[5]. The design team (CNHI, September) projects 24-27 months of construction after 6-9 more months of design ^[7]
• Debt approved by referendum is outside the 1%/2%/3% property tax caps ^[8]

If it fails

• The city may not enter this lease or issue these bonds. A question on the same or a substantially similar project could not be held for 700 days, or 350 days if a petition is filed ^[8]
• The city has not said what it would do instead. DLZ estimated about $1 million of repairs to keep the current building running, with limitations ^[4]

How it got on the ballot

• In 2023 the city hired DLZ to assess the police headquarters. DLZ found aging systems (roof, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, windows), accessibility gaps and a site too small, and recommended a new building of about 51,000 square feet ^[4][7]
• June 17 and 18, 2026: the Common Council held two public hearings after notice published June 6 in the Lebanon Reporter ^[2]
• June 18, 2026: the council adopted Resolution 2026-22, a preliminary determination to enter into a lease with the Lebanon Public Building Corporation for a project costing no more than $54,215,000. The same night it adopted Resolution 2026-23, choosing under IC 6-1.1-20-3.7(b) to put the project to a referendum on Nov. 3, 2026 ^[2][8]. The OCR'd signature pages appear to show five members voting for, none against and two absent; this is unconfirmed (see gaps). The mayor signed approval of Resolution 2026-22 the same evening.
• Mayor Gentry said the city first planned to hold the vote at the 2027 city election. He said a change in state law limits capital referendums to even-numbered years, and that waiting until 2028 would push the opening to at least 2030 ^[5]
• July 1, 2026: the Boone County Election Board unanimously approved putting the question on the ballot after Mayor Gentry explained it and 'the worst-case scenario for taxpayers' ^[3][2]
• July 10, 2026: DLGF received the question and the auditor's certification. DLGF then approved the language as compliant with IC 6-1.1-20-3.6 (No. 26-040; the date of the order is not legible in the scan) ^[1]

The district's own numbers

• Police staffing: the city cites DLZ data showing growth from 46 officers to a projected 100 within ten years. The mayor told IBJ the department now has 49 officers ^[4][5]
• Space: the current building is 17,310 square feet; the planned building is about 51,000 ^[4]. The design team's assessment found that the current station has ^[7]: about 32% of the public space needed; about 37% of the patrol space needed; about 20% of the training space needed.
• Cost estimates ^[4][7][5]: DLZ: about $44.7 million to build new, or about $1 million for repairs that would leave the building's limitations in place; The project team: about $35 million in hard construction costs, excluding furniture, fixtures and equipment; The mayor hopes for a total of $30-35 million. The ballot amounts are legal maximums.
• Debt measures published at the hearings ^[2]: City debt service equals 0.37% of net assessed value; Overlapping long-term debt of all units equals 16.20% of net assessed value.
• Projected total city debt service rate, if the lease goes ahead: about $0.17 in 2029 and about $0.266 a year in 2030-2036, compared with $0.1019 in 2026 ^[2]

What came before

• The current building at 201 E. Main St. was built in 1962. It once housed city hall, fire, police and other offices, and it became police-only after a 2004 addition. The city says it has spent repeatedly on emergency fixes. A city spreadsheet given to IBJ lists about $135,000 in repairs since 2023 ^[5][6][4]
• No earlier City of Lebanon controlled-project referendum appears in DLGF's historic lists (2009-2025) ^[9]
• Other Lebanon-area referendums ^[9][10]: Lebanon Community School Corporation won construction referendums in 2010 and May 2022; It won an operating referendum ($0.15) in May 2022.

What each side says

Other people's words and claims, not ours, each with the page it came from. Where we found no organised campaign on a side, the page says so rather than inventing one.

Questions worth asking

• What is the expected actual project cost and interest rate, compared with the $52.2 million and $35.9 million maximums?
• How fast will LEAP district assessed value reach the tax base, and what happens to homeowners if it is slower?
• What would the city do about the current building if the question fails?
• How will the new building be staffed and operated, and from what fund?

What we could not find

• The council vote count comes from OCR of the signature pages. Minutes were not reviewed.
• The DLGF determination header says the question was "submitted July 20" but the body says it was received July 10. The order date is illegible.
• The cost of operating and staffing the new building was not found.
• The July 2026 council discussion of property purchases for the site was seen only in an automated meeting summary and is not used.
• IBJ's original URL was not checked; the Indiana Lawyer republication was read.

Sources