3030
Weekly update #274 4/20/2025 to 4/26/2025
Thirty days to over 30 years is still a powerful moment of hope. Before that, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
Several meetings this week involved what the impact of Senate Bill 1 will look like on schools, libraries, counties, cities, and taxing entities around the state. While we will not know the exact impact immediately, it will unfold over time, and we will see reductions in funding with the next budget cycle here in Seymour. Before the end of the session, the state also changed the funding formula for one of our better road funding programs, Crossroads Community Matching Grants. My understanding of the new formula is that the first round, which is open to everyone, will now be limited to $100 million. Then the next $100 million will be earmarked for specific types of projects and Indianapolis. The remaining available funds will only be available to communities and counties that have implemented a wheel tax. While the extra funds from a wheel tax for road work would be appreciated, I don’t care for the state making this a requirement to be eligible for funding. I am sure both items I have mentioned in the paragraph will be adjusted in the coming session, as they find unforeseen issues arise during the implementation process. Thank you to the team at Accelerate Indiana Municipalities for all the work you put in this session, trying to watch out for cities and towns.
Did you make it out to celebrate Arbor Day with us at Harmony Park? If not, you missed out on a fun time learning about trees, playing some tree bingo, winning door prizes, eating pizza, and dodging rain off and on. The tree board, along with several Seymour departments, hosted again this year and had a good time educating community members, along with various partners who came out for the event. Stop by City Hall and pick up a flyer about what the tree board works on and see how you can get involved. Thank you to everyone who came out and all who organized this year’s Arbor Day event.
Time to get back to that opening thought about 30 days and over 30 years. Three years ago, at the first Recovery Recognition dinner, one of the most powerful moments for me was when they had those living in long-term recovery stand and be recognized. One in attendance was over 30 years in recovery. Just that alone is an amazing accomplishment and deserves to be remembered. That, though, was just the beginning, as it was noticed that someone at his table was just 30 days into their recovery. If sitting with someone who is over 30 years into their recovery doesn’t provide hope that recovery is possible to the person at the 30-day mark, nothing will. This week, I had a chance to attend the third annual Recovery Recognition Dinner hosted by 180 RCO. During the first dinner in 2023, 180 RCO didn’t even have a name or was much more than a thought in the minds of those who would band together to get started. During my comments this year, I focused on a quote the Jacobs brothers shared in their book Life is Good, “What we focus on grows.” For the group at the dinner, focusing on the world of recovery isn’t a stretch. Many in attendance focus on their own personal recovery but have gone on to serve the community in various ways connected to recovery. Others in attendance have found their way to the group because of family and friends. Regardless, all have some sort of experience with substance use disorder and the troubles that come with it. Now they focus on recovery. I am proud to see how our recovery community has improved over the last several years and look forward to seeing what the future holds.