Bargersville has split the cost of its growth into two bills, and each has a date on it. Households already hooked up to town sewer started paying the first phase of a sewer rate increase on Oct. 1, and the second phase starts Jan. 1, 2027. New homes take on the other bill. A park impact fee of $2,730 per single-family house replaces the old $1,850.88 fee on Dec. 9. So two houses at the same list price in ZIP 46106 can come with different costs attached, depending on whether the buyer is getting a resale or a new build.
Dec. 9 Is a Permit Date, and the Fee Ends Up in the Price
The park fee is charged when a building permit is issued, and it applies to all types of new construction. The Daily Journal's report on the ordinance says most homeowners and renters end up paying the developer back for the fee without noticing the cost. The Bargersville Town Council adopted the new schedule on second reading in June. Parks director Kris Wilson said it takes effect Dec. 9.
The jump is $879.12 per single-family home, roughly 47% over the old fee. The schedule also scales the fee by housing type. A two-family dwelling unit pays 95% of the baseline, or $2,594. The ordinance also includes a 5% annual inflation adjustment for construction and material costs, so $2,730 is a starting figure that is set to rise.
The town's study projected 5,928 more building permits by 2034 and over $16 million in collections over the next decade. The new ordinance lets that money go toward hard-surface play areas, multipurpose fields, indoor facilities and operations. Earlier versions were limited to acreage and trails. Wilson framed the fee as a way to keep the costs of growth off existing taxpayers and share them with the development that creates the demand. That is the logic for new construction. Existing homes got a different bill.
The Sewer Bill Changed on Oct. 1
The council passed the sewer increase unanimously in August, and no residents spoke at the public hearing. It comes in two phases of 9% each, for a combined 18.8%.
| Monthly usage | Before Oct. 1, 2026 | Oct. 1, 2026 | Jan. 1, 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000-gallon minimum | $34.19 | $37.27 | $40.62 |
| 4,000 gallons | $54.81 | $59.75 | $65.12 |
The rate study puts the net monthly impact at $10.31 for a 4,000-gallon household, or about $124 a year. At the new rates, a typical Bargersville bill falls between Franklin's $54.03 and Greenwood's $65.38 for the same usage. For anyone comparing south-side suburbs on monthly carrying costs, Bargersville no longer sits at the low end of that range.
The reason the increase is bigger than the new debt payment matters more than the dollar amount. Bargersville bought the Waverly Wastewater Treatment Plant from Morgan County for $6.4 million. With it came a 2019 State Revolving Fund bond that costs about $420,000 a year starting in 2027. The SRF requires net revenues above all senior debt service, which means covering more than the payment itself. The study targets 1.30 times coverage. The rates also make up for inflation since the last increase in January 2023, which the study put at 10 to 12% on its own.
Tap fees stayed at $250. The study says the Waverly plant may get its own separately calculated tap fees, which would be handled apart from this rate study.
What the Rate Study Did Not Price In
The Waverly plant sits on a hill next to the White River and will serve western Bargersville and unincorporated Waverly. Its capacity is 60,000 gallons per day, which the town's sewer master plan says serves less than 100 acres of development. Some future developments in the area will be bigger than the plant can handle. A proposed expansion to 600,000 gallons per day carries a projected cost of $21.55 million spread over five years.
The new rates leave that expansion out. The forecast excludes the plant expansion and counts zero revenue from Waverly customers. An annual budget review will decide whether further changes are needed, and an authorized expansion would get its own analysis. The Jan. 1 rate is the last scheduled step. It does not cap future rates. As of the Oct. 2 council agenda, no expansion authorization had come up.
The Decisions Still Open This Fall
Three items will decide how much growth comes to Bargersville and who pays for it. None had a final answer in the town records available as of early October.
- IronHorse. PulteGroup's proposed 900-acre planned unit development covers State Road 135, Old Plank Road and State Road 144, near Meadowbrook and Three Notch. It includes Pulte single-family homes, a Del Webb 55+ neighborhood and townhomes, with David Weekley Homes and Drees Homes among the residential builders and Lauth Local Development on the commercial side. In August, the PUD review committee asked the petitioner to come back with proposed ordinance language and more detail on the commercial and community pieces. The Sept. 21 Plan Commission packet had no IronHorse hearing on the docket. Council readings were tentatively planned for December if the project gets that far. If it is approved, phase one would start in 2027 and could finish by 2030, with full buildout taking 12 to 15 years.
- The IronHorse financing ask. Pulte's Rex Ramage said there will be a request for a public partnership but that nothing is set. At the June 15 Plan Commission meeting, the town manager said the council wants to see the developer's financial ask and will make no decisions without it. Of the costs in this post, this is the one with no number yet.
- Meadowbrook Area C. Onyx+East asked to change rear-loaded townhomes in Area C from owner-occupied to rental while keeping the approved unit count and density. It also asked for a smaller minimum lot width and front setback. The Plan Commission gave it an unfavorable recommendation on July 20. Ordinance 2026-15 was on the Oct. 2 council agenda for third reading, and the town's meeting record has the outcome.
IronHorse's own proposal adds more infrastructure. It calls for a Baldwin Street extension, roundabouts at the main entrance and at Old Plank Road, looped water mains and an expanded sanitary sewer. Separately, the town's planned roundabout at State Road 135, State Road 144 and County Road 144/Old Plank Road was estimated at $7.2 million, and a January roundup listed 2028 as the expected construction year.
Resale Supply Is Moving Opposite the County
While these decisions wait, the existing-home market in 46106 is tightening, even as Johnson County loosens. Here are the August 2026 figures from the Indiana Association of REALTORS ZIP dashboard and the county reports:
- 46106 inventory: an average of 41 active listings a day in August 2026, down 33% from a year earlier. The dashboard's expected range for the month was 52 to 58.
- 46106 supply and pace: 2.3 months of inventory and 13 new listings in August 2026, with 20 closed sales at a $480,000 median. For the week of Sept. 21, 2026, days on market stood at 22, and the three-week average sale was 96.3% of original asking price.
- Johnson County: MIBOR figures reported by the Daily Journal put the August 2026 median at $325,000, down 1.4% year over year. Available inventory was up 15.5%, and homes spent 22 days on market, six more than a year earlier. The IAR all-residential county report for August 2026 shows 2.6 months of inventory, up 14%, with average daily inventory of 554, up 10%.
Twenty closings in one month is a small sample, so one month of median price in 46106 says little by itself. Inventory is the more reliable signal. Across the county, buyers have more choice than they did a year ago. In Bargersville's ZIP, they have noticeably less. That supply gap is part of why new construction looks attractive to buyers here, and new construction is exactly where the Dec. 9 fee lands.
How Each Bill Reaches Each Buyer
A resale buyer in Bargersville skips the park fee. They do take on the sewer bill on day one. A household using 4,000 gallons a month pays $65.12 starting in January, and future rate reviews tied to Waverly remain possible. That belongs in a monthly budget next to taxes and insurance.
A new-construction buyer gets the same sewer rates plus a park fee that, by the Daily Journal's account, usually ends up in the price paid to the builder. Since the fee is charged at permit issuance, the permit date on a specific lot decides whether the old $1,850.88 or the new $2,730 applies. It is fair to ask a builder whether a permit has been pulled, and whether the quoted price already accounts for the December change.
For land and custom-build buyers in western Bargersville or around Waverly, sewer capacity is the bigger question. A 60,000-gallon-per-day plant serving less than 100 acres means the site's sewer service, and any future Waverly tap fee, should be confirmed before an offer assumes a parcel can be built on at the density you plan.
A Few Questions Buyers Ask
Does the sewer increase apply to every home in town? It applies to Bargersville sewer customers, with a 2,000-gallon minimum bill of $37.27 starting Oct. 1 and $40.62 starting Jan. 1, 2027. Homes on private septic or served by another utility follow their own arrangements, so confirm the service provider for any address.
Is IronHorse approved? No approval had appeared in the town records through the Sept. 21 Plan Commission packet. The project was still in PUD review, with the committee asking for ordinance language. Application documents and concept plans are posted on the town's Citizen Self-Service Portal.
Will the park fee stay at $2,730? The ordinance includes a 5% annual inflation adjustment, so the fee is designed to rise over time.
If you're weighing a Bargersville resale against a new build or a homesite, Amanda Johnson Property Group can lay the sewer bill, the permit timing and the comparable sales side by side and price the property the way an appraiser would. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
