Westfield City Council OK’s move to second-class city status
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The Westfield City Council on Monday unanimously approved an ordinance to elevate the city to second-class status, making it the fourth Hamilton County city to do so.
The council voted 7-0 to make Westfield a second-class city beginning Jan. 1, 2028.
The change in status means voters in 2027 will elect a city clerk and two additional city council members—one at-large and another representing a sixth district.
Under the plan, the city’s clerk-treasurer position will be eliminated and a newly established city controller will be recommended by the council and appointed by the mayor.
Westfield is eligible to move from third- to second-class city status because it crossed the population threshold of 35,000 that Indiana communities must have to be considered for second-class status.
The city had just more than 21,000 residents when Mayor Andy Cook took office in 2008. Today, Westfield’s population tops 54,000. The city’s growth during that time coincided with increased development, including construction of the Grand Park Sports Campus, which opened in 2014.
Incoming Mayor Scott Willis and a completely new city council will be tasked with preparing Westfield’s transition to second-class status. Willis is a current member of the Westfield City Council.
The vote on Monday was the second time the Westfield City Council considered elevating the city to second-class status.
The council voted 6-1 in June 2022 to reject a proposed ordinance to make Westfield a second-class city. Willis, who will become Westfield’s next mayor on Jan. 1, was the only councilor to vote in favor of the move.
At the time, some council members balked at giving Cook the ability to appoint a city controller if ran for reelection. Cook ultimately decided to retire after serving four terms in office.
Westfield would have become a second-class city at the beginning of 2024 had the city council passed the ordinance last year.
A report into Westfield’s finances published in 2021 by Indianapolis-based consultant Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC recommended the city move to second-class status.
Indianapolis is the state’s only first-class city, which requires a population of 500,000 or more. More than two-dozen cities in the state have second-class status, including three other Hamilton County cities that made the move in recent years due to population growth.
Fishers changed from a town to a second-class city on Jan. 1, 2015, after voters elected the city’s first mayor and nine-member city council in the 2014 election.
The Noblesville City Council voted in 2013 to upgrade to a second-class city, and residents elected the city’s first nine-member council and clerk in 2015. It officially took on second-class status on Jan. 1, 2016.
The Carmel City Council in 2016 voted to elevate the city to second-class status after previous councils twice rebuffed Mayor Jim Brainard’s proposals to upgrade the community. Voters elected a city clerk and two additional council members in 2019.