Mayor Josh Huddlestun hosts City of Hobart’s State of the City 2026 address with the community

On Wednesday, April 1, the City of Hobart gathered with leaders and residents in the community to recap the past year and look ahead during its annual State of the City address.

Hobart Mayor Josh Huddlestun opened the presentation by thanking the community for coming out. He also shared his appreciation with the City of Hobart departments who are committed to making the city a better place.

“These guys give me direction and lay it all out for me,” Huddlestun said. “They’re dedicated individuals. When we call them, or when we need them, they show up. I’m truly blessed to have a really strong council that puts the community first, steps up when they need to, and shows up when I call them. I’m on the phone with them constantly updating them, and they’re updating me, seeing the direction they want to go.”

The presentation opened up with Huddlestun recognizing a couple City of Hobart employees for their dedication to the community of the past years. The Legacy of Service Award was presented to Sapper’s Market & Greenhouses. The Unsung Hero Award was presented to Marisa Turner. The Community Impact Award was presented to Ryan Johnson. The Employee of the Year Award went to Enrique Lopez.

Financial stability has continued to rise over the years in the City of Hobart, climbing from $430,522 in 2023 to $14 million in 2025. The assessed value growth has increased by over $128 million. When it comes to building and planning for the community, the City of Hobart issued 3,310 permits, 1,139 contractor licenses, 1,771 inspections performed, and $129,515 in licensing fees collected. Residential permits climbed by 100 more in 2025 than the year prior.

Huddlestun noted that home sales are far outpacing the national average with an 11% increase since 2023. This includes a 6.14% increase from 2024-2025, as opposed to the national increase of 1.8% according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

There are plenty of recent developments and renovations, including the commercial aspect, to be excited about in Hobart.

“Steinhafel’s Furniture took over an abandoned building and they renovated it,” Huddlestun said. “They are a company based out of Chicago and Wisconsin, and we’re excited to welcome them in. We love that new companies like Starbucks are coming in, but we also like the fact that Daifuku is expanding in our community. They didn’t just make one investment; they made an additional investment into our community, adding 400 jobs. With lineage – a $180 million expansion – this is another example of an investment development that is reinvesting into our community projects and grants.”

Projects such as the Clean Community Program and the Sanitary Sewer Maintenance Program are helping to keep the community sustainable and sanitary. The City of Hobart also utilized some grant funding to support projects that put the residents more at ease.

“We received a Community Crossing Matching Grant (CCMG), and $1.5 million of that was used for a good portion to pay for Wisconsin Street,” Huddlestun said. “We converted our street lights to LED street lights, which is awesome for us. We know that street lights help reduce crime, so it’s a great safety measure.”

Between streets and sidewalks, about 14 segments of roads and 3.21 miles have been worked on through developments that came out to $515,696.75. Recycling has increased by more than 32 tons over the past year.Public Works have tallied up 119 tons of yard recycling, 1,749 curbside pickups, 77 tons of scrap metal, 1,371 gallons of recycled paint, and a combined 834 tons from the spring and fall cleanup.

“These guys are the backbone of our community,” Huddlestun said. “Those are the guys that plow all night long. Those are the guys that pick up the leaves. Those are the guys that pick up the garbage.”

Other members of the Hobart community’s backbone are the Police and Fire Department. More than 26,900 calls for service were made to the Police Department over the past year. Recently, the Police Department was awarded a $488,000 grant that will go towards the purchase of body cameras. Officers completed more than 10,935 hours of training in the past year. The Fire Department received 5,786 calls for service, including 3,991 calls for Emergency Medical Services. This is a team that is medically trained top to bottom, with 65% of the staff being certified paramedics. The Fire Department was also awarded with a NIPSCO Fire Prevention Grant.

Huddlestun also highlighted some of the biggest achievements for the Parks Department over the past year.

“Our Parks Department has hit it out of the park in terms of programming,” Huddlestun said. “One of the things that our community asked for was more programming. They wanted more programming, after-school stuff, summer camps, spring break activities – they wanted more and more from our community, so we delivered them. We expanded Makers Monday, Arts in the Park Days, Run For Your Life 5K and Haunted Trail, Merry Mini Makers Market, and fall break camp and day camps. Our Parks Department is small, but they do a lot for us.”

Our parks department is small. We have 2026 parks, roughly and very few employees, and they do a lot with as little as they have. So it’s important

Huddlestun also reviewed some annual statistics for the Maria Reiner Senior Center. More than $25,000 was fundraised and over $12,800 was donated towards the facility.

Moving forward, Huddlestun is optimistic about the direction that the Hobart community is headed. The City of Hobart has an opportunity to give the residents an experience that’s never been provided for them before.

“I can tell you, as I stand here today, the state of the city has never been stronger,” Huddlestun said. “You can’t argue with where we’re at financially. You can’t argue that our police aren’t more productive. Our fire departments have higher staff, and code compliance is on the rise. Our state of our city is strong. I’m extremely proud that we are, for the first time in our history, going to be able to deliver relief to our residents.”

The City of Hobart’s State of the City address this year was an opportunity to show the community that they are financially sound, with dedicated employees and a culture of doers. By taking a proactive approach, it has led to an increase in home values, cash reserves, police productivity, and developments – both residential and commercial. This is a community that strives to be clean and reliable for its residents, and Huddlestun can’t wait for what’s next.

For more information on the City of Hobart, you can visit cityofhobart.org.