Westfield's city council voted Monday to approve guidelines for redrawing the city's council districts, kicking off a process that will reshape local government just as officials separately weigh whether to create a Westfield City Court instead of continuing to send local cases to Noblesville. The moves follow a June 2026 special census that recorded more than 64,000 residents in the fast-growing Hamilton County city, well beyond what its current district lines were built for.
The redistricting push stems from Westfield's ongoing transition from a third-class to a second-class city under Indiana law, a shift the city council approved back in 2023 to take effect in January 2028, according to IndyStar. Indiana cities need more than 34,000 residents to qualify for second-class status, and Westfield's population has ballooned from roughly 21,000 in 2008 to over 54,000 by late 2023 before the special census pushed the count past 64,000, according to Inside Indiana Business. That earlier vote, taken 7-0, came after a June 2022 attempt to make the same switch failed 6-1 under then-Mayor Andy Cook, with current Mayor Scott Willis casting the lone vote in favor at the time.
New Districts, New Council Seats
Under second-class status, Westfield will move from seven to nine council seats, split between six district councilors and three at-large members, per the same IndyStar report. The city council appropriated $1,770,209 from its General Fund in August 2024 to pay for the federal special census that confirmed the population jump, according to a Westfield ordinance filed with the city's civic records portal.
Patrick Tamm, appointed as the city's redistricting coordinator, was directed Monday alongside the council's unanimous resolution to work with the law firm Kroger Gardis & Regas on drawing the new map, the report notes. Tamm was elected to the council representing District 4 in 2023 after founding the government relations firm Tamm Capital Group, as the Indianapolis Business Journal reported at the time. He is expected to present a draft plan of new district boundaries at a public hearing on September 14, and the council could approve a new map as soon as that same meeting.
Victor McCarty said the current population deviations and oddly shaped districts make redrawing the lines necessary, the outlet's report states. Westfield's current council districts differ in population by around 70 percent, and the new boundaries must contain as equal populations as possible, be composed of contiguous territory, avoid crossing precinct lines, and remain reasonably compact. Members of the public may submit their own redistricting plans, with a deadline of noon on September 9, and the eventual new seats will be filled in a municipal election next year.
Why Westfield Sends Its Tickets to Noblesville
Separately, the council is weighing whether to establish the Westfield City Court rather than continuing to rely on Noblesville City Court, which currently handles fine payments and hearings for traffic tickets and ordinance violations written by Westfield police, according to the City of Noblesville. The council was presented with a draft ordinance to create the court on July 27, but members deferred action until staff can research the costs and logistics involved.
Mayor Willis said that Westfield relies on Noblesville to decide ordinance cases even though the two cities have different ordinances on the books, and he cited zoning and enforcement cases as examples of the kinds of matters Westfield may want to retain locally, per the July 27 remarks reported by IndyStar. He said Westfield has lost some cases that might have turned out differently in a Westfield-run court, and that leaders in neighboring cities consider a local court a good idea. Willis added that he still needed to better understand the startup and ongoing costs before moving forward, saying a Westfield City Court is the right direction for the city.
Indiana law gives city courts jurisdiction over local ordinance violations, infractions, and misdemeanors, but because they are not courts of record, any appealed decisions get retried from scratch in county circuit or superior court, according to a 2015 judicial report published on IN.gov. State statute also limits how often a municipality can act: Indiana Code allows cities to establish or abolish a city court by local ordinance only once every four years, with formal notice required to the Indiana Division of State Court Administration.
The Last Hamilton County Holdout
If Westfield moves forward, it would join Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville as the fourth Hamilton County city with its own dedicated court — Westfield is currently the only city in the county not designated second-class. Fishers converted to second-class status in 2015, while Noblesville and Carmel completed their own transitions in 2016, according to city records reviewed alongside the City of Carmel.
The second-class transition also carries other structural changes. Westfield will add an elected city clerk along with a comptroller appointed by the mayor, while eliminating its current elected city clerk-treasurer position. Willis had already begun preparing the city's executive side for expanded government functions, restructuring Westfield's leadership team into a three-chief model overseeing operations, community development, and staff services in a November 2025 announcement.
