by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, Esq.

I’ve always been a big Shakespeare fan. Years ago, I even got to take the stage in Henry VI, playing King Henry himself — crown, robes, and all. But my love of the Bard doesn’t stop there. I’ve read them all: the ambition of Julius Caesar, the hesitation of Hamlet, the ego and politics of Henry IV, and of course, the chaos of Macbeth.

And from Macbeth comes one of my favorite lines — a line that fits Monday night’s Pike Township Board budget meeting like a glove:

“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
— William Shakespeare

What happened Monday night wasn’t governance. It was theatre. And not the good kind. Think less Royal Shakespeare Company and more community production where half the cast forgot their lines.

Act One — Julius Caesar: Ambition Without Power

The show opened with ambition. The board gave itself a raise. Yes, in the middle of a heated meeting, members voted to bump their own salaries — literally right after passing the budget. But here’s the fun part: under Indiana Code 36-6-6-10 and Indiana Code 36-3 (because Pike falls under Uni-Gov), those raises can’t take effect until the next term of office — 2029. Not exactly a raise. More like Caesar reaching for a crown that isn’t his… at least not yet.

Act Two — Macbeth: Bold Moves, Bad Consequences

Then came Act Two: they cut the fire chief’s salary by $7,000 — because apparently the way to boost public safety morale is to shrink leadership pay. And to really round out the bad optics, they also eliminated funding for one of Pike’s three IT positions, effectively firing someone through the budget. Like Macbeth lunging for a throne on shaky ground, these moves might have felt powerful in the moment — but the disaster was built into the script.

Act Three — Hamlet: Distrust in the Court

Meanwhile, Annette Johnson, the township trustee, spent the night catching rhetorical grenades. The board accused her of failing to collaborate, cited the law requiring her attendance at meetings, and made no secret of their irritation. Johnson pushed right back, accusing board members of bullying her and making it clear she wasn’t about to play along with their performance. This was pure Hamlet — suspicion, accusation, and a lot of talking past each other.

Act Four — Henry IV: Who Actually Holds the Power

Here’s the plot twist: Johnson didn’t just hint she wouldn’t play along — she followed through. She did not sign the budget. And just like in Henry IV, where power doesn’t always sit with the loudest voice in the room, the trustee held the only pen that mattered. No signature, no budget.

Act Five — Henry V: The Council Delivers the Verdict (Sort Of)

Even if she had signed it, the Indianapolis City-County Council would still have had to certify the budget. And let’s be honest: the odds of the Council approving a plan that cuts the fire chief’s pay while giving board members raises were somewhere between “Are you kidding me?” and “GTFOH.” But now they won’t even get that far. The trustee’s refusal means the 2025 budget automatically rolls over.

Epilogue — Out, Out, Damn Boards

Let’s recap this five-act farce:

  • Caesar: The board gave itself a raise it can’t collect for four years.

  • Macbeth: It cut the fire chief’s pay and axed IT.

  • Hamlet: Board and trustee went to war with words.

  • Henry IV: Johnson held the pen — and used it by not signing.

  • Henry V: No budget certification, no changes. Just the old budget rolling over.

All of that sound and fury… and they end up right back where they started. Pike Township didn’t pass a budget. It performed one. Loud, messy, self-important, and ultimately meaningless. Shakespeare would’ve recognized the plot immediately: a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

And as Lady Macbeth might have said — with a modern twist: Out, out, damn boards.
The knives of the press are sharp… and they art dull.

Abdul Hakim-Shabazz is an attorney and publisher of IndyPolitics.org. He once wore the crown as Henry VI — but even Shakespeare’s tragedies didn’t feature this level of municipal budget cosplay.