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$1.6B for almost a million people, 8,000 lane miles of roadway, and 400 square miles is nothing. Cities a fraction of our size have bigger budgets (Denver has an operating budget of almost $4 billion). Everyone is right – We aren’t spending the money on things that matter and we don’t have enough monetary resources to meet our needs on infrastructure, housing, transit service, etc. Municipalities in Indiana have very, very few revenue options. We can’t even collect a local option sales tax!
The reality is that the city of Indianapolis already adds money to infrastructure funding in top of the meager, insufficient amount the state sends along. Lots of money that could go to, I dunno, public safety.
If the Republican caucus really cares about infrastructure funding, they’d be showing their displeasure with their fellow Republican officeholders at the Statehouse who control the purse strings and sit on their hands when it comes to road funding for Marion County.
Maybe if you’re not happy with the state of roads in Marion County, go primary Freeman or Speedy or McGuire or Young.
interesting comment by Councilor Boots…the city needs to get more creative in revenue sources…
well, Councilor, seems you’e one of the folks who are in place to lead that creative movement. What are your proposals? You are They…let’s hear what you have to say.
I always love hearing Republicans complain about revenue for infrastructure, when they’ve been doing their best for decades to deprive Indy and Marion County of the very revenue needed to repair the infrastructure. The last thing Republicans care about is crime and alternatives to helping folks…what they really want are nice paved streets and sidewalks in their neighborhoods, and nice streets to drive home to away from the jungle they percieve downtown.
Want more revenue? Stop the candidates for governor from racing each other to the bottom on propert tax reduction. Revise the state allocation for roads to a more equitable basis for the more populated, more paved counties. It is about the money. It’s all about the money. Money buys the things citizens want to have, but seem reluctant to pony up to pay the bill.