Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard will introduce to the City-County Council on Monday night a $1 billion budget for 2015 that taps reserves to make ends meet. Next year would be the third year in a row that the city taps fund balances to close a budget deficit.
Indianapolis is reining in costs and dialing back ambition at the new east-side World Sports Park. The park, which will be home to one of the few premier cricket fields in the United States, is coming in about $1 million under its $6 million budget because it will have fewer features than planned.
The Indianapolis City-County Council voted 24-5 Monday night to update the city code on smoke detectors. It also voted 24-5 to spend $8.3 million from the Rebuild Indy fund on emergency road repairs.
Indianapolis City-County Council Democrats want to spend $16 million more on emergency road work. The Democrats oppose Republican Mayor Greg Ballard’s plan for a $150 million bond issue and instead want to tap general and special funds.
A Democrat-controlled City-County Council committee has tabled a proposal to spend $8 million in Rebuild Indy funds to repair thoroughfares hit hard by the brutal winter. Democrats say the project would favor Republican districts.
The Indianapolis City-County Council voted 18-9 Monday night to provide up to $23 million in city financing for the project, with the stipulation that 30 percent of the workers hired to build the 28-story building live in Marion County.
The Indiana University Public Policy Institute is analyzing proposed sites for a Marion County Criminal Justice Complex and may reveal its findings by the end of this week.
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, in his annual State of the City address Thursday night, went through a checklist of potential projects while exhorting citizens to become ambassadors for the city.
Marion County Sheriff John Layton faces heavy criticism from two challengers, Republican Emmitt Carney and Democrat Mark Brown.
The city spent about 70 percent of its annual budget on just the first 10 days of the year. With the Department of Public Works’ Indy Snow Force scheduled to work on the latest snowfall through 11 p.m. Tuesday, the city is nearing its cap.
Indianapolis had its bond rating cut from AAA to AA this week by financial rating service Standard & Poor's after the city dipped into reserve funds to balance its budget. Two other major ratings services retained the top rating.
The City-County Council will decide Monday whether to create a committee to scrutinize the Regional Operations Center, which Public Safety Director Troy Riggs vacated in September over safety concerns.
Indianapolis will rely more on public-private partnerships to hammer out long-term goals for neighborhoods, after laying off half its long-range planning staff.
City-County Council Democrats are pitching a 2014 budget alternative that would close an $8-million gap left by the majority party's refusal to go along with Mayor Greg Ballard on eliminating the homestead tax credit.
Mayor Greg Ballard will introduce a $1 billion budget for 2014 Monday night that chops the Marion County Sheriff’s spending and once again hinges on a complicated reshuffling of tax revenue.
Facing pressure to boost the police force and avoid further cuts in city services, Indianapolis leaders head into the next budget season with open minds about a tax increase.
The Indianapolis Department of Public Safety could save $8.6 million over the next five years by replacing 1,035 non-patrol vehicles with plug-in electric hybrids, according to an internal review released Tuesday.
More than 100 uniformed police officers will be deployed within weeks on Indianapolis' streets to combat a rise in violent crime, under a plan unveiled by the mayor and other city officials.
Jason Dudich is already familiar with the financial workings of the city. He was Ballard's budget director and deputy controller from February 2008 to August 2010.
The city will lose its controller a few months before the 2014 budget is due to be presented to the City-County Council.
