The Hogsett administration is currently under scrutiny after three former female employees made harassment accusations against former Chief of Staff Thomas Cook, who served as Hogsett’s close adviser for years despite concerns raised about his behavior.
The City-County Council also approved measures Monday that would require owners of Airbnb and VRBO rentals and dogs not spayed or neutered to register with the city.
The taxing district is expected to generate about $4.65 million a year for downtown-focused efforts in Indianapolis, along with funding the operating costs of the low-barrier homeless shelter planned on the southeast side of downtown.
Mayor Joe Hogsett’s staff stressed, however, that federal American Rescue Plan Act funds are running dry and union contracts are currently being renegotiated—two factors that constrain spending.
Most of the council’s Democratic caucus issued a joint statement Friday morning committing to city human resources reforms in light of sexual harassment allegations against a former top aide to Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett.
Jesse Brown, a first-term Democrat, said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett should resign over his handling of sexual harassment claims against former top aide Thomas Cook.
For the JW Marriott, the fee would be nearly $348,000 a year. For Salesforce Tower, the cost is about $251,000.
An IndyStar investigation reported that Thomas Cook, who served as Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s chief deputy and advised him in other capacities, was accused by three subordinate women staffers of showering them with gifts and attention and then pressuring them toward intimacy.
The proposal would create a permitting system that imposes a $150 annual registration fee and allows the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services to conduct an inspection of the properties.
Over the next six to 12 months, the organization will be scaling up in order to play what one organizer called “offense” in a statewide push for efforts intended to decrease poverty, a root cause of crime.
The City-County Council on Monday evening approved a major piece of the Hogsett administration’s plan to lure a Major League Soccer team to Indianapolis, advancing a proposal for a new professional sports development area intended to fund a soccer-first stadium.
After a three-hour meeting in a room packed with supporters of the Indy Eleven, a City-County Council committee on Tuesday narrowly advanced a proposal for a taxing district on the east side of downtown to support a potential Major League Soccer stadium.
Under the new law, owners of apartments and single-family homes are exempted from the tax unless they decide to opt in to paying the tax, leaving potential for a large decrease in available funds.
The City-County Council’s Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee advanced a tax-abatement proposal Monday that would save Calumet about $129,440 over a four-year term. In return, Calumet has committed to retaining 190 jobs.
Mayor Joe Hogsett’s plan to create an additional professional sports development area in downtown Indianapolis was introduced to the City-County Council on Monday with two additional council sponsors—and questions over the committee assignment for the proposal.
The Hogsett administration has found a sponsor on the City-County Council for the mayor’s plan to create a new taxing district that could be used to fund a new downtown soccer stadium. Without a council sponsor, the measure could not move forward.
Following the mayor’s announcement, some Indianapolis councilors expressed apprehension about abandoning a soccer stadium already in the works. But the council’s majority Democratic leaders have not weighed in.
Jackson, a city-county councilor of 10 years and a not-for-profit CEO, will finish out Sen. Jean Breaux’s term. Democrats will hold a second caucus to determine who will fill Breaux’s place on the November ballot to serve the next four-year term.
The bill, now headed to Gov. Eric Holcomb for consideration, would let some property owners opt out of paying the tax and cap the revenue but let the city expand the district.
Aaron Freeman, a Senate Republican and former Indianapolis city-county councilor, has become known for frequent legislation that seeks to derail policies and plans implemented by Democrat-controlled city-county government in Indianapolis.
