Michael-Paul Hart named new City-County Council GOP leader
Hart, who has represented District 20 on the city’s southeast side since 2019, replaces former Minority Leader Brian Mowery.
City-County Council
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Billboard compromise receives final approval from City-County Council
The proposed ordinance upholds the city’s prohibition on new billboards inside Interstate 465, but allows outdoor advertising companies to relocate a sign within the same parcel of land.
Indy councilors each have a $1M allocation to make improvements in their districts
Allowing each councilor to choose an improvement project is part of an initiative by Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration to invest in roads, parks and dangerous intersections throughout Marion County.
City-County Council committee approves billboard regulation changes
The move is part of a compromise after state lawmakers nearly passed a similar provision into law this year.
Employers can be held responsible for employee misconduct, attorney tells council’s investigative committee
Attorneys from Atlanta-based law firm hired by the City-County Council explained that supervisors and managers are held to a higher standard when it comes to reporting and modeling appropriate behavior in the workplace.
Council committee picks law firm Fisher Phillips for city harassment probe
The Indianapolis City-County Council Investigative Committee voted Wednesday evening to select national law firm Fisher Phillips to conduct an independent investigation into the Hogsett administration’s handling of sexual harassment allegations.
City harassment investigative committee begins law-firm selection process
The City-County Council’s new investigative committee convened for the first time Tuesday evening, with the group hearing an overview of the city’s current sexual harassment reporting process.
Council OKs revised elected-official pay, ethics disclosure ordinances
The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday evening voted to approve two tweaked proposals: one that increases long-stagnant countywide elected official pay and the other requiring councilors to fill out more in-depth, publicly available disclosure forms.
Proposed pay raise aims to attract more election workers in Marion County
A bipartisan City-County Council proposal would raise the pay for absentee voter board workers from $11 an hour to $15 an hour and recommend increased per diem for day-of workers.
Councilors chosen for city sexual harassment probe committee
The committee, which will have the power to subpoena witnesses including members of the Hogsett administration, is made up of five Democrats and two Republicans.
Indy councilors consider more accessible and expansive financial disclosures
For now, disclosure forms bearing councilor workplaces, board memberships and potential conflicts of interest are only available through a records request to the council office.
Hogsett staffer terminated as sexual harassment complaints rise at City-County Building
An administrator at the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development was fired Wednesday after an internal investigation found “overwhelming evidence” of inappropriate sexual misconduct, according to documents released by the city’s attorneys.
Indy Arts Council seeks increase in city funding for not-for-profits
The $1.3 million proposed for the Indy Arts Council will be discussed Thursday during a Parks and Recreation Committee budget hearing.
Mayor Joe Hogsett says he will veto pay-raise proposal if council passes it
City-County Council President Vop Osili has authored a proposal to elevate the Indianapolis mayor’s annual salary by 31%, as well as increase salaries for seven other elected positions.
City-County Council committee advances effort to overhaul sexual harassment policy
The proposal calls for a formal investigation into the city’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against a former top official in the Mayor’s Office, as well as overhauling the way similar claims are handled by city staff in the future.
Hogsett mandates sexual harassment training for all employees
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.
Indy council OKs task force to work toward goal of zero road deaths
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.
City-County Council approves tax district for downtown enhancements
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.
Hogsett’s $1.6B city-county budget proposal includes more support for police, transportation
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.
City-County Council Dems pledge reforms to protect against sexual harassment
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.