Indianapolis controller leaving for education group
The city will lose its controller a few months before the 2014 budget is due to be presented to the City-County Council.
Local Government
Articles
City struggles to close gap on $30M in budget cuts
Indianapolis leaders made a pact to cut 5 percent from the already-adopted 2013 budget, but the reality might prove too difficult to stomach.
Tough times didn’t spur spike in poor relief
Heading into the 2008 recession, Center Township sat on $10.5 million in cash, but sky-high unemployment and rising poverty over the next four years failed to drain those funds, and the disconnect persists in several area townships.
As city budget tightens, Center Township trustee has money to burn
IBJ SPECIAL REPORT: Center Township lowered its bank balance in 2012, to $6.7 million, but the biggest checks Trustee Eugene Akers wrote weren’t for emergency needs like food or shelter, the township’s main mission.
Mayor Ballard accepts fate of mass-transit bill
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard sat out an April 2 hearing on mass transit because he knew the issue would be shifted to the Legislature’s back burner.
RACE: Zoning overhaul might not go far enough
Indy Rezone won’t change the city’s timid approach to planning.
Local leaders give chilly reaction to Pence’s proposed tax cut
Members of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns say they would rather see money poured into road repairs.
State audit finds Beech Grove finances in disarray
Mayor Dennis Buckley requested the audit in March 2012 after uncovering a range of problems, including missing files and delinquent loans in the Main Street program.
Land bank bill likely heading for study committee
Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, said his bill on land banks may have tried to tackle too many issues involving abandoned housing, including Indiana’s tax-sale process.
Ballard plans to strengthen panhandling ordinance
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard wants to ban all forms of panhandling in the city's busiest downtown area following long-running complaints from convention officials and city boosters about people begging for money along downtown streets.
Ballard plans new redevelopment effort for Market Square site
Mayor Greg Ballard, in his annual State of the City speech scheduled for Friday, plans to call for new proposals for the downtown site that previously was home to Market Square Arena. The city expects the proposals to include a high-rise building with a major retail component.
Judge turns away challenge to smoking ordinance
A federal judge has denied a challenge by bar owners to a smoking ordinance passed last year by the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council.
Councilor’s party switch shrinks Democrats’ edge
City-County Councilor Jose Evans, twice elected as Democrat, announced Tuesday he would become a member of the Republican Party and caucus with Republican councilors, taking the Democratic majority from 16-13 to 15-14.
Charter schools bill would strip Indy council’s authority
A bill moving through the state legislature would remove the City-County Council’s ability to veto mayor-sponsored charter schools.
City mulls creation of ‘high tech district’ for ExactTarget
ExactTarget Inc. could get a 10-year tax break on an unspecified investment in new equipment if the City-County Council agrees to designate several parcels tied to the Indianapolis-based company as a "high technology district."
Ballard postpones India trip
Trade mission will be rescheduled following bomb blasts that killed 11 in sister city.
City reports rise in parking meter profit, revenue
Indianapolis estimates it earned about $1 million more from parking meters in 2012, with meter revenue almost doubling from the previous year, the Department of Public Works announced Thursday.
Drywall contractor charged with underpaying employees
An Indianapolis drywall contractor faces criminal charges that he underpaid his employees working on a government housing project, and then falsified documents to cover it up, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.
Indiana town takes unusual step to gain control of utility
Mooresville’s bid to purchase water operations likely will be decided in court.
Mass-transit measure passes key House hurdle
The House Ways and Means Committee cleared the bill, which would allow voters to decide whether to add 0.3 percent to local income tax rates to pay for a proposed central Indiana mass-transit system.