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.

Both proposals were altered from previous versions and passed along party lines, with 18 Democrats voting in favor and six Republicans voting against.

After Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said he would veto a proposal that included a 31% increase in his pay—which hasn’t risen since 2002—councilors amended it to raise mayoral pay beginning in 2028. Hogsett, a third-term mayor who won reelection last year, said he does not plan to run for another term, so the next mayor will be the one to benefit from the pay hike.

The original proposal called for raising the mayor’s average salary from $95,000 to $125,000 per year, but the revised ordinance hikes the salary to $150,000—an increase of 58%.

The current salary lags mayoral compensation in nearby municipalities. Carmel, Zionsville, Noblesville and Fishers all pay mayoral salaries greater than $130,000.

The new measure also elevates pay for other countywide elected officials in 2025, with the assessor, auditor and clerk seeing annual salary raises to $99,500. The assessor currently makes $65,278 and the auditor and clerk make $70,833.

The county coroner’s position will receive a pay hike from $35,649 to $112,000 for full-time work. Part-time coroners will be paid $56,000.

The county recorder, surveyor and treasurer will see salary hikes to $99,500.

Countywide offices haven’t seen raises since 2010.

Pay for elected officials has been a consistent battle through Hogsett’s time in office. City-County Council members made four attempts in seven years to secure a pay raise before increasing annual pay for councilors to about $31,075.

A separate proposal from Republican Josh Bain and Democrat Jessica McCormick that aimed to make Indianapolis one of “the most transparent councils in the country,” according to Bain, was amended and passed after council critiques earlier this month.

The ordinance makes councilor financial disclosures—currently available only through a public records request—easily accessible online. It would also expand the amount of information Indianapolis councilors are required to report about their employer and finances.

Bain and McCormick amended the proposal at the Sept. 19 meeting of the City-County Council Ethics Committee to remove a provision that would have also required councilors to report stocks they own in companies that have conducted business with the city. Bain said Monday that he still believes the stock portion is important, but there were wrinkles to smooth out in the proposal.

Now that the proposal has passed, councilors will be required next year to disclose money received directly through contracts between an employer and the city or through more indirect means. For instance, disclosure of an employer’s tax abatement or other economic development incentives also would be required.

Currently, the form requires councilors to report their own workplace, as well as those of their spouse and children. Additionally, the form asks that councilors report whether they or these family members serve on boards, work for, or own more than a 10% stake in companies that do business with the city. They also must list gifts over $100 or totaling more than $250 that are unrelated to a campaign.