The Indianapolis City-County Council approved a budget Monday night that relies on a $15 million payment from a tax-exempt entity, likely setting the stage for a legal battle, plus difficult negotiations with Mayor Greg Ballard.
The plan—opposed by Republican Mayor Greg Ballard and members of the CIB—now advances to the City-County Council.
Efficiency expert Manny Mendez, who has saved the city $4.9 million since 2008 through Six Sigma practices, is now scouring government operations in search of $15 million more.
Officials in Anderson filed a complaint in Madison County Circuit Court this past week challenging portions of the Fire Department contract that prohibit the city from reducing the department's staff or salaries or putting firefighters on furloughs.
A proposal that would expand a downtown tax-increment financing district to the northeast and northwest was approved Monday by the City-County Council's Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee.
Mayor proposes shifting $10 million out of downtown district to help make up for $65 million general-fund shortfall.
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard’s staff received a collective 18-percent raise this spring following the hiring of a new deputy for education with an annual salary of $120,000.
Public safety and criminal justice are the only places left in the city-county budgets to look for ways to close a $27 million spending gap for 2013. Sheriff, police, fire and court budgets account for 85 percent of the $569 million general fund.
Brian Mahern, a Democrat on the City-County Council, plans to propose a study commission to examine the effectiveness of TIF districts, how property tax caps will affect them, and ways to increase transparency for the complicated financing vehicles.
Officials from the Marion County Sheriff’s Department say they are concerned that a $10 million gap in this year’s budget will hurt their ability to pay critical bills.
In the quarter ended June 30, the city’s share of revenue from parking meters totaled $498,273 compared with $108,265 in the same time frame of 2010, a 360-percent increase.
Indianapolis will shed 200 positions next year to help cut $20 million from non-public safety agencies.
The money would be used as a safeguard to help Indianapolis maintain its AAA credit ratings. But Democrat mayoral challenger Melina Kennedy is criticizing the move.
Democratic mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy unveiled a proposal Friday to set aside $150 million in proceeds from the sale of the city’s water and sewer utilities to fund early education, crime prevention and job training.
Officials at the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance and Indiana University's Indiana Business Research Center say they're launching a system to allow local governments to file their 2012 budgets online.
Indianapolis’ Community Crime Prevention Board awarded a total of $1.7 million in grants, down from $4 million last year, due to the city budget crunch.
Affiliated Computer Services, which struck a deal late last year to manage the city’s parking meters, will begin replacing meters in downtown Indianapolis and Broad Ripple early next month.
Indianapolis spent almost half its 2011 budget for snow removal—$3.4 million—to deal with last week’s ice and snow storms, the city announced Friday morning.
Indy Parks & Recreation officials on Monday issued a request for proposals from entities interested in leasing the Riverside Marina facility near 30th Street and White River Parkway.
The Capital Improvement Board’s controversial spending plan will face its final trial Monday night as the City-County Council takes up the city’s $1.1 billion budget for next year.
