UPDATE: Council OKs spending $13M on pandemic relief funds
The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday night approved a measure to appropriate about $12.9 million from the city’s general fund for a variety of pandemic-related uses.
City-County Council
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City-County Council plan would fight food access, insecurity issues
Proposal 337 could move the needle forward on food insecurity and access problems by creating a structure that brings together and guides stakeholders already working on solutions.
Pharmaceutical manufacturer seeks $6.5M tax abatement for Indianapolis plant
A City-County Council committee on Monday advanced a proposed tax abatement for a pharmaceutical company that plans to spend $72 million to build a new facility near the Indianapolis International Airport.
City-County Council gives final approval to 2021 budget
Also, in a late-Monday vote, the council approved a controversial proposal that calls for adding four civilians to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department General Orders Committee.
Proposal offers city employees early retirement ahead of expected 2022 revenue declines
Of the city-county’s workforce of about 7,000 employees, 724 are eligible for the early-retirement program.
Republican council members call for repeal of mask mandate in Marion County
The Republican Caucus of the Indianapolis City-County Council said Thursday that it plans to introduce a resolution calling for the repeal of the county’s pandemic mask requirement. It called the order an “overreaching mandate.”
Council imposes penalties on vendors that don’t meet minority-contracting goals
The changes would allow officials to withhold payments from vendors, terminate their contracts or ban them from future city contracts if they don’t comply with the program.
City-County Council approves financing plan for convention center expansion
The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday night voted unanimously to issue up to $155 million in bonds to pay for an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center at Pan Am Plaza.
City government workers not as diverse as residents they serve
Indianapolis city-county government has work to do recruiting and retaining more minority employees—particularly Hispanic workers—if its staff is going to reflect the population it works for.
Council considers penalties for vendors that don’t meet minority-contracting goals
The proposal gives more power to the Office of Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business Enterprise in ensuring city contractors work to meet the city’s goals for utilizing minority-owned, women-owned, disabled-owned and veteran-owned businesses.
Council panel advances financing proposal for Indiana Convention Center expansion
The full City-County Council is expected to vote on the proposals next month. After that, the financing will need to be approved by both the Metropolitan Development Commission and the Indianapolis Bond Bank.
Council steers $16.3M in federal funds toward rent assistance, masks
The funding comes from roughly $168 million that Indianapolis received from the federal government to respond to COVID-19 needs.
Councilors debate future of Blue Indy assets, reject proposal to waive buying option
A City-County Council committee this week killed a proposal requesting the mayor and his administration waive the city’s option to purchase Blue Indy’s charging stations and kiosks.
IndyGo seeks $25.8 million bond to purchase 27 hybrid buses
The Indianapolis City-County Council’s Municipal Corporations Committee voted 7-2 Wednesday night to advance the proposal to the full council.
City-County Council committee approves $5.3M bond for library upgrades
The money would be directed toward needs at the West Perry, Pike and Nora branches, plus the library’s Center for Black Literature and Culture digital project.
Proposed pilot program would distribute public safety grants based on district need
The program’s aim is to provide funding to not-for-profit organizations with new or existing programs that show a potential to reduce crime or provide resources to reduce crime in Marion County.
Council approves rezoning for south-side apartment project
Roughly 22 acres on the northern half of the 104-acre site would be reserved for a multifamily project by Sheehan Development Co. Inc. that would include 320 apartments.
Council seeks ‘Black Lives Matter’ message on Indiana Avenue, commission on Black males
The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday passed a resolution to paint a message on Indiana Avenue condemning racism and inequality. It also proposed the creation of the Indianapolis Commission on African American Males.
Indy Council passes resolution declaring racism a public health crisis
The council on Monday night also approved the mayor’s plan to to immediately deploy nearly half of the $168 million it has received in federal coronavirus relief funds to help residents and businesses that have been affected by the pandemic.
Vop Osili: Riots must shake us out of the status quo
We can and will address the concerns of citizens and business owners grappling with the damage to public and private spaces caused by last weekend’s violence. But we cannot do so without simultaneously wrestling, and besting, the historically tolerated race disparities that lie at the heart of that violence.