Indianapolis budget passes without Republican support
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Mayor Joe Hogsett's "budget magic" era has come to an end.
Driving the news: The Indianapolis City-County Council passed Hogsett's $1.6 billion 2025 budget Monday night but, for the first time in years, support was not bipartisan.
- The vote was 16-9, with three Democrats joining the council's six Republicans in voting against it.
Between the lines: Monday night's vote is a marked departure from last year, when just a month out from a contentious election, Hogsett still had support from council Republicans and passed the budget unanimously.
- Hogsett is already under pressure from the council, which has launched an investigation into his office's handling of sexual harassment complaints against administration employees.
What they're saying: "I voted for a Democrat mayor's budget during an election year last year because I thought that was the right thing to do," Republican Paul Annee said during Monday night's vote.
- "I don't think it's the right thing to do anymore, because we have seen time and time again things like urban forests, housing — maybe not traditionally Republican issues — that community members are coming to us and saying, 'We want action and we're not seeing it.'"
Reality check: Despite the criticism from both sides of the aisle, councilors made no changes to the spending plan Hogsett introduced in August.
The big picture: Hogsett's $1.6 billion 2025 budget proposal includes raises for many city employees, new investments in pedestrian safety and the creation of a new Animal Care Services agency.
- It also spends $50 million in tax increment financing bonds on pedestrian improvements to Georgia Street and the underpasses along Capitol Avenue and Illinois Street at Union Station.
Zoom in: Republicans focused much of their criticism on infrastructure issues, such as the poor condition of the city's roads and sidewalks, while Democrats hammered Hogsett on underfunding the arts and failing to allocate money to protect urban forests.
After the vote, Hogsett praised the budget's passage in "a year of tight revenue growth."