City-County Council divided on issues, but passes budget
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Money doesn't grow on trees — and the city of Indianapolis doesn't have enough to protect them.
The big picture: The City-County Council passed its $1.7 billion 2026 budget Monday night.
- The spending plan is largely unchanged from what Mayor Joe Hogsett introduced in August.
- It makes investments in public safety and roads, but little else, as the city grapples with the ramifications of a property tax reform bill passed by the Indiana General Assembly earlier this year that slowed the growth of tax dollars collected by local governments.
- The city faced a $43 million hole when it began the budget-writing process, which it closed with a combination of small cuts to most department budgets and by increasing fees for services such as licensing, permitting and inspections.
Friction point: The Indiana Forest Alliance has been vocal and present throughout the budget process, pushing the city to spend more on protecting urban forests.
- Councilor Michael-Paul Hart unsuccessfully tried to amend the budget proposal to move $2 million from the Office of Public Health and Safety for urban forest preservation.
- The money would have come from grants that OPHS administers for violence reduction. Hart said he has not seen sufficient evidence the programs the grants support are effective.
- Several councilors said they supported the idea of forest preservation, but not stripping the money from OPHS to do it.
What they're saying: Councilor Jared Evans pounded his desk as he blamed the state for the budget constraints the city faces, calling it "craziness."
The bottom line: The budget passed without the council's six Republicans and two Democrats — Jesse Brown and Crista Carlino, who have been two of the most outspoken critics of Hogsett during the sexual harassment scandal involving the mayor and others in his administration.
- Several other councilors who supported the budget specifically spoke out against Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal's decision to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and house immigrant detainees in the local jail.
- "While I will support this budget tonight, I do not support the decision of our sheriff," Councilor Carlos Perkins said.