[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6477002,"mediaKeyId","5713947-bc8c20fd77b0536dafac4fddbe7785e8","parentId",5713947,"title","Sheriff Forstall defends 2026 budget; heated public comment urges end to ICE detentions at county jail","audioSeconds",5803,"startMs",2448000,"endMs",8251000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5713947-bc8c20fd77b0536dafac4fddbe7785e8&start=2448&end=8251","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5713947-bc8c20fd77b0536dafac4fddbe7785e8/thumbnail_2448000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6477002/Indianapolis-City/Marion-County/Indiana/Sheriff-Forstall-defends-2026-budget-heated-public-comment-urges-end-to-ICE-detentions-at-county-jail","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6477002-6b2e9e70c46572bd70c38420432a0eab/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157593&Signature=RUrea8wndrHRcvGgKac6FUMYTDCWpE6XEAQRWMrWZR~cCb7QBxvUyGS1CqJfbfSQK9nGXkDN~wd9YEDM1YpZU0VimfVhaNcuh2mZdtoFrSSY4HoLLEM8u4V2gfPr3d5ikS9C~fMhdw~Ugbgdf8RefasjFCiYes0V-~0z64s66~ZsFgWNHF8tKiyZFOSO0J-oae03PwN2eKieloH7ocddiQK5EuLcF-abkkuoOqbRlbGog9Wwe~eLBXasgf5gcyERbW7vrF-5Vd6td2EXnzIcCxl6wY6JJ9x-LVpYO7JHKyfDYpCBMra36~djj85i6Wt4IP2eNwaH7zogLAmAsVrq9A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Indianapolis, IN","date","2025-09-03T00:00:00Z","article","Sheriff Carrie Forstall and Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Chief Financial Officer Callen Carr presented the agency’s 2026 proposed budget to the City-County Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee on Sept. 3, 2025. The presentation prompted extended council questioning and sustained public comment focused on ICE detainees held at the Marion County Adult Detention Center (ADC), jail conditions, inmate deaths and staffing.

CFO Callen Carr told the committee the sheriff’s office is proposing increases to staffing in the 2026 introduced budget and described three budget columns for comparison: the 2025 adopted budget, a projected 2025 revised budget, and the 2026 introduced budget. Carr said the agency’s budget development prioritized staffing: the 2026 proposal includes an increase of 55 detention-deputy full‑time equivalents and a total headcount in the introduced budget of 881 FTEs (535 assigned to the ADC, of whom 307 are detention deputies). Carr said the increased staffing is intended to reduce overtime reliance and help meet recommendations from a KPMG staffing study.

Sheriff Forstall described programs and services at the ADC and defended the agency’s practice of housing federal detainees. “We house the federal prisoners, and that's all that we do,” Forstall said, adding that the facility keeps ICE detainees in separate housing units and that the federal government pays for medical care for those detainees. Carr and the sheriff also described ongoing efforts to improve in-jail medical and behavioral-health services, including a pilot with Eskenazi Health and a comprehensive MAT program (COSUP) funded in part by grants and opioid-settlement funds; MCSO reported adding SUBLOCADE as an option in the jail’s medication-assisted-treatment mix.

The committee’s questions ranged across staffing, contract costs, revenue and legal obligations tied to federal detainees. Council members pressed the sheriff on whether the county has legal discretion to refuse federal detention requests; Forstall repeatedly cited a directive from the state attorney general and said his position was driven by that legal guidance. He told the committee that, while other states or cities (a councilor cited Illinois) may decline federal requests, the sheriff was following Indiana law as interpreted by the attorney general’s office.

Public comment after the presentation was extensive and sharply critical. More than two dozen speakers urged the committee and the sheriff to end contracts that result in the detention of immigrants. Speakers included civil-rights lawyers, pastors and local advocates who alleged limited access to counsel, language barriers, prolonged detention without scheduled immigration hearings, harsh conditions (including allegations that some cells or rooms are kept with lights on continuously and that detainees have been awakened as early as 3 a.m.) and inadequate assistance in preparing immigration paperwork. Several public speakers urged the committee to use the budget (the “power of the purse”) to withhold funding until the sheriff stops housing federal detainees or cancels contracts with federal marshals or ICE. One public commenter asked the committee to “use your power of the purse, to reject the sheriff's proposed budget, until and unless he commits to not being an agent, not being an instrument of the Trump administration's cruel regime,” a plea echoed in multiple public statements.

Councilors raised specific operational concerns as well. Councilor Carlos Perkins said his office’s research identified six in-custody deaths over the past year and asked, “This puts us at roughly a person dying inside our jail every 60 days. What is your plan to address this crisis and to avoid people dying in our jail?” Sheriff Forstall pointed to suicide-prevention advocates, medication-assisted-treatment programs and screening as measures the office uses to reduce risk but acknowledged smuggling and intoxication at intake remain hard to eliminate.

Other topics discussed included unpaid revenue from state prisoners (a councilor raised an estimated $1.7 million owed by the state), recent grant losses (a state J-RAC award of about $275,000 was not continued for 2026), and a planned reduction in private-security contracts to achieve fiscal savings. CFO Carr said the sheriff’s office projects a 2026 introduced total budget in the same range described to the committee; committee materials included the 2025 adopted total and a revised 2025 projection. The sheriff’s office said the ADC houses roughly 2,400 inmates and that the agency is negotiating with Eskenazi Health for possible medical services at the ADC; if Eskenazi does not assume those services, the office said it will seek proposals from private vendors and that those proposals could exceed $20 million.

The meeting did not produce a committee vote on the sheriff’s budget. Several councilors urged legal review of the attorney general’s directive and discussion with the city law department to determine whether local action could alter the county’s obligation to house federal detainees. Council members also suggested restoring and expanding local legal-defense funding and other wraparound services for immigrants.

Why this matters: The budget and operational choices at the Marion County Adult Detention Center affect detainees’ access to courts, medical and mental-health care, and the county’s fiscal position. The public comment record shows strong community concern about housing ICE detainees, transparency, legal access and in-custody deaths, issues the committee said it will continue to examine.

Speakers at or directly referenced in the presentation included Sheriff Carrie Forstall; CFO Callen Carr; and council members and public commenters who questioned operations and legal obligations. The committee did not vote on the sheriff’s budget during the session.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City Council of Indianapolis, IN - Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee","oneSentenceSummary","Sheriff Carrie Forstall and Marion County Sheriff’s Office CFO Callen Carr presented the agency’s 2026 proposed budget to the City-County Public Safety Committee on Sept. 3, 2025, drawing extended council questioning and sustained public comment about ICE detainees, jail deaths and conditions at the Marion County Adult Detention Center.","taxTitle","Indianapolis City, Marion County, Indiana","taxId",3627,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6477006,"MESA presents 2026 priorities: staffing, accreditation and radio upgrades for emergency communications",2240,176000,2416000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5713947-bc8c20fd77b0536dafac4fddbe7785e8&start=176&end=2416","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5713947-bc8c20fd77b0536dafac4fddbe7785e8/thumbnail_176000.jpg","/articles/6477006/Indianapolis-City/Marion-County/Indiana/MESA-presents-2026-priorities-staffing-accreditation-and-radio-upgrades-for-emergency-communications","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6477006-e5820ad3c385ef1712db299d63d2beaf/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157593&Signature=N1-4MNlsbCGcTRL74D~3ph6IenNreXo6~6C5xyQF0qikNYJcpDjPJGJWiZfHE3ByJlCE~QiGWyVbQow4lDOLlelwZEW-xsHm9qMCiJNjO3sryuZVze4U0gLa~aO7tG6aThzsIHdqMZ7qeXvmw399uh2~3BTrcDKoalSqua5FylHoYIU~12mrZk~EVnojt9QY2HIm~1SHjgbq7zDEdfWPwp1SEI8ldjg3hO3KaSDAhrCX118do8isCJVZUq8HIjarTIFW3w3a7ksH8q2gloVumDYXLRSaJqTqaI6boz8JlSaZxecb2Z1Bj2dIn2sTYPtYNeYbZkfaRrQGnQFoCfgs5g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chief Tom Sullis of the Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) briefed the Indianapolis City-County Council Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee on Sept. 3, 2025, outlining staffing and technology priorities tied to the agency’s 2026 budget request.

MESA told the committee the 9-1-1 center handled roughly 1.6 million calls for service in 2024 and credited telecommunicators with phone CPR instruction that helped save 40 lives and with assisting in four deliveries so far in 2025. Chief Tom Sullis said the agency is working toward nationally recognized accreditation and improved call performance: “Since then, we've definitely decreased that timing. And so far, here in 2025, we are at 15 seconds before we answer that call,” Sullis said, describing the agency’s progress from an average 34-second hold time in 2022.

The nut of MESA’s pitch was that sustaining and improving public-safety communications requires both people and technology. The agency is pursuing CALEA accreditation, seeks to reduce hold times further (noting industry standards from APCO and NENA that 90% of calls be answered within 15 seconds and 95% within 20 seconds), and plans radio-system upgrades, replacement of outdoor warning sirens and dispatch equipment updates.

CFO Frank Barelli walked the committee through budget “characters” (budget categories). He described a modest overall increase in operating funds to support hiring and day-to-day needs, a roughly $7.2 million portfolio of recurring radio-contract costs, and reallocation of contract expenses that made one category look larger year-over-year though the underlying vendor increases were about 3%.

MESA described its funding mix to the committee: a state 9-1-1 telephone service charge collected from phone carriers, a local public safety income tax component, and federal grant funding such as EMPG (which typically covers about 50% of emergency management salaries) and irregular Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) awards. The agency said it received two typical federal grants this year (EMPG and a UASI allocation), and it continues to seek grant opportunities for situational-awareness, backup power and other capital needs. MESA also noted investments in redundancy (battery backups and three new generators) and portable vehicle barriers used to secure large public events.

On workforce, MESA said hiring and retention remain active priorities. The agency reported near-budget staffing levels overall and said its leadership team reflects gender and racial diversity; Chief Sullis told the committee that leadership positions are about 60% female and the executive branch is roughly 49% minority. MESA described outreach at job fairs and community events and cited training, nationally recognized certifications and internal peer-support efforts as retention strategies.

Committee members asked specifically about grant continuity, 9-1-1 wait-time outliers and mental-health triage for crisis calls. Director Andrea Brown of CLCR (the local crisis/behavioral health routing partner) was referenced as providing on-site training and real-time support when available. Sullis said the agency can and does transfer callers to 988 and to community-based crisis teams (CLCR and MCAT) depending on the caller’s needs and the availability of partner resources.

Why this matters: the committee’s decisions on character-level budgeting and support for grants and staffing affect response times for every 9-1-1 call in Marion County and the resilience of the city’s public-safety communications during storms, flooding and large events.

MESA asked the committee to support the 2026 budget allocations that prioritize increased 9-1-1 staffing, modernization of dispatch consoles, radio-system maintenance, and capital improvements that include siren replacements and redundant power systems. The agency also asked to continue pursuing grant funds to offset local costs.

MESA presenters at the meeting included Chief Tom Sullis, CFO Frank Barelli, CLCR Director Andrea Brown, Deputy Director David Schwartz, and Emergency Management Director Jake Spence. The committee did not take a formal vote during the presentation; members said they would follow up with requests for additional data on outlier calls and call-routing figures.","Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency leaders presented a 2026 budget and operations briefing to the City-County Public Safety Committee, highlighting progress on 9-1-1 hold times, plans for CALEA accreditation, investments in radio systems, and reliance on state and federal grants.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6476997,"Public Safety Committee rejects request to add truancy speaker to Oct. 22 agenda",0,8179000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5713947-bc8c20fd77b0536dafac4fddbe7785e8&start=8179&end=8179","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5713947-bc8c20fd77b0536dafac4fddbe7785e8/thumbnail_8179000.jpg","/articles/6476997/Indianapolis-City/Marion-County/Indiana/Public-Safety-Committee-rejects-request-to-add-truancy-speaker-to-Oct-22-agenda","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6476997-36e1617e86221365bd12e87e4a2131a7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771157593&Signature=VI3yQF40jWAcAjqc-u-vYmhmGy~2WIY6aMReT~DxaQBauIY0jXmlRaJ70HQFRUuWYvTjtbBn3qeR704FcQ3kN1pfALmuJIXj8~r4a2faa1aV-dkV-c8LFnTGD6bB3kWIOkCsc0NXAlTlzVX6OnCBJ4fI06W6RGiC0vdiZbGebx~x8B9qFZe-mlSpPLXADKHQzH8dL5Ng2VguqYOTX18zW7qZiJVRAIAzWXvqXlUvmWiZkRyCSuav~vtt1G572ZFIpZbFV4g9GZ3EdmW0hTbzOo8ssyIbU2Zm1H3fQJqPS1LTLcgFqadRrJLF7Q5WJwVXv8H1goE0JZtzB4xUqsySVA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Councilor Michael Paul Hart moved to add James Taylor, director of student services at Moorhead Community Service Center (Warren Central Schools), to the Public Safety Committee’s Oct. 22 agenda to discuss truancy and juvenile crime. The committee held a roll-call vote after debate about precedent and agenda management. The chair said he routinely receives requests and had denied this one; supporters said the topic merited review but many members said the committee’s calendar and rules limit unscheduled visitors during regular business.

The motion failed on a roll-call vote. Committee members who opposed the request cited meeting length and precedent; proponents said the subject relates to oversight of courts and juvenile justice and could be handled in a separate education or ordinance-driven forum.

Why this matters: The committee discussed whether to create space for community experts to present on policy-relevant topics. Members suggested other avenues — including the education committee or a formal ordinance — as preferable formats for detailed policy discussions.","A motion to add a community speaker requested by Councilor Hart to discuss truancy and juvenile crime was defeated on a roll-call vote after members expressed concerns about meeting management and precedent.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Sheriff Forstall defends 2026 budget; heated public comment urges end to ICE detentions at county jail

MESA presents 2026 priorities: staffing, accreditation and radio upgrades for emergency communications

Public Safety Committee rejects request to add truancy speaker to Oct. 22 agenda