[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-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",6425765,"mediaKeyId","5897201-617456fe18fcf0305e805752e7aa81f0","parentId",5897201,"title","City-County Council adopts $1.7 billion 2026 budget after close votes and failed amendment","audioSeconds",1204,"startMs",1550000,"endMs",2754000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5897201-617456fe18fcf0305e805752e7aa81f0&start=1550&end=2754","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5897201-617456fe18fcf0305e805752e7aa81f0/thumbnail_1550000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6425765/Indianapolis-City/Marion-County/Indiana/City-County-Council-adopts-17-billion-2026-budget-after-close-votes-and-failed-amendment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6425765-432ee36a64ff0a98b95ce3b9e9530775/orig.mp4?Expires=1771091828&Signature=hpOcR-ulJL-iHKRg4J7TWF~k-nuAkOMIaY5-P8QOLGzmx56SHwBlv2rfnIN4HFW9Sp8ph6Lgg9iE94GtdDsfYoXRRuQvPOsWmWrmQIsv0tLewGZz-YA8D29eoigSSzivZLxO1E3emc-iHN3u7WgoahIUwh8vJaW9xsPIBKINSUF4dYfNxxp0QxCLY3WI1ZtuWW-K8ENqxDVmcQJj9c-WXbWCtsuuXmzwvgDhyO2WBEaPibRG4x7JINblMN1hCpRE2tZWFoCLfUDAWhq~1EpOP3x8pbO3D1CnNXioL~-5odD6szGiYKjGsdy2Rws26gXyxGvmp01BvxHIvPoMGU-b~w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Indianapolis, IN","date","2025-10-06T00:00:00Z","article","The Indianapolis City-County Council voted on Oct. 6 to adopt the city'county fiscal 2026 budget, a package councilors said totals about $1.7 billion. The final procedural vote on the balance of the measure passed as Question 9, 17 yays and 8 nays.

Councilor Paul Hart moved a last-minute amendment that would have transferred $2 million from the Office of Public Health and Safety (OPHS) to the Department of Public Works (DPW) to fund urban-forest acquisition and preservation. \"With that, Mr. President, I move on, proposal 2 59 to move those dollars from the Office of Public Health and Safety over to the Department of Public Works,\" Hart said when offering the amendment.

The amendment failed on the floor, 17 nays, 7 yeas and 1 abstention. Several councilors who opposed the amendment said they supported urban-forest preservation but not by cutting funds allocated to community-based violence-prevention and reentry grants. Councilor Brown said he \"cannot in good conscience vote to further defund the elevation grants that are doing such good work in the city,\" while Chairwoman Boots argued the amendment was \"the wrong place and the wrong time\" and proposed pursuing a separate nonreverting fund and governance changes to steward forest-acquisition dollars.

Supporters of the amendment said a dedicated urban-forest fund would deliver tangible community benefits. Hart framed the proposal as a tangible investment, saying the money could \"provide just that\" in terms of nature preserves that benefit mental health, development and community life.

Councilors debated the budget package for more than an hour, raising state fiscal pressures and local priorities. Councilor Nielsen, who led much of the council'side budget engagement, said the council faced \"significant cuts to property tax revenues and future growth\" after state changes and credited collaboration among council and administration staff for finding budget trade-offs. Several councilors referenced Senate Bill 1 as a cause of reduced local revenue.

Opponents criticized the budget for insufficient investment in roads, public-safety equipment and other priorities. Councilor Bean called infrastructure \"by far the number 1 issue\" and said the budget \"guarantees our roads will be worse next year than they are today.\" Others objected to the budget'process and the timing of certain allocations.

To allow councilors with personal or organizational conflicts to abstain on specific parts of the package, the council divided the adoption vote into multiple \"questions\" (1\tthrough\t9) that isolated appropriations for community development grants, public-purpose grants, the Information Services Agency and other departmental allocations. Vice President Brown moved the division and the council approved the procedural motion.

Key committee votes were recorded in committee reports during the session; multiple parts of the budget passed out of committee with varying votes. After the division and sequential votes on those questions, the council adopted the full budget package.

The council also rejected a separate amendment earlier in the meeting to amend other line items and received several public and council-member comments urging additional funding for pedestrian safety, homelessness intervention and urban-forest acquisition.

The ordinance is styled as Proposal 2-59 (2025). Councilors who spoke at length included Councilor Paul Hart (mover of the $2 million amendment), Councilor Jesse Brown, Chairwoman Boots, Councilor Nielsen and Chairmen Robinson and Jones, among others.

Votes at relevant points: the Hart amendment failed, 17 nays, 7 yeas, 1 abstention; the balance-of-package vote (Question 9) passed, 17 yays, 8 nays.

What the council did not do tonight: enact a separate, legally binding forest-preservation fund; instead several members said they would continue negotiations with the administration and seek year-end or other funding paths.

What comes next: The budget ordinance adopted by the council will be implemented by the city'county enterprise, subject to technical corrections authorized by the council later in the meeting to reconcile computational or formatting errors.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City-County Council","oneSentenceSummary","The Indianapolis City-County Council on Oct. 6 adopted the fiscal 2026 budget after rejecting a last-minute amendment to shift $2 million toward urban forest preservation. The full-budget package passed after the council divided the measure into multiple questions to allow recusals and abstentions.","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},6425751,"Council urges AES and regulators to protect ratepayers; resolution passes unanimously",459,5772000,6231000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5897201-617456fe18fcf0305e805752e7aa81f0&start=5772&end=6231","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5897201-617456fe18fcf0305e805752e7aa81f0/thumbnail_5772000.jpg","/articles/6425751/Indianapolis-City/Marion-County/Indiana/Council-urges-AES-and-regulators-to-protect-ratepayers-resolution-passes-unanimously","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6425751-f40ba5f3bfd3e8e5ce61e68a6bbb2da7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771091828&Signature=hE1BWbOlErqp-awulyibDjO556aApzv0a5Ne0m63ByBKHJNVlaEAS7fJ0o43Fnis0~n65urtHrqBEPVj5lsSdgy435nsRw1SicqKICs9t8YD3KRkjDiKMRA8W4JMOs8NtSzdJ1yGBjfpAgRHjFHv~iIVm3hiXvmF9t4FIywWuu0Mhw0qC0lLl4BMyjBWW0Q7kzEYnLaZStvJ0sSebWN8W1dwkOHTdb-ujb6b7d~BBS1V1xeOYoCSVzO2WLh6TbYtdrWvDtUAgEeFd0Av20AkPQDn0-0tof43gd2aNiYAi3zU8G8k-XFqGWAipjEoVtO8Kw0ZvEQAlo0TkPksTaMkfw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Indianapolis City-County Council on Oct. 6 unanimously adopted Proposal 2-87, a resolution urging AES Indiana (the utility operating as Indianapolis Power & Light d/b/a AES Indiana) and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to protect ratepayers and reconsider petitions that would raise electric rates.

Sponsor remarks described rising household costs and said council leaders and residents were asking the council to send a message to AES, the IURC and the governor's office. The proposal passed on a 25-0 vote.

Councilor Jesse Brown, who asked to be added as a cosponsor, told the council he had previously testified to the IURC and the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and said AES had \"badly failed in its duty to ratepayers.\" Brown referenced the utility's recent billing rollout and reported that AES said \"49% of its customers had received disconnection notices.\" He urged the council to oppose, politically, further rate increases and to explore long-term options including the possible use of revenue bonds or cooperative ownership models.

Other councilors also joined as cosponsors and framed the issue as one of affordability and reliability. The resolution does not change state regulatory authority but sends a formal, unanimous municipal-level statement to the IURC and the governor.

","Proposal 2-87 urges AES Indiana and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to avoid rate increases tied to new data-center load and to protect ratepayers; the council approved the resolution 25-0.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6425758,"Council approves $20 million appropriation to support homelessness initiatives, including Streets to Home phase two",592,599000,1191000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5897201-617456fe18fcf0305e805752e7aa81f0&start=599&end=1191","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5897201-617456fe18fcf0305e805752e7aa81f0/thumbnail_599000.jpg","/articles/6425758/Indianapolis-City/Marion-County/Indiana/Council-approves-20-million-appropriation-to-support-homelessness-initiatives-including-Streets-to-Home-phase-two","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6425758-f6581304ba97e91301ff5dbceec0a019/orig.mp4?Expires=1771091828&Signature=KxC1sa5sSEjLQ3AjVh0p1vR5-u10428sAoT2FybAVpyhSWrIITwBDgQFvHhe6FjT0V-EjblfmgVZsl63T86Dq4Kj5oQocT6gZcz7-Wox1Dp023G1QMGy5YHtPXLh~4SRq1R7nRga4rwqbKasraxD0OWC~NCBY6ahx1dCpf3VDjoaCkqH30-bJLXGfLKdDLHmOfSdtR000jIkTRq5sGLvb4H-zAl8BQiJfiJ2p-k2mdB-iyg-MmFfeDLKw3IT4A-xeWomVZDJVS9t2-DzMMTOs9usU7AmwaGUHQwqWCXobCA66~-IFXxLLf9Y8tzvcyYecCwlrgFmfbM4K~Qj3ygOLw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Indianapolis City-County Council on Oct. 6 approved Proposal 2-73, an additional appropriation of $20,000,000 for the Department of Metropolitan Development to support homelessness initiatives, including funding described as part of the second phase of the Streets to Home program. The motion carried, 24 yays and 1 abstention.

Councilors who spoke in favor cited the funding's potential to move chronically unhoused residents into permanent housing and to support related services. During floor remarks, a councilor noted that about $5,900,000 of the allocation would support the Streets to Home second initiative and said \"that portion about 5,900,000.0 will certainly be a good start in terms of the second part of that initiative to make sure, folks who are homeless get permanent housing. So I encourage adoption tonight.\" (speaker remarks in the public record.)

Public comment included students and community-service providers who urged passage. Ten-year-old Monroe Burnley said, \"I support proposal 2 73 because every person deserves a safe place to stay.\" Fifteen-year-old Harmony Street, a participant in Girl Talk Inc. and Empower Her Academy, described chronic homelessness and said the proposal helps address the issue. Corbin Havener, a volunteer with Indie Action Coalition, highlighted gaps for chronically homeless youth, particularly 16-to-17-year-olds without guardianship who cannot self-enroll in school, calling it a \"massive gap\" in state emancipation rules.

Service providers also testified. Dominique Carris, founder of KBDB Inc. and operator of a reentry sober-living home, said a grant shortfall left eight residents at risk of being returned to the streets and urged support for Proposal 2-73. Yvette Markey, founder of InTouch Outreach Resource Center, described working \"every day directly in the streets of Marion County\" and said the organization serves unsheltered individuals and families; she voiced support for the appropriation.

Councilors thanked community members and several emphasized the need for a sustained budget process that funds homelessness intervention and pedestrian safety. The motion before the council was the appropriation ordinance Proposal 2-73; the clerk recorded the vote as 24 yays and 1 abstention, with the abstention noted as coming from the presiding officer because a portion of the work under the appropriation involves the officer's employer (recorded on the floor).

The appropriation will be administered by the Department of Metropolitan Development and the council recorded that a portion of the funds would be directed to Streets to Home Phase 2 and at least $1,000,000 would be devoted to pedestrian safety, according to floor remarks.

","The council approved Proposal 2-73, a $20 million supplementary appropriation that councilors and public commenters said will fund homelessness interventions including the Streets to Home second phase and pedestrian-safety funding.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

City-County Council adopts $1.7 billion 2026 budget after close votes and failed amendment

Council urges AES and regulators to protect ratepayers; resolution passes unanimously

Council approves $20 million appropriation to support homelessness initiatives, including Streets to Home phase two