Ballard stands ground on redistricting

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is using his veto power to negate more City-County Council decisions.

On Friday, the mayor announced in a news release that he had vetoed the council’s proposal to redo redistricting, as well as a proposal to divert RebuildIndy money from infrastructure to public safety.

Democrats, who won control over the council in the November election, had wanted to revisit the redistricting decisions made under Republican control. Ballard balked at that, however.

"The maps that I signed into law earlier this year are legal, fair and compact. They have greater population and racial equality than those proposed by the Council majority," he said.

The fiscal wrangling was meant to address the Department of Public Safety’s budget shortfall , but Ballard said the RebuildIndy money was off-limits – and would only be a short-term fix anyway.

"When the sale of the water utility was being discussed, I made a commitment to the residents of Indianapolis that I would use the revenue generated only for the infrastructure needs in our city," he said.  "I intend to keep that commitment to the people of our city.  Using one-time money for an ongoing expense is unsound fiscal policy."

Friday’s vetos come on the heels of Ballard’s move in October to force the council to trim its budget .