Indianapolis City-County Council passes 2023 budget
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis City-County Council passed the 2023 budget in a 21 to 1 vote. Three councilors were absent for the vote. The budget focused on four main subjects: public safety, infrastructure, education and property tax relief.
Indianapolis City Controller Ken Clark said, “Another bipartisan budget passage. Obviously, our main focuses in the budget were public safety and infrastructure. We added to the $150 million investment we made with American Rescue Plan Funds. Added a new higher salary for our new IMPD officers and also doubled the size of our signing bonuses for our new IMPD recruits. In addition to that on the infrastructure side the largest infrastructure investment in our 5-year capital plan.”
It allocates $5 million for the crime guns task force and provides a $10 thousand sign-on bonus to help Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department recruitment. There is also $2 million for the city’s first team of mental health professionals to help those in crisis.
Chief Randal Taylor said, “I think there are other departments in other parts of the country that are trying these things as well and I think that’s another one that’s a move in the right direction. People with more specialized training I think will benefit those citizens that are in crisis.”
The budget includes nearly $288 million for roads, bridges and greenways in the city and nearly $157 million for stormwater system improvements. This is part of a $1.1 billion investment over 5 years.
“We put a traffic engineer for the first time, specifically working on safe streets, to make sure we’re always putting our thoughts around how do we make our new streets as we rebuild them to be as safe as possible,” Clark said.
There is also $500 thousand earmarked for the Indy Achieves program to help people finish up their higher education.
“It’s a great time for that as the job market has been hot and there are lots of people who want to get into the job market but also move up in terms of how much they make,” Clark said.
This budget also includes a $150 dollar tax credit for homeowners whose homes are valued at $250 thousand or less and a $100 dollar credit for homes worth up to $400 thousand.