About

The Indianapolis city budget is growing, despite state property tax cuts that were expected to have a greater impact on local governments.

The big picture: Mayor Joe Hogsett introduced a nearly $1.9 billion 2027 spending plan Monday.

• Public safety initiatives and criminal justice services make up more than half the city’s expenses.
• Much of the growth from last year’s $1.7 billion budget is the $100 million increase in road funding secured through a state matching grant.

What they’re saying: “Every detail of this budget matters,” Hogsett said at Monday’s City-County Council meeting. “Every cent represents a commitment to the people of Indianapolis.”

State of play: While the city did see more revenue growth than expected, Hogsett said last year’s property tax overhaul continues to present challenges.

• Senate Enrolled Act 1 gives a credit to most homeowners, saving Hoosiers money while costing local governments.
• Those losses are expected to increase over the next two years.

Friction point: Hogsett says he remains committed to meeting budget challenges without raising taxes.

• The spending proposals introduced Monday night include money to meet the $50 million matching grant offered by the state to repair Indy’s crumbling roads.
• Hogsett vetoed a council plan that would have increased the county’s wheel tax to meet the match.
• Instead, his budget would use a combination of income tax and stormwater dollars, plus supplemental income tax payments from the state.

The other side: Democrats on the council who supported the wheel tax increase have questioned whether Hogsett’s plan is sustainable enough to meet the match as it grows, up to $100 million by 2031.

• While the caucus said last week it didn’t have the votes to overturn the veto, they flipped enough to do so last night.

• Councilor Brienne Delaney, who originally voted no, said she had hoped for a compromise to emerge but voted to override the veto Monday because roads were the top concern she heard about from constituents.

• Councilor Frank Mascari also changed his vote. Councilor Dan Boots was absent during the original vote but voted to override the veto Monday.

Zoom in: If adopted, it would be the city’s 10th straight balanced budget.

• It includes a cost-of-living increase for most city employees and begins funding a new policy that gives pay increases annually to reward employees who stay with the city.
• The spending plan supports the low-barrier shelter and housing hub, which is expected to open next year, includes funding for a new IMPD north district headquarters and expands homelessness programs like Vacant to Vibrant and master leasing.

What’s next: More detailed departmental spending plans will be presented at council committees over the next six weeks, during which amendments could be suggested.

• A final vote from the council is expected in October.

A new era is beginning for Indianapolis’ animal shelter.

Why it matters: The city’s overcrowded shelter will be retired this week as Indianapolis Animal Care Services — and the hundreds of pets in its care — moves into a brand new state-of-the-art facility.

The big picture: The new space is more than double the size of the 24,000-square-foot shelter on Harding Street, which is in a near-constant struggle with overcrowding.

• Years in the making, the more than $30 million project was funded in part by a $20 million bond approved by the city and a $7 million capital campaign from the Friends of Indy Animals.

What they’re saying: The shelter was built “very intentionally” with the well-being of animals in mind, said IACS director Amanda Dehoney-Hinkle.

• “We’re excited to see how their quality of life improves in this facility,” she said.

Zoom in: In the lobby, large paw-shaped lights hang over a bright, open space with a dedicated spot for adopters to take family photos, a retail space and large windows looking out on the city’s newest dog park.

• There’s a walking trail around the property, which includes a barn, large pasture and pond for the more unusual animals that sometimes come to the shelter — pigs, goats, peacocks, etc.
• Each dog kennel includes two spaces, so dogs don’t have to potty in the same area where they sleep. In many of those kennels, the second space is outside, giving the dogs access to fresh air and sunshine.
• Cats, too, have outdoor access with new “catios” connected to the free-roaming rooms, and individual enclosures have separate spaces for litter boxes.

Plus: There’s a large hospital-grade medical suite with four surgical tables and a new x-ray machine — a major upgrade over the old shelter’s medical space, which was akin to “a closet” — that Dehoney-Hinkle hopes will attract a full-time veterinarian to the staff.

• It includes a grooming suite and integrated cleaning tools, giving employees and volunteers more time to spend with the animals.

What’s next: The new shelter, at 5001 E. Raymond St., opens to the public May 11.

The City-County Council voted 17-8 on Monday, Oct. 6, to adopt Mayor Joe Hogsett’s $1.7 billion budget proposal.

Two Democrats, Jesse Brown and Crista Carlino, joined the six Republicans on council to vote against the budget.

The spending plan doesn’t increase taxes, but some departments were forced to scale back their spending. Others, like the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, increased what they charged for services.

Here are the winners and losers in the 2026 budget.

Winner: Public safety

While most departments were forced to scale back their spending by 4%, the police, fire and sheriff’s departments of Indianapolis were allowed to increase their spending by as much as 2%.

Spending for those agencies make up about 40% of the city’s budget.

As was the case last year, the 2026 budget for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department includes funding for 1,743 police officers, despite there being only about 1,460 officers on staff.

Sheriff Kerry Forestal had his agency’s budget approved, despite some Democrats on the council threatening to vote it down.

The sheriff, a Democrat in his third term, has faced criticism for partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold detainees in the local jail. The federal government pays $75 per day for each detainee.

Winner: Eviction diversion program

The Tenant Advocacy Project, which provides free legal assistance to people facing eviction, will get $1.5 million next year.

When Hogsett’s budget was introduced, the program was only set to receive $750,000. Andrew Merkley, director of the Office of Public Health and Safety, said that was about half of what the program needed.

Then, a week before the full budget was approved, a council committee added an additional $750,000 as part of a larger spending package.

The program started in 2021 and used to be funded by a combination of grants and federal pandemic relief funds. This is the first time it’s received money directly from the city.

Winner: Streets to Home

A yearslong initiative to end unsheltered and chronic homelessness received $10.2 million in funding.

Streets to Home Indy launched this summer and is led by the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention. The program recently led to housing for 18 people living at the Leonard Street encampment in Fountain Square.

Winner: Circle City Readers

Circle City Readers — a city-run program partnering with 10 Indianapolis schools — was launched in 2023 using federal pandemic dollars.

With that support coming to an end, the Hogsett administration committed to providing $400,000 of city funds to continue the program through the end of the 2025-26 school year.

Winner: Arts funding

Indy Arts Council will receive $1.3 million next year.

It’s the same amount the organization received last year, which was used to award more than 100 grants to arts organizations and individual artists.

Indy Arts Council President Judith Thomas said at an Oct. 2 meeting that she is grateful for the allocation given the cuts to arts funding happening at the state and federal level.

In addition to city funding, Indy Arts Council is looking to secure $1 million again from the Capital Improvement Board and Bond Bank, which increased their total budget to more than $2 million in 2025.

Currently, the council has not finalized any new agreements, but Thomas said they are in conversation with leaders at the city’s municipal corporations.

Loser: Most city departments

Local governments across Indiana had to make difficult choices this year.

That’s because state lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year that provides property tax relief to homeowners at the expense of funding for government services.

As a result of that legislation, the city anticipates losing $10 million in property tax revenue next year, with that number expected to increase to nearly $20 million in 2027 and about $30 million in 2028, according to City Controller Abby Hanson.

It’s why the Hogsett administration asked most departments to trim their budgets by 4%.

“It has not been publicly stated enough about what we were under with this budget,” said Councilor Jared Evans, a westside Democrat, during the Oct. 6 council meeting. “We knew that it was going to basically be garbage.”

Loser: Schools and libraries

For more than a decade, state lawmakers gave $38 million each year to the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County. The municipal corporation used the money to cover the cost of medical care for uninsured and low-income patients at Eskenazi Health.

Under Gov. Mike Braun, that support was cut.

To make up for it, HHC is maximizing the amount of property taxes it can collect from Marion County residents. That will lead to a projected $16 million loss in revenue for other taxing bodies, including Indianapolis schools and libraries.

Loser: Permit seekers

It’s about to get more expensive to build a home in Indianapolis.

That’s because the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services is raising the cost of licensing and permitting fees.

For example, the cost of getting a permit to build a 2,500-square-foot home will increase from $434 to $1,050.

Most zoning violations will also carry a costlier price tag. Previously, most zoning violations carried a flat fee of $50. Now, depending on the severity of the violation, fines can run up to $325.

The increases are necessary because the cost for the department to provide enforcement and permitting is greater than the revenue it brings in, according to Hanson, who said the new rates are based on the cost of similar services in neighboring cities and counties.

Loser: Urban forest advocates

A group called Forests for Indy had been asking councilors to find $3 million in the budget for urban forest preservation.

Despite their efforts, their request was denied.

A Hogsett spokesperson previously told Mirror Indy that the capital plan for the Department of Public Works allocates $4 million for urban forest and land conservation over the next four years.

Mixed bag: Immigrant legal services

The Office of Public Health and Safety initially proposed cutting $100,000 from a legal fund for immigrants. The money supports legal organizations helping people with naturalization applications, asylum claims and deportation cases.

Advocates who protested the cut said the fund was more important now than ever — especially as the Trump administration continues to work with the Marion County Jail and opens new immigration detention centers across Indiana.

The cut was reversed during a Sept. 24 committee meeting. The budget was restored to 2025 levels.

But some councilors and advocates said funding should be increased.

“This is nothing compared to the need that exists,” said Karla Lopez-Owens, the president of the Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.