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UPDATED WITH NEW DETAILS ON CITY/COUNTY BUDGET: The 2014 Consolidated Budget for Indianapolis and Marion County that has been formally introduced to the City-County Council, reduces spending for many key city/county agencies and programs.  Afternoons with Amos has compared the spending between this year’s budget and next year’s and found major spending reductions. For example, spending for Indy Parks will cut be cut a stunning 25.2% from $21,911,967 to $16,385,432 – a drop of $5.5 million. Spending for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is being cut by nearly $5.9 million from $202,766,298 to $196,891,012, a drop of 2.9%. The city/county’s Department of Public Works’ spending falls $19.2 million down to $166,278,976, a drop of 10.4%.  The only city/county departments seeing any meaningful increases in their budgets are Office of the Mayor, up 3.4%; Office of Corporation Counsel up 68.4%; County Public Defender, up 6.9%; County Assessor up 2.3%; Information Services Agency, up 2.4%.

Click the Spreadsheet to Compare this year’s Spending by city/county departments with Proposed 2014 Spending. 2014 Indianapolis Budget Spreadsheet Comparison.

For the next two and half months, city leaders and Indianapolis residents will be debating the priorities of spending in the city/county for the next year.  The overall spending in the budget totals @1.002 Billion Dollars.  And represents a slight decrease in spending from the current budget.  In presenting his budget to the Council, Mayor Greg Ballard said,“Due to a lagging economy, we will continue to hold the line on spending and avoid an increase in income taxes,” said Mayor Ballard. “This budget reflects our community priorities. It maintains our competitive business environment and promotes our continued growth.” However the Mayor’s budget will increase property taxes for those living in township areas to make up for the fact that those areas have not paid the cost of police protection since the police/Sheriff merger.  Under the Mayor’s proposal, Public Safety, including police, fire, courts, sheriff make up nearly 58% of the overall city/county billion dollar spending. The City/County had been looking at a $55 million deficit.  The Mayor’s proposed 2014 budget eliminates this by doing the following: $14.5 million in new revenue from expanding IMPD property tax district and elimination of Homestead Tax Credit; $5.9 million in budget reductions; $8 million in savings from anticipated healthcare cost increases that never materialized due to delay in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and traditional premium increases; $3 million by having agencies absorb the cost of contracted raises through savings in existing budget; $1.4 million through implementation of fuel surcharge for IMPD and IFD take-home vehicles; Use of $25 million in existing fund balances.  Commenting on the Mayor’s 2014 Budget, City-County President Maggie Lewis said, “Today, the members of the Indianapolis City-County Council received the Mayor’s 2014 proposed budget. I along with my colleagues, look forward to reviewing the budget in its entirety and assessing every detail. Our review will include an in-depth look into the issues we have been discussing in the community throughout the year including making public safety a priority and investing in our neighborhoods. I am confident that by working together we will develop a plan that represents the best interests of our entire city.”

Click Below to Read the 2014 Proposed Indianapolis/Marion County Budget. 2014 Indianapolis/Marion County Introduced Budget