Indy AI Research Docs
Indianapolis–Marion County · Consolidated city-county budget

Where Indy's money goes, 2019 to 2027

The mayor's proposed 2027 budget is $1.898 billion, about 11% more than 2026. This page lines up nine years of spending and six years of revenue from the city's own budget books, then breaks the 2027 proposal down department by department so you can click into any one of them.

Aug 10 Mayor introduced budget
Oct 1 Last committee meetings
Oct 5 Public hearing, 7 pm, City-County Building
Oct 19 Council vote (13 of 25 needed)
Nov 1 Sent to the state
$1.898B2027 proposed appropriations
+$188Mover 2026 adopted (+11.0%)
59%public safety plus criminal justice in 2027
≈$1,940per Marion County resident (2020 Census pop.)

Spending by function

The budget books group every agency into five functions. Public safety is IMPD, IFD, the Office of Public Health & Safety and 911. Criminal justice is the Sheriff, courts, prosecutor, public defender, Community Corrections, coroner and forensics. Community development & infrastructure covers DPW, Parks, DMD, Business & Neighborhood Services and Animal Care.

A = actual spending, AD = adopted, P = proposed. Not adjusted for inflation. 2020–2021 debt includes one-time debt and pension transactions, and 2022–2024 executive/administrative spending is inflated by one-time money run through those accounts, most likely federal pandemic relief (ARPA). Compare those years with care.

What changes from 2026 to 2027

Almost every function grows. The biggest jump by far is infrastructure, driven by the new state road program: $50M from the state, contingent on a $50M local match that has to grow every year through 2031. That match is the fight behind the wheel tax veto and override.

Where the money comes from

Local property and income taxes are more than half of revenue. Intergovernmental money (state gas tax, state road dollars, federal grants) is the swing factor: it spiked in 2022 with pandemic relief, dropped, and is climbing again with the state road match.

"Everything else" is charges for services, licenses and permits, fines, other taxes such as the wheel tax, investment earnings and other receipts. Investment earnings alone fell from $54M in 2024 to a projected $30M in 2027.

Every department, line by line

All 35 departments and agencies in the 2027 budget book. Click one to see where its money comes from, what it pays for, what changed for 2027, and what the department says it's working on. Numbers are all funds, including grants and pensions, so they're higher than the general-fund figures you sometimes see quoted.

How to read a department

The city sorts all spending into five categories it calls "characters." Definitions below are from the budget book (page 55), in plain language.

Staff pay & benefitsCharacter 1 · Personal Services
Salaries and wages plus the employer's share of health and life insurance, pensions, unemployment and uniform allowances. For police and fire this includes pension payments.
SuppliesCharacter 2 · Materials and Supplies
Things that get used up or changed when used: office supplies, operating supplies, and repair and maintenance supplies.
Contracts, services & other chargesCharacter 3 · Other Services and Charges
Everything bought as a service: professional and consulting contracts, grants to outside groups, phones and transportation, printing and ads, insurance, utilities, contracted repairs, rent, and some debt payments.
Property & equipmentCharacter 4 · Capital
Buying or building lasting assets: land, roads and other infrastructure, buildings and improvements, vehicles, machinery and equipment.
Charges between departmentsCharacter 5 · Internal Charges
What city departments pay each other for shared services like the Mayor's Action Center, Corporation Counsel (legal) and Fleet Services. A negative number means that department provides the service and bills the others. County agencies don't use this category, and everyone pays for IT (ISA) under contracts and services.
Consolidated County / County GeneralThe main local tax funds, mostly property and income tax.
Public Safety Income TaxA local income tax dedicated to public safety, used heavily by the Sheriff and courts.
Cap Asset Lifecycle & DevA capital fund for long-lived assets. It carries much of the 2027 road match.
2026 revisedThe 2026 budget after mid-year council changes. Changes on this page compare 2027 to the 2026 adopted budget, the way the city reports them.

Other 2027 items reported so far

Item2027 proposalNote
Roads, bridges and greenways$267Mstate road match program begins
Stormwater projects$39.2M
Housing initiatives$72Mspread across DMD, OPHS and others
Low-barrier shelter operations (150 beds)$2.7MHousing Hub opens summer 2027
IMPD North District HQ + DPW facility (bonds)$27.5Mbonds, outside the operating totals
Flock license plate cameras≈ $1M a yearup to $6M over 4 years, ~400 cameras, under the contract approved in late 2024. Likely inside IMPD's "Other Services and Charges"; not broken out in the budget book.

From news coverage of the Aug. 10 presentation and committee hearings, not the budget book.

Reading the numbers