City leaders are asking the Indianapolis City-County Council for more money for homeless initiatives after the city’s low-barrier shelter ran over budget.
The Indianapolis City-Council will vote to approve a $19.5 million spending plan on housing support, residential road maintenance, a youth educational program, and a dozen other items across departments on July 6. The costliest items in the plan are over $5 million to increase the construction budget for the city’s low-barrier shelter and $8 million for residential street repair.
The funds originate from $75 million in collected supplemental income tax. Each year the city receives extra revenue from the state based on updated income tax collection, giving Mayor Joe Hogsett another opportunity to request funding for his priorities outside of the larger city budget each summer.
Out of caution, the council held back $15 million of the available dollars. Indianapolis loses $3.7 million a month in road funding due to Indiana Gov. Mike Braun’s gas tax suspension, and the city wants to avoid canceling infrastructure projects later on. Braun said he will be reimbursing local governments, but Hanson said the timing is still unclear. Additionally, public safety income tax is not allocated until the end of the year due to contract uncertainty.
Why the shelter is over budget
The Indianapolis Housing Hub will be a low-barrier shelter, meaning there will be fewer restrictions on criminal backgrounds, sobriety or identification. Although it originally received a $20 million grant in 2024 from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Agency, and $12 million from Indianapolis, Hanson said high inflation in the Midwest means construction costs are now out of the original budget. She said it was a tough choice between reducing material costs and removing a planned floor and increasing the budget.
“Given the need and use of the facility, we knew that more durable building materials would allow this to be long-term sustainable.” Hanson said.
Another million dollars in housing funds is set to be allocated for the Streets to Home Indy program, bringing the city’s total contribution to $8 million and filling the $1 million request for the first phase fundraising goal. The city’s Homeowner Repair Program will also receive $500,000 in funding.
What else the money will pay for
The largest allocation of the $19.5 million would go towards Indianapolis’ fund for residential street repair. The $8 million will be matched by the state, continuing an agreement from last year. Dedicated funding for residential streets was a first-in-a-generation event when the Mayor Hogsett administration started doing so a few years ago, Kyle Bloyd, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Works (DPW) said.
To determine which streets are repaired, DPW will look at a pavement condition index calculated over a three-year assessment process and complaints via the Mayor’s Action Center. The city is currently working on plans to develop an algorithm to determine road condition, Bloyd said.
Indianapolis’ roads have been underinvested for decades, Bloyd said, and DPW’s budget has doubled in more than a decade.
DPW will also receive $1.7 million towards the residential snowplow policy and refilling salt barns.
Here’s what else the money will be spent on, if approved:
Lucy Tobier is the politics reporting intern for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at ltobier@gannett.com or on X at @TobierLucy
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hogsett asks Indy Council for money for over-budget homeless shelter, roads
Reporting by Lucy Tobier, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Lucy Tobier, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
