What’s Your Job Episode 1
Friends and Constituents,
I hope you’re well. Sorry for my delay in getting my weekly newsletter and video out. I had too much fun recording video and audio for this. The good news is that we have enough content for several more episodes of the fun new game show I invented! So enjoy the linked video, then keep reading for updates!
It's true: the Council has not actually amended the Mayor’s proposed budget since 2013. I, for one, want to end that streak this year.
Thanks to those of you who weighed in on budget amendments after my email last week. I encourage you to do it again this week! Here are the top amendments I am planning to propose. Let me know what you think, and if you live in Indianapolis outside District 13, tell your Councilor if you want them to work with me to pass these!
Budget Amendment #1: Remove all Character 3 (contractors and consultants) money from the Mayor’s Office and remove all public funding from the Office of Education Innovation.
Hogsett used Character 3 funding from his office to pay Michael O’Connor tens of thousands of dollars every month through ILEA and IPEC. He likely also used this pot of money to pay lobbyists to beg the Indiana General Assembly to pass the laws enabling his destruction of Indianapolis Public Schools. He did not tell the public or the Council that he planned to do this; as a result, I have lost my trust in the Mayor and want to bind his future decision-making by removing his most discretionary funding.
Budget Amendment #2: Move IMPD’s overtime slush fund to fund actual preventative public safety.
IMPD’s proposed budget is up 11.5% from last year and includes millions of dollars in new cameras, continued use of Flock Automatic License Plate Readers, and funding for hundreds of officers that everyone knows we won’t actually hire. Rather than leave this full $40 million in reserve for IMPD to use on overtime, I want to move $20 million into helping restore IHA properties and provide security for affordable housing across the city, likely preventing both indignities to our most needy neighbors and unnecessary IMPD calls responding to crime in these buildings. The Capital Improvement Board, which still funds public safety at the same level they did in 2013, should chip in millions of dollars to IMPD to pay our officers for working the public events that make sports team owners rich. But even if they don’t, this still leaves $20 million for IMPD to spend on overtime without needing to come back to the Council for more money. This seems more than fair, given the serious internal accountability issues IMPD is facing.
What do you think of these ideas? What else would you like to see changed in our proposed budget? A week from today, there will be a full Council meeting where the full $1.9 billion budget may come to a final vote, so let me know as soon as you can!
In love and solidarity,
Jesse