INDIANAPOLIS – Mayor Joe Hogsett recently introduced the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 budget to a full meeting of the City-County Council. Included within the $1.1 billion of proposed spending are significant steps towards a more sustainable city — fiscally, with an introduced budget that is structurally balanced for the first time in a decade, as well as environmentally, with substantial funding dedicated to projects that will shape more resilient neighborhoods and drive down carbon emissions city-wide.
The proposed funding follows Mayor Hogsett’s June signing of “We Are Still In,” committing the City to take steps to reduce carbon emissions and prepare for the increasing impacts of climate change in the spirit of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Highlights from the submitted budget include:
• More money dedicated to breaking down longstanding barriers to connectivity and accessibility including transportation funds earmarked for sidewalk improvements, the addition of new sidewalks, and ADA-accessibility retrofits — a nearly $1.5 million increase from 2017.
• $1.9 million dedicated to transportation studies, designed to address traffic flow and make traveling by car, bicycle, and on-foot safer and smoother. These improvements will increase fuel efficiency and workforce productivity through traffic flow enhancements. In addition, the Metropolitan Planning Office has dedicated $200,000 of funding to update the city’s bike plan and evaluate current need for bike-friendly mobile mapping across the community.
• Nearly $6.5 million of transportation funding dedicated to adding and improving greenways and multi-modal paths.Coupled with $2.25 million set aside for greenway and trail development specifically in Indy Parks, these investments towards active transportation will total $8.7 million in 2018. These holistic investments will mean not only an expansion of active transportation infrastructure such as new bike lanes on 56th Street, but also the addition of supportive infrastructure like bike racks in areas of the city that most need them.
• $1 million for environmental remediation that will enable the redevelopment of Brownfield sites that have held back revitalization efforts in Indianapolis neighborhoods.
• More than $24 million in funding dedicated to stormwater infrastructure, including surface drainage projects that keep flooding away from houses, roads, trails, and sidewalks, improving quality of life for nearby residents.
• In partnership with the Department of Public Works, Department of Metropolitan Development, and Business and Neighborhood Services, the Office of Sustainability will begin work to develop the city’s first-ever Sustainability and Resilience Action Plan.
Hearings about the budget have begun and will continue through the beginning of October. Visit www.indy.gov for a list of meetings.