Government of Indianapolis

Consolidated City of Indianapolis and Marion County
Flag of Indianapolis
Formation1832; 192 years ago (1832)[1]
Indianapolis City Charter1832, 1838, 1847, 1853, 1891, 1970[2]
Websitewww.indy.gov
Legislative branch
LegislatureIndianapolis City-County Council
Meeting placeCity-County Building
Executive branch
MayorMayor of Indianapolis
Appointed byElection
HeadquartersCity-County Building

The Government of Indianapolis—officially the Consolidated City of Indianapolis and Marion County—is a strong-mayor form of mayor-council government system.[2] Local government is headquartered downtown at the City-County Building.[3]

Since 1970, Indianapolis and Marion County have operated as a consolidated city-county government called Unigov.[4] The executive branch is headed by the mayor who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer for both the city and county.[5] The Indianapolis City-County Council is a unicameral legislative body consisting of 25 members, each elected from a geographic district.[6] The mayor and council members are elected to unlimited four-year terms.[5][6] The judicial branch consists of the Marion Circuit and Superior Courts. The municipal budget for 2024 is nearly $1.6 billion.[7] The city-county government employs about 8,000 full-time employees.[8]

Marion County contains nine civil townships that function independently from the city-county government under Indiana Code. Each township consists of an elected township trustee, a three-member board, an assessor, and a constable and small claims court judge, all of whom serve four-year terms.[9]

  1. ^ City of Indianapolis, Indiana Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (PDF) (Report). Consolidated City of Indianapolis-Marion County Office of Finance and Management. July 21, 2021. p. 24. Retrieved March 26, 2022. The City of Indianapolis (City) was originally incorporated in 1832.
  2. ^ a b Vogel, Gregory M. (2021) [1994]. "City Charters". Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  3. ^ Zeigler, Connie (2021) [1994]. "City-County Buildings". Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  4. ^ Blomquist, William A.; Vanderstel, David G. (2021) [1994]. "Creation of Unigov". Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Whitham, John; White, Elizabeth L. (2021) [1994]. "Office of the Mayor". Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Blomquist, William A.; White, Elizabeth L. (2021) [1994]. "City-County Council". Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  7. ^ Wooten, Taylor (October 16, 2023). "Hogsett's $1.6B budget receives unanimous approval". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "Largest Indiana Employers". Indianapolis Business Journal. June 25, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  9. ^ Hale, Michelle D. (2021) [1994]. "Townships". Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved January 21, 2022.