City-County Council Republicans propose change to Hogsett budget

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Republicans on the City-County Council are proposing a change to Mayor Joe Hogsett’s 2017 budget plan.

Republicans are asking for an immediate $20 million investment in roads and sidewalks — instead of borrowing the money, as proposed by Democrats.

The proposal was delivered at the City-County Building Thursday morning.

The money would come out of the $52 million received last session from the Indiana General Assembly.

Republicans say 75 percent of that money must be used in infrastructure, and they question why the city would go into debt when it has funds at hand.

Hogsett’s chief of staff Thomas Cook issued the following response to the proposal by Republicans:

Mayor Hogsett was elected last year by voters who sent a clear message: stop the wasteful government spending, and defend Indianapolis taxpayers. That’s why the Mayor has proposed a fiscally-responsible, $200 million infrastructure plan that doesn’t ask for one penny in new taxes, and doesn’t spend one penny of our Rainy Day Fund.

Unfortunately, today’s proposal is exactly what drives taxpayers crazy: raiding our Rainy Day Fund for no reason and putting Indianapolis on a one-way road toward a future tax increase.

We urge our friends in the Republican caucus to stop playing politics and start listening to their own constituents who know our city can’t afford another year of spend first, plan later thinking.