Indianapolis 2025 Budget: A declaration of war?
Wednesday, September 25
6:00 – 8:00pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center
At this month’s ANSWER meeting, we will be discussing the 2025 Indianapolis budget proposed by the City-County Council and the Mayor. We seek a city budget that truly meets the needs of the people and promotes peace and unity. The current construction of the budget looks more like a declaration of war on working people.
The creators of the current budget proposal claim it will reduce gun violence and homelessness, despite only 0.0017% of the proposed budget going toward the Office of Public Health and Safety to address gun violence. At the same time, the IMPD is proposed to receive a 4% increase from last year’s budget, totalling $338 million, with $6.7 million of this going toward IMPD patrol vehicles. Policing overall accounts for 41% of the total proposed budget to protect the private property interests of the rich.
The proposed budget does nothing but put more money into the hands of institutions that claim to protect our city but only further damage it. As residents of Indianapolis, it’s our right to influence the budget in a way that actually supports us. We will collectively demonstrate our capacity to do just that at our next monthly ANSWER Indiana meeting.
With this budget being a $90 million increase from the 2024 budget, how can we ensure that those funds are going toward helping our community and actually improving our quality of life? We will develop a city budget that truly serves the needs and wants of the working people of Indianapolis. This is being done in anticipation of the Oct. 7 City-County Council meeting. At that meeting, Councilors will vote on the 2025 city Budget of $1.65 billion proposed by Mayor Joe Hogsett. The people will present our budget proposal—one formulated with our needs as the primary concern.
Whether you’re interested in learning more about the proposed city budget or ANSWER Indiana, this event is for you. No previous experience needed. Help us build a budget that not only opposes the U.S.’s criminal wars and occupations globally, but fights the war on our Indianapolis community! Currently, the city sends $12.8 million annually to the Israeli entity to commit genocide against the Palestinian people. And overfunds the IMPD who went on a shooting spree in 2023, shooting 18 people, killing 10 people from our community.
To keep building the movement, please donate or sustain the work of ANSWER Indiana. If you’re interested in joining or volunteering, fill out the form below!
