Unigov

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Unigov is the name adopted by the city of Indianapolis to describe its consolidated city-county government, adopted in 1970 by act of the Indiana state legislature.

Contents 1 Background 2 Excluded Cities 3 Included Towns 4 Political Implications 4.1 Other City-County Consolidations 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

Indianapolis was intentionally surveyed and founded as the capital of the US state of Indiana. Given the state of urban planning in 1821, little thought was given to the growth of the city. Original planners were of the opinion that it would never grow beyond its original square mile (2.6 km²) layout (still known as "the Mile Square"). Contrary to their belief, Marion County soon was filled with small communities with connections to or with businesses that had formed to take advantage of Indianapolis's location midway between Chicago, Illinois and both Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky. City growth happened in fits and starts, and it was possible in some areas to leave and re-enter Indianapolis while traveling in a straight line. The movement of affluent citizens to more fashionable suburbs, especially to the north of the city limits, accelerated into full white flight in the period after World War II. While this sprawl was generally within Marion County, it hastened the decay of the city itself.

Unigov was proposed in the late 1960s to address these problems and a number of other related issues. In order to support Unigov, a compromise was arranged; the cities of Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway each maintained limited autonomy, with their own police forces, school systems, and mayors (minus Speedway); in addition, fire service and school districts were maintained at their pre-Unigov borders, and some towns otherwise incorporated into the city were permitted to maintain independent police forces. Nevertheless, the excluded cities are also part of Indianpolis-Marion County and are thus represented within Unigov's legislative body, known as the City-County Council. This is necessary because a number of services and governmental responsibilities are delegated by the state of Indiana to county-level government; these services and responsibilities include road maintenance, natural resource management, civil ordiances (zoning, flood development) etc. In addition to voting for the mayors and councils of their respective cities and towns, residents are also able to vote for the Mayor of Indianapolis, plus a City-County Council member, and the four at-large council members. This arrangement was passed because residents are obligated to pay many county-wide taxes and because the powers of the Mayor of Indianapolis extend to the entire county.^[1]

[edit] Excluded Cities

The cities of Beech Grove, Lawrence, and Southport, and the town of Speedway are known as "excluded cities," and retain government autonomy in most respects. They elect their own city officials and city councils. They also are represented on the City-County Council and vote for the Mayor of Indianapolis, since these countywide officials have taxing and other powers over the whole county.

[edit] Included Towns

Several towns that existed outside the city limits were incorporated into Unigov, but elected to retain some measure of autonomy. Most of these towns hold elections for Town Council and Clerk-Treasurer. The town governments have taxing authority, and several continue to appoint their own police departments, maintain their own streets, and perform various other functions independently of the City of Indianapolis^[2]. However, they cannot pass any ordinance that conflicts with, or permits a lesser standard than, any City-County ordinance.^[3] The included towns are:

• Clermont
• Crows Nest
• Homecroft
• Meridian Hills
• North Crows Nest
• Rocky Ripple
• Spring Hill
• Warren Park
• West Newton
• Williams Creek
• Wynnedale

[edit] Political Implications

For many years, the incorporation of the city's suburbs was seen as working to the political benefit of the Republican Party, which held the mayor's office from the election of Dick Lugar in 1967 until the election of Democrat Bart Peterson in 1999. Democrats gained a majority on the City-County Council in citywide elections in 2003.

Facing a budget crisis, Peterson made a proposal to eliminate some remaining duplication, dubbed Indianapolis Works!. He claimed it would eliminate remaining duplication, while opponents saw it as an effort to further consolidate the power of the Democratic Party in Marion County. Ironically, the extension of city government was now seen as benefiting the Democrats, who had made many gains (as they did nationally) in the inner-ring suburbs, many more of which are included within the boundaries of the city than in many comparable metropolitan areas.

In December, 2005, the City-County Council approved a merger of the Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Department departments, creating the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, headed by the Marion County Sheriff ^[4].

In the 2007 municipal elections, the Republican party, let by Gregory A. Ballard, recaptured the Mayor's office and also won back a majority of the City-County Council. One of the planks of Ballard's campaign platform was that the police department needed to be under the responsibility of the Mayor, and not the Sheriff. In February, 2008, the new GOP-led council gave the authority over the county-wide IMPD to the Mayor, leaving Sheriff Frank J. Anderson with authority over the county jail, protection of City-County buildings and the traditional roles of tax collection and paper serving, but left him as the only Sheriff in Indiana without territory to protect.

[edit] Other City-County Consolidations

Under the Unigov provision of Indiana Law, City-County consolidation is automatic when a city's population exceeds the threshold for qualification as a so-called First Class City^[5]. When the Unigov provision was enacted, the First Class City population threshold was 250,000; which Indianapolis easily met in 1970. The next most populous city was Fort Wayne with a population of 174,000; so Indianapolis was the only city impacted by the legislation.

By 2006, Fort Wayne nearly met the threshold for designation as a First Class City as it annexed the populous portions of Aboite Township^[6]. However, a pre-emptive legislative change in 2004 raised the population requirements for a First Class City from 250,000 to 600,000, which ensured Indianapolis' status as the only First Class City in Indiana.^[7]. As a result, any foreseeable city-county consolidation in Indiana will be voluntary rather than automatic ^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site