Organizational Structure of Unigov
Under Unigov, the City Council and County Council combined to form the City-County Council. City-county government is now divided into three branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, similar to the federal system of government.
Executive Branch
The executive branch consists of the mayor’s office and five departments, each with its own functions and responsibilities.
Under Unigov, the mayor is the chief executive officer of both the city and the county. A director is appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City-County Council for each of the five departments:
1. Capital Asset Management – monitors condition of infrastructure assets such as streets, bridges, sewers, etc., manages parking meters, and maintains street and bridge lighting
2. Metropolitan Development – responsible for code enforcement, planning and zoning, redevelopment, and historic preservation
3. Public Works – collects and disposes of liquid and solid waste, monitors air pollution, and maintains streets, bridges, storm water drains, and sanitary sewers
4. Public Safety – responsible for overseeing the Indianapolis police and fire departments, emergency management planning, weights and measures, and animal control
5. Parks and Recreation – maintains and builds golf courses, neighborhood and regional parks, community centers, swimming pools, and other recreational facilities such as William Kuntz Soccer Center, Major Taylor Velodrome, and the Regatta Course at Eagle Creek
6. Each department also has a non-salaried policy-making board that holds regular public meetings. The board members are appointed by the mayor and the council.
Legislative Branch
The legislative branch of local government consists of the 29-member City-County Council. Each member is elected for a four year term. Twenty-five of the members are elected by the voters in their districts and four at-large members are elected by the voters of the entire county. In addition to powers of confirmation of mayoral appointments, the council has exclusive power to adopt budgets, levy taxes, and make appropriations. The council can also enact, repeal, or amend local ordinances.
Judicial Branch
The third branch of Unigov, the judicial branch, consists of a Circuit Court; a Superior Court with four divisions (Civil, Criminal, Probate, and Juvenile); a Municipal Court with 13 criminal trial courtrooms and four civil courtrooms; and a Small Claims Court with eight courtrooms.
Exclusions from Unigov
Although most government agencies and services in Marion County were consolidated in 1970, not all functions of local government were absorbed by Unigov. School districts remain independent as before, and police and fire departments continue their operations with little change.
Because they wished to retain their autonomy, the cities of Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport and the town of Speedway were not included in Unigov. Instead, residents of these “excluded” units of governments elect their own mayors, councils, and boards. As residents of Marion County, however, dwellers in Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway are obligated to pay country wide taxes. Because of this and because the Indianapolis mayor’s power extends to the entire county, residents of the four communities can vote for the mayor of Indianapolis, a city-county council member, and the four at-large council members.
In addition to these services and agencies, there are six municipal corporations that operate independently of Unigov, although their budgets are reviewed by the City-County Council. The independent municipal corporations are:
1. Capital Improvement Board operates and maintains the Indiana Convention Center & RCA Dome. It also maintains Victory Field and the Conseco Fieldhouse, although day-to-day operations of those facilities are handled by the teams.
2. Health and Hospital Corporation – operates Wishard Hospital, which is the city-county hospital for indigent care, and oversees the Marion County health department
3. Indianapolis Airport Authority – responsible for developing and administering an air transportation system for Marion County and central Indiana, operates Indianapolis International Airport, Eagle Creek Airpark, the downtown Heliport, and four smaller airports
4. The Indianapolis-Marion County Library – main reference and information center of the library system
5. Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation – responsible for the public bus transportation system
6. Indianapolis-Marion County Building Authority – responsible for maintaining and improving municipal buildings and grounds the UniGov Handbook prepared by The League of Women Voters of Indianapolis. The handbook can be ordered through VisitIndy.com, Indianapolis’ official visitor center, at 1-800-468-INDY.
[insert_php]
$market = “IND” ;
global $market ;
[/insert_php]
[insert_php]
$market = “IND” ;
[/insert_php]