History of Fort Wayne, Indiana - Law and Government

Law and Government

Fort Wayne has a mayor-council government. Common Council has nine elected members, one representative from each of the city's six council districts and three at-large members, serving four-year terms. The district members represent the constituents living within the boundaries of their jurisdiction, while the at-large members represent the citizens as a whole.

Democrat Tom Henry has been Fort Wayne's mayor since 2008. Mark Becker was appointed to the position of Deputy Mayor in 2012. Becker previously held the position from 2005–2008. Sandra Kennedy has held the city clerk position since 1983.

Under the Unigov provision of Indiana Law, City-County consolidation would have been automatic when Fort Wayne's population exceeded 250,000 and became a first class city in Indiana. Fort Wayne nearly met the state requirements for first class city designation on January 1, 2006 when 12.8 square miles (33 km2) of neighboring Aboite Township (and a small section of Wayne Township) including 25,094 people were annexed. However, a 2004 legislative change raised the population requirements from 250,000 to 600,000, which ensured Indianapolis' status as the only first class city in Indiana.

Municipal and State laws are enforced by the Fort Wayne Police Department, an organization of 460 officers. In 2006, Fort Wayne's crime rate was 5104.1 per 100,000 people, slightly above the national average of 4479.3. There were 18 murders, 404 robberies, and 2,128 burglaries in 2006.