History of Indianapolis - Unigov

Unigov

As the result of a 1970 consolidation of city and county governments (known as "Unigov"), the city of Indianapolis merged most government services with those of the county. For the most part, this resulted in a unification of Indianapolis with its immediate suburbs. Four communities within Marion County (Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport and Speedway) are partially outside of the Unigov arrangement. Also, 11 other communities (called "included towns") are legally included in the Consolidated City of Indianapolis under Unigov, per Indiana Code 36-3-1-4 sec. 4(a)(2), which states that the Consolidated City of Indianapolis includes the entire area of Marion County, except the four previously mentioned "excluded" communities. The 11 "included towns" (there were originally 14, but 3 later dissolved) elected to retain their "town status" under Unigov as defined according to the Indiana Constitution, but the Indiana Constitution does not define "town status."

These "included towns" are fully subject to the laws and control of the Consolidated City of Indianapolis, but some still impose a separate property tax and provide police and other services under contract with township or county government or the City of Indianapolis. Additionally, throughout Marion County certain local services such as schools, fire and police remained unconsolidated under the Unigov legislation. However, the mayor of Indianapolis is also the mayor of all of Marion County, and the City-County Council sits as the legislative body for all of Marion County. Further consolidation of city and county services and functions would require passage of new legislation by the Indiana General Assembly.

A bill, dubbed Indianapolis Works, was proposed by then Mayor Bart Peterson, and introduced in the 2005 legislative session of the state General Assembly, which would have further consolidated local government in the City of Indianapolis and Marion County. The Assembly passed a less-comprehensive version of the original bill that consolidated budgetary functions of the City and County, permitted the City-County Council to vote to consolidate the Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Department, and also permitted consolidation of the Indianapolis Fire Department with individual township fire departments based upon approval of the affected parties. The Washington Township Fire Department was the first township to merge with the Indianapolis Fire Department, effective January 1, 2007.

Police consolidation was defeated by the City-County Council in November 2005, but the bill was revived and passed on December 19, 2005 after slight revision. As of January 1, 2007 Indianapolis has a combined metropolitan police force. However, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is not the sole police agency within Marion county or even pre-Unigov Indianapolis. The four "excluded cities" of Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway still maintain separate police forces, as do many of the school districts and "included towns" within Marion County.