Oh, that's a second.

Yes.

Necessary.

Somebody needs their baby working.

Where is that?

Good evening.

Welcome to the Admin Finance Community Meeting.

Start with introductions to my left.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, Derek Cahill, District 23.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, John Barth or Presidential Council District 7.

Right.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair Renee Allen, District 15, the Far ISAF.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman Collaborative.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, Dan Boots, District 3.

Good evening, Chairman Miss Gary, Chris Lee Wells, District 11, West Side.

Good evening, Maggie Lewis.

Frank Mascarry, District 19, the Southeast Side.

We have two proposals up.

First is the mayor's appointment of Shane Joyce.

You have the floor.

You promised to make this brief, correct?

Of course.

All right.

Thank you.

You're good.

We take your time.

All right.

Good evening, everyone and those watching online.

Thank you for joining us.

As some of you already know, my name is Shay Joyce, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to speak with you all this evening.

First, I want to thank President Lewis for her sponsorship of me this evening and the rest of the committee for taking the time to listen to me in my new capacity as the city's Deputy Mayor of Operations and Government Affairs.

As someone who's been born and raised here in Indianapolis, I have been proud to serve my hometown.

I feel lucky that my work allows me to do this and affect positive change in our community.

So for me, this role represents a new opportunity to do the work that I've already been doing, but at an elevated level.

So I get to do that with the departments that impact our residents every single day.

That's the Department of Public Works, Business and Neighborhood Services, Animal Care, and Indy Parks.

The people who work for these departments are picking up our trash, paving our roads, they're keeping our city clean, helping our business owners thrive, they're taking care of our animals, and maintaining our beautiful green spaces that we all enjoy here in Indianapolis.

And of course, our folks in the Office of Audit and Performance, they're ensuring this all gets done with care and prudence that our neighbors deserve.

These hardworking city county employees are at the center of what Mayor Hogs said in this administration strive to do every single day.

Safer and better infrastructure and unparalleled quality of life for our residents.

As you all know, our Department of Public Works is preparing for our monumental increase in road funding starting next year in 2027.

This is an opportunity our city's been advocating for years.

Also, they're beginning their work to educate residents in collaboration with our Office of Sustainability on the rollout of curb cybercycling for all of our residents in 2028.

Our Department of Business and Neighborhood Services has launched Streamline Indy initiative alongside DMD and Department of Public Works to highlight significant improvements and achievements over the last couple of years with our permitting process with work still underway and we continue to look towards the future and that continued progress.

This includes we've implemented just this year cross-demar departmental pre-submittal meetings for all of our builders and developers, and then we plan to do some zoning code updates as well.

Our animal care services has a lot of exciting things coming in quarter two as we will plan to move into our state of the art new animal shelter that you all on this committee have supported.

This place will allow for a safer, better place for not only our animals but our dedicated staff to work in, and I'm excited to work with them to make this move a reality.

And finally, one of our favorites Indy Parks, as we wrap up the pivotal Lily dollars that we have received, we have to look at see what's next.

We're home to almost 220 parks, and we need to find creative ways to continue that investment across our entire city.

And as such, I intend to bring this collaboration to you all, the city county council, just as I've done over the last two years as the director of government affairs and strategic initiatives.

I plan to work with each and every one of you on our communities' needs.

Whether it's a fiscal proposal or a policy change, I remained remain just as committed as ever to communication and compromise.

And of course, the same applies to our ongoing work at the State House.

I'm very familiar with the integral work that our federal and state partners play in the work that we do here in Indianapolis.

And as I speak here tonight, I'm proud to be leading the charge as our departments are working tirelessly to submit millions of dollars worth of community project funding requests to our federal delegation to ensure our city is leveraging resources and the tools available to achieve our collective goals.

And because of that, I believe we are very best when we all work together.

And that's how we deliver real results for our neighbors.

And that's what we all as public servants strive to do every single day.

So I look forward to working alongside Mayor Hogsett and each and every one of you to accomplish that goal.

So I ask that you please support me in this uh new endeavor that I'm headed down, and I have appreciated working with each and every one of you and look forward to that continued work.

Thank you.

Any questions from the council's Congress of North.

This may actually be a question for Chief Bailey, if uh you don't mind.

I'm I what I would like for someone to do is sketch out the current status of the FTE deputy mayors and um what are filled and what are not filled, and what you the ones that are not filled, what you're planning to do for those.

Yeah.

Uh you want to talk?

Okay.

Uh we do have an org chart that we can share.

Um so we currently have obviously our Chief Bailey and uh myself, and then we have a third deputy mayor that we do hope to fill very soon.

Uh in the meantime, I'm holding uh the responsibility over those departments as well.

But we can get that shared to you.

And can you sketch out those responsibilities for the non-filled dev team?

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, like right now, can you sketch?

Oh, I'm sorry, yes.

Um, so under that uh umbrella is community engagement.

Um it also includes our office of equity belonging and inclusion, it includes citizen complaint, uh citizens police complaint board.

Um I know I'm so getting some others, but that's essentially the big mayor for neighborhoods.

Yes.

Okay.

And then with economic development being moved to this new entity, there's some uh this may not be your role, but if you could describe how that process is managed in in the mayor's office and how the economic development team reports in um how the flow of uh direction and communication goes back and forth.

Yeah, so that is um under Chief uh Chris Bailey's preview, but um but I will also be working with them as they work alongside BNS and DPW in their projects and initiatives.

Um but generally communication is with the chief.

Chairman uh Chris Bailey, uh Chief Deputy Mayor.

I have I have almost daily contact with members of IEI and we're working on creating a flow for me to have that information shared with the mayor and all of you as before.

A lot of things they do are uh confidential by their very nature.

Uh but when the time becomes appropriate, we want them to communicate uh things that directly impact your districts uh directly to you and get your feedback because ultimately if there's incentives involved, you all are gonna have to weigh on whether or not those incentives are uh appropriate.

So uh we just had a board meeting today where we uh they in an executive session kind of the pipeline things, the things that are that are being worked on from a uh large scale were discussed with the board members.

I think you'll be proud of their of their work to try to streamlight those efforts in conjunction with IDDI based on feedback that we've gotten from contractors and others.

But um that's something I'm still trying to wrap my hands around uh as we move forward, but very important to our city.

Thank you.

Councilor Willis Chief, could you come back up to what for a quick follow-up on that on the last part?

I thought I avoided some of this by leaving the police department.

And maybe this can dovetail into the work, excuse me, um that um Shay could talk about is um if it's already difficult internally for those departments internally to work together, what does that look like when we have to also involve additional partners sometimes with regard to planning, it's like the MPO, the federal government, sometimes it's the state government and dot state owned roads and things like that.

How can we better streamline or how what are some of the things that you've been working on to better um improve those communications and practices?

And I asked because there's a development project that really like honestly crept up like a weed in in the backyard um uh Dollar Tree that is at like a state and city intersection, and it's horrible traffic mess nightmare, but coordinating and getting intersection improvements for pedestrians that are now and uh increased traffic to the area, it's it's it's super difficult to navigate.

So would be open to hear about how you're working with with the state as well, and then just a kudos because I know how hard that you've been working and that this is a perfect role for you, and you've been doing a great job in it already.

Um, but really want to hear how, as you're wearing so many hats, um you're setting your sights on on additional goals with regard to the state now that the session has concluded.

Yeah, I think the uh streamline Indy is exactly how DPW, BNS, and DMD are working together to address those concerns.

So when a builder or developer comes and would like a permit or um for whatever it might be, building a building or doing a road project, they're coming and they're meeting with all three of those departments before they're even submitting their first paperwork.

So one, it's intended to increase the the timeliness of that permit, which we get complaints about a lot, I think.

Um but it's it's already improving, but also making sure that if DPW has a perspective on that intersection and saying, hey, this probably wouldn't work because of traffic flow, that that is happening before we're too far gone.

So I think that that process is already uh underway, and I think we can send you some more information on that.

I I think the communication process between those three important agencies is done really well.

I think to the heart of your question is how do we communicate better and work with the state?

I think that some of those uh I'll take the west part of downtown as an example.

Uh I've been inundated with lots of ideas about how we improve the areas from 16 Tech on down the river to behind uh Lucas Oil.

What I found very quickly is that there are a lot of people with a lot of ideas, so getting them in the same room to talk about those.

What what everyone's doing, make sure that we have a unified vision and a plan moving forward.

So that was the uh that was a big project that I learned about that we're gonna meet on the 20th to talk about that and get all those people the state and IU and Purdue and everybody in one room to talk about all the things everyone's doing, and then establish one kind of uh you know plan moving forward.

Uh I have not met with the IEDC.

Sorry, I'm getting the the the uh acronyms all together, so I have to take my time to spell them out soon.

I haven't I just that that uh introduction just happened today to see how we can work better uh with the state, and then we have some big road projects with uh with INDOT and making sure that uh all of our uh opinions and suggestions are taken when when they start to talk about things like 70 and and West Street or 65 and West Street and then the South Side I said uh 65 I70 project.

So those are those relationships that I'm still developing, but Shay still has uh plenty of contacts over there and they've shown an open and a willingness to to work with us and hear us out.

Well, thank you.

I appreciate it.

One thing you know that I didn't even mention, Mr.

Chairman, is utilities and also communicating with those, and I know utilities have been a really big uh you know fiscal conversation in our communities, but looking forward to supporting you tonight in this position, uh Shay, and would urge my counselors to do the same.

Counselor Boots.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Um thank you, Shay, for wanting to step up.

Um it's proud to see where you are today from when we first met uh helping with our campaigns on the North Side office.

Uh congratulations on the meteoric rise.

Um also just I would uh two things.

One, I would like to be added as a counsel if you'll have me, Miss Lewis.

And also um, I like this idea of the streamlined Indy, because as you know, we have had issues, uh, and I've been one that's been quite vocal in the past about the problems with the permitting and how it really has been an obstacle to doing business and resulting in delays and delays in construction means dil money and fines and lawsuits.

Um so I'm glad to see that in along those same lines, though.

I would like to see, and I look forward to working with you on this.

You know, Indianapolis is characterized as a great place to visit downtown.

We need to make Indianapolis a much better place to live.

And we need to spread the love.

We need to get out in the communities, and we need to start focusing outside the downtown square mile.

And that's what I look forward to working with you on.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council.

Anyone else from the council?

President Louis.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Um, I do want to say thank you for your willingness to step up and serve in this capacity.

I had the opportunity over the last month or so to work with you directly at the state house and see you in action.

Uh, you did an amazing job, and I do believe that you're the right person uh for this position.

So I too asked my colleagues to to support this as we move forward.

Um also counselor Nielsen is not here, and so he asked to be added as a sponsor as well.

So again, thank you.

Thank you.

Any other questions to counsel?

Counselor Allen.

Congratulations on your role.

I will be supporting you and the new deputy row.

And can I be added as a sponsor as well?

Thank you.

Uh go ahead and add me as the co-sponsor to the sign.

There we go.

It's a party.

All right.

Um, anyone from the audience like to speak on this.

Mr.

Chair, moving this in proposal 71 of the full council to do pass recommendations.

It's been moved and second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye, opposed.

You're in.

Thank you.

No turning back now.

Okay.

Congratulations.

Uh up next is proposal 72.

So they have a approximately 36,000 square feet of office space.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Mr.

Chair, members of the committee, I'm Kate Sweeney Bell, Marion County Clerk, and with me is my chief of staff, Chris Becker.

And I kind of wish you had uh given Shay the thumbs down so we could poach your butt.

I guess it's not to be.

So uh congratulations, Shay.

Well deserved.

Um we are here tonight.

Um, our records facility.

If any of you have ever been, it's a uh down in Madison Avenue, and it's a little bit difficult to get there now, but that is because so much work is being done on uh on Madison and uh making it safer uh but once you get there, we have over a hundred and fifty million records.

And uh we'd love to have them here in this facility.

There's not enough room.

So uh we have to have another place, and this is a continuation of the lease.

There are we you hopefully have a term sheet in front of you.

You can see that um much to our surprise and chagrin, the price did not go down.

So uh the rent will be increased.

But one thing that we did uh learn is that um we were uh carrying some other another agency uh for a while, and that is uh something that we are remedying with this new lease.

Uh we will have the whole building, but we will sublease it to uh it's Office of Finance and Management has about a thousand square feet that they're using for surplus.

We were happy to pay for that for a number of years, uh, but uh not anymore.

So uh hopefully if you have any questions, we're happy to answer them and uh uh we can we can keep those records that we're required to keep in perpetuity uh safe until uh we come back with our handouts so we can digitize them.

Uh that's a down the road project though.

Uh we want to make the records accessible and available to uh everyone in the public who wants to look at them.

Uh recently uh we had a filmmaker come in to look at uh their old criminal records.

There's a documentary that's be that's being shot, and we had some information that they couldn't find anywhere else.

And that's it's just one of the things we do.

Many of you have had uh to get the the star on your license if you travel.

Well, you probably have a passport one.

But the uh if if if someone has changed their name or uh you know had had some some change, we have the records and they come to us to find them.

Additionally, one of the things, and this this doesn't really have anything to do with the lease, but it's a lot easier to get documents from the clerk's office now.

Uh there is uh system we use, it was called screen door, but it has a new name.

I don't know what it is.

The public doesn't even know the name, but when they go online uh instead of having to request do a public records request, they can directly contact us, so it's it's a lot faster for them.

And I'm very proud of the work that went into that.

And those records, they get those at the records facility.

Thank you.

Uh any questions for clerk.

Good counselor.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Uh two questions here.

One is I guess I'm a little surprised, maybe I don't know the exact number, but you said there's not enough room like here.

But how much uh how much empty square footage do we have here then?

Because I I would have for sure thought it was in this ballpark.

Uh maybe in the courtrooms there is empty uh that is not something that was made available to us.

Ben Crawford is here.

He may be able to he knows that stuff off the top of his head, maybe.

Actually, now the tie tower is over 95% occupied.

Uh we're getting to a point where the east wing with IMPD will be completely full.

And we we have the fifth floor of the west wing completely full.

Uh we're using the second floor west wing space um as swing space when we remodel a floor.

So we really only have the third and fourth floor in the west wing available, and it's not uh up to snuffer office space currently.

Okay, do we have to do some remodeling work with that?

Okay.

And then second question is uh and you mentioned the digitization, because that's that's my other question is so we're we're looking at like about two and a half million here, some larger than that number if we end up having to exercise the the other five-year option.

What would it cost to digitize to a hundred percent in there?

Do you know do you have a ballpark of that?

I mean, I know we spend money every year on digitization, but it always feels like that number is like uh like a half million or a million, like it's it's not five million like this right.

We recently digitized our marriage records.

We're that project is almost finished, and that how much was that?

Uh I don't remember the the cost off the top of my head, it actually just finished last week.

We or Monday they informed us they everything is finished.

But um we're we kind of take things um by section and figure out what what are the immediate need for something so marriage license were something that people were asking for a lot, as the clerk said, especially if we're the needing those for their real ID.

So the next thing we're looking at is um some of our other microfilm records, but also um uh Trinity cases adoptions name changes, uh divorce records, all those things that involve somebody else's name being changed.

Circuit court records are are on that list too.

Um our kind of philosophy is we're gonna be paying for storage one way or another, either physically at a warehouse like this or online somewhere, and our we want to move to that online um storage because it just makes it easier for us to access.

Um it's also backed up somewhere, it's just on a paper copy, something, but um we've not put together an estimate necessarily on what it was gonna cost to do all of that.

I know um ISA is working on a city county-wide sort of contract for uh agencies to um to use for those those projects.

So um as we as we get funding and and have projects, you know, the documents ready to go, we'll be doing that.

Well, for the like if you use you you mentioned the marriage record, so like how many square feet was that and what did that cost to digitize?

Um I don't remember off the top of my head because we started that project a couple years ago.

But it was it's a thing, it was a very very challenging project that should not have been as challenging.

Yeah well I mean I I think that's something we should explore because you know we're we're spending a quarter million dollars a year right to not digitize them and to your point that god forbid something would happen to that building you know there would be a real problem where online uh records being backed up is is significantly better but this really is a a dollars issue that it's easy I think when we when you come to us and say hey we want this much to digitize or we're doing the we're moving on with the microfilm or whatever that a lot of times I feel like we're disconnected from this piece of the conversation that if we don't give you the money that now you're coming here saying I need you know two and a half million dollars so like at some point even if it is ten million right in the next decade we're gonna spend half of that to not do it right and we are uh that if you're familiar with the EARC the enhanced access review committee um I I pay attention to the dollars that are left in that because it is once we digitize it there's more access for the public and ultimately that's our goal to make to if if the public wants to look at one of these public documents here you go all right nothing okay thank you good question any other questions council counselor Lewis thank you Mr Chairman so just to be clear as we're starting uh thank you for your presentation starting conversations about our spring fiscal and then looking at the 2027 budget you're not asking for any additional dollars for this year but there is a possibility that when we're doing the uh budget for 2027 that you're going to need some additional dollars is that accurate yes okay okay but nothing for this year right so not for this for this let me be very clear not so there's so there's a possibility that for something else we we may see you for 2026 yes okay um so we um knowing that the lease was up at the end of April and we we had some preliminary numbers um during budget season last year on what we thought we might end up with a negotiated rate so we were able to encumber some money left over from our 2025 budget anticipating this with this six seven months um but yes go for going forward these will be you know contract obligations that can be paid thank you any other questions or comments from counselors seeing none anyone from the audience would speak on this I don't see any entertainment a motion the movement seconded all those in favor say aye aye opposed none thank you for again for your presentation thank you all no other business we are adjourned otherwise