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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Budget Hearing: CIB, Airport Authority, Indigo - September 16, 2026

City-County Council — Wednesday, September 16, 2026

BodyIndianapolis, Indiana

SessionCity-County Council

DateWednesday, September 16, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:56:48

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

1:24

Good evening, everybody.

1:25

I am Chairman Jared Evans, and we're going to begin tonight's meeting, municipal corporations committee meeting on this September 16th with introductions from my colleagues starting to my left.

1:39

Thank you, Mr.

1:40

Chairman Mike Dilk, District 24.

1:43

Thank you, Mr.

1:44

Chairman, Michael Paul Hart, representing District 20.

1:46

Thank you, Mr.

1:47

Chair, Brian Mowery, District 25.

1:51

Thank you, Mr.

1:52

Chairman.

1:52

Jesse Brown representing District 13.

1:55

Thank you, Mr.

1:56

Chairman.

1:56

Renee Allen, District 15, the Fari Sat.

2:00

Thank you, Mr.

2:00

Chair, Ron Gibson, District 8.

2:02

Thanks, Mr.

2:03

Chair.

2:03

Good evening, everyone.

2:04

Keith Graves, the East Side of Indianapolis in Council District 9.

2:08

Thank you, Chairman Evans.

2:09

Kristen Jones, District 18.

2:11

Thank you, colleagues.

2:12

Tonight is a budget hearing for the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board, the Indianapolis Airport Authority, and the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation, better known as Indigo.

2:22

And we will begin tonight with Mr.

2:24

Andy Mallon with the CIB.

2:27

The floor is yours, sir.

2:28

Thank you.

4:15

Lucas Oil Stadium in 2026.

5:00

2028, we also have the USA Olympic swim trials again, where we will be building another pool in LucasOil Stadium.

5:08

Uh 2029, we have WWE SummerSlam, and at the same that same year we will have the NCAA men's Final Four back in Lucas Oil Stadium.

5:22

Um for example, we just announced our first concert of 2027, so Metallica will be joining us in the summer of 2027, just announced today.

5:36

Um next is our budget and the details, and I'm gonna let um Tim Kerr, our CFO, walk you through the the different characters and uh you know stop us if you have any questions or um we can we can do it at the end too.

5:52

So Tim.

5:54

Good evening.

5:55

Thank you, Andy.

5:56

Um the first um in your packet, you should have received like um a printout of the actual budget, it's the Excel document.

6:03

That's that's the full budget there.

6:06

Um I'll just touch on some of the highlights and some of the bigger numbers.

6:12

Um so the budget funding, the net amount is um a negative 13.9 million dollars.

6:18

Um total revenues are up 19 million dollars versus um 2026 budget.

6:25

The total expenses are down 1.8 million dollars, which is 0.7 percent.

6:30

Um I'm I'm proud that um we were able to increase our revenues 19 million dollars and then also cut our expenses almost two million dollars there.

6:39

Um we pushed on our um our whole team to hold their line on expenses or cut them if possible, and they came came back with that.

6:50

Um the negative real quick for context, as you'll recall, and I'm gonna step over Tim's toes here as we go.

6:57

Sorry, he's he said he's okay with it.

6:59

Um every year that we have come to, we've we we do the same thing, and that is to bring uh a budget that does uh include contingencies for our business operations so that we're not having to come back to you in the middle of the summer or at the end of the year to you know if we if the roof leaks, for example, during Gen Con, we don't need to come back here and get an additional appropriation to be able to go and fix that roofly because they needed that roof leak fixed immediately.

7:30

So our budgets have historically um ever since I've been at the uh CIB and then prior to that been shown negative balances where we spend from our fund balance.

7:42

Um I will say this year has been it or this budget is far less in the negative than um if you go back over the last several years.

7:52

So we're we're particularly proud of that, and that that shows the the sort of revenue enhancements and cost controls that Tim is referencing.

8:01

Thanks.

8:02

Yep.

8:03

So that negative balance um it will be covered by utilizing um the CIB's um unrestricted operating reserves.

8:10

Um just for um uh frame of reference there uh on there you see it says in June 30 it the CIB revenues um operating revenues reserves were 219.

8:22

Actually, a more updated numbers as of July at the end of July, they were 213 million dollars.

8:29

Um I am forecasting at the end of 2026 we'll have 203 million dollars.

8:35

Um if we did have that 14 million negative bottom line, um that would mean at the end of 2027 we'll have 189 million um reserves there.

8:46

Um more of a frame of reference, the highest that reserves that we've ever had, and that was in 2025, um, was 239 million.

8:54

So um I think the 289 is still a solid manageable um operating um reserve there.

9:01

So okay, there you go.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Airport Operations█████████████████17%

Public Transit█████████████13%

Public Safety████████████12%

Budget███████████11%

Stadium Management█████████9%

Public Transportation████████8%

Public Works██████6%

Economic Development█████5%

Workforce Development█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Municipal Corporations Committee Budget Hearing - September 16, 2026

On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 5:30 p.m., the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council Municipal Corporations Committee, chaired by Councilor Jared Evans, held a budget hearing for three entities: the Capital Improvements Board (CIB), the Indianapolis Airport Authority, and the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (Indigo). The meeting lasted approximately 90 minutes and featured presentations, questions, and discussions. No votes were taken; the hearing was informational.

Consent Calendar

None. All items were considered under discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments were received.

Discussion Items

Capital Improvements Board (CIB) Presented by Andy Mallon, Tim Kuehr, and Kobe Wright.

Proposed 2027 budget shows a net negative of $13.9 million, which will be covered by operating reserves (projected at $189 million by end of 2027). Total revenues are up $19 million (+11.5%) vs. 2026 budget; expenses down $1.8 million (-0.7%).
Tax revenues: $169 million, a 6% increase. Hotel/motel, food/beverage, auto rental, stadium taxes all projected up 3%. Admissions tax up 5% (capped at $24 million).
Operating revenues: $62 million, up 21% due to expected events (5 concerts in 2027 vs. 2 in 2026).
Capital budget: $29.5 million, including $8 million for Lucas Oil Stadium exterior signage replacement (neon to LED), $3 million for control room equipment, $2 million for office renovation, $2 million for roof membrane replacement.
XBE spend as of June 2026: MBE 15.4% ($4.8M), WBE 10.1% ($3.3M), VBE 0.3% ($104k), DOBE 0.05% ($15k).
Signia Hotel: Substantially complete October 6, 2026; opening December 2, 2026. No operating expenses included in CIB budget – managed by Hilton.
MLS pursuit: No substantive update; $500k/month lobbying budget preserved for potential legislative needs. Councilor Hart expressed frustration over lack of progress on local soccer opportunity.
Councilor Brown questioned the 2013 public safety agreement with IMPD, noting it is flat while officer salaries have nearly doubled. CIB pays 25% of admissions tax (after cap) for policing outside facilities.
Councilor Leader Maurer raised concerns about Lucas Oil Stadium roof usage during nice weather; CIB noted Colts control decisions for their events.

Indianapolis Airport Authority Presented by Mario Rodriguez, Dr. Phil Powell, Rebecca Fiskis, Elias Maqueda, and Rachel.

Economic impact: Every dollar spent generates $2 in local economic stimulus (200% multiplier).
90% of $345 million in 2026 spending was local. 57 nonstop destinations – record high.
554 days of operating reserves. Bond ratings increased. All-time passenger record.
2027 Capital budget: $425 million for 101 projects, creating 6,342 jobs and $768 million local impact. Key projects: Airport hotel (253 rooms, opening fall 2027), centralized baggage handling system, parking expansion (1,600 garage spaces, 1,900 surface spaces), 100% electric shuttle fleet, terminal energy resiliency, restroom renovations, replacement of all elevators/escalators/moving walkways, taxiway reconstruction.
Operating budget: $263.3 million (6% increase). No tax dollars used – user-fee driven.
Workforce development: High school apprenticeships, internships, public safety pipeline program. Six officers moved into police/fire/EMS roles. 24 summer interns from 14 universities.
Councilor Brown raised concerns about ICE flights using the airport. Mario Rodriguez explained federal law prevents the airport from blocking federal aircraft movements; Million Air (fueling contractor) is under federal contract.
Councilor Hart requested better integration of Uber/Lyft lines and transit (Blue Line station) at the airport. Airport is designing a station within the transportation center.

Indigo (Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation) Presented by Jennifer Pierce and Justin Burcope.

2027 total budget: $374.5 million (operating $164M, capital $189.7M, debt service $20.8M). Decrease of 13.4% from 2026 due to lower capital spending.
Zero-based budgeting identified $3 million in savings from professional services and maintenance.
Ridership: 6.7 million trips in 2025. Despite $1 fare increase in January 2026, ridership is up modestly over 2025; fare revenue up 22.3% year-to-date (exceeded expected 4-19% range).
76% of riders are employed; 70% in households earning <$35,000/year.
Blue Line BRT: 24 miles from Cumberland to airport via downtown. Construction 1/3 complete; stations 40% complete; East Side Mobility Hub half done (opens 2027 for transfers; full line opens fall 2028). Secured $180 million in federal funding since Jan 2025.
Other federal grants: $33M for East Campus fleet facility, $19M for e-gen flex hybrid buses (with Allison/Cummins), $41M formula funds.
Partnered with DPW: $19M contributed to city-led projects including West Washington Street improvements.
198 bus stops improved since 2025 ($10.5M investment). 77% of network is now pedestrian-friendly (ADA accessible).
Workforce: 800 employees; planned salary increases and healthcare cost increases.
Upcoming: Tap-to-pay implementation (credit cards, Google Pay) expected fall 2026.
Councilor Brown noted accessibility issues at bus stops near grocery stores and urged better coordination with private businesses.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes or decisions were taken. The hearing was for information and discussion.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m. The committee is scheduled to meet again on September 23, 2026, to consider pending business.
Note: The printed agenda listed the date as September 16, 2025, which appears to be a typographical error; the correct date per the meeting call and this summary is September 16, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everybody. I am Chairman Jared Evans, and we're going to begin tonight's meeting, municipal corporations committee meeting on this September 16th with introductions from my colleagues starting to my left. Thank you, Mr. Chairman Mike Dilk, District 24. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Michael Paul Hart, representing District 20. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Brian Mowery, District 25. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Jesse Brown representing District 13. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Renee Allen, District 15, the Fari Sat. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Ron Gibson, District 8. Thanks, Mr. Chair. Good evening, everyone. Keith Graves, the East Side of Indianapolis in Council District 9. Thank you, Chairman Evans. Kristen Jones, District 18. Thank you, colleagues. Tonight is a budget hearing for the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board, the Indianapolis Airport Authority, and the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation, better known as Indigo. And we will begin tonight with Mr. Andy Mallon with the CIB. The floor is yours, sir. Thank you. Lucas Oil Stadium in 2026. 2028, we also have the USA Olympic swim trials again, where we will be building another pool in LucasOil Stadium. Uh 2029, we have WWE SummerSlam, and at the same that same year we will have the NCAA men's Final Four back in Lucas Oil Stadium. Um for example, we just announced our first concert of 2027, so Metallica will be joining us in the summer of 2027, just announced today. Um next is our budget and the details, and I'm gonna let um Tim Kerr, our CFO, walk you through the the different characters and uh you know stop us if you have any questions or um we can we can do it at the end too. So Tim. Good evening. Thank you, Andy. Um the first um in your packet, you should have received like um a printout of the actual budget, it's the Excel document. That's that's the full budget there. Um I'll just touch on some of the highlights and some of the bigger numbers. Um so the budget funding, the net amount is um a negative 13.9 million dollars. Um total revenues are up 19 million dollars versus um 2026 budget. The total expenses are down 1.8 million dollars, which is 0.7 percent. Um I'm I'm proud that um we were able to increase our revenues 19 million dollars and then also cut our expenses almost two million dollars there. Um we pushed on our um our whole team to hold their line on expenses or cut them if possible, and they came came back with that. Um the negative real quick for context, as you'll recall, and I'm gonna step over Tim's toes here as we go. Sorry, he's he said he's okay with it. Um every year that we have come to, we've we we do the same thing, and that is to bring uh a budget that does uh include contingencies for our business operations so that we're not having to come back to you in the middle of the summer or at the end of the year to you know if we if the roof leaks, for example, during Gen Con, we don't need to come back here and get an additional appropriation to be able to go and fix that roofly because they needed that roof leak fixed immediately. So our budgets have historically um ever since I've been at the uh CIB and then prior to that been shown negative balances where we spend from our fund balance. Um I will say this year has been it or this budget is far less in the negative than um if you go back over the last several years. So we're we're particularly proud of that, and that that shows the the sort of revenue enhancements and cost controls that Tim is referencing.

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