From the Indianapolis Star:
Compared to a year ago, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard will have an easier decision this week when he signs next year’s $1 billion city-county budget.
The plan, approved 26-2 by the City-County Council last week, came together after plenty of friction between the Republican mayor and the council’s majority Democrats during the last two months. But they struck a last-minute agreement that smoothed over their differences — and likely averted vetoes.
Perhaps that peaceful outcome was why Ballard had little to say about the budget strife during an interview in his office late last week with The Indianapolis Star.
A year ago, Ballard decried Democrats’ priorities on the previous budget as he used his line-item veto pen several times, including to ax a significant chunk of county officials’ funding. That forced the Democrats back into negotiations.
This time, the mayor was downright sanguine about this year’s budget battle.
Earlier, he had accused Democrats of being irresponsible after they rejected his plan to pay for police recruits by eliminating a property tax credit for homeowners.
Now, though, he said of the fighting: “It’s hardly horrible.” Especially, he added, compared with the toxic climate this month in Washington, D.C., where a government shutdown went on for more than two weeks.
“It’s not like we played it out, you know, with guns drawn at 10 paces or anything,” he said. “Indianapolis has had a long history of getting things done for the last 40 years, so I wouldn’t expect otherwise.”
The closest Ballard got to criticizing Democrats was to question their late-game budget proposal, which would have replaced the tax credit’s repeal with money from the parking meter fund and other sources. Ballard called those “accounting tricks.” (Ultimately, his top adviser persuaded President Maggie Lewis and other Democrats to move money from different sources the mayor approved.)
Ballard was quick to add: “That’s OK, though. We got it done.”
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http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310200014&nclick_check=1
