Government of Indianapolis

The Government of Indianapolis—officially the Consolidated City of Indianapolis and Marion County—is a strong-mayor form of mayor-council government system. Local government is headquartered downtown at the City-County Building.

Since 1970, Indianapolis and Marion County have operated as a consolidated city-county government called Unigov. The executive branch is headed by the mayor who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer for both the city and county. The Indianapolis City-County Council is a unicameral legislative body consisting of 25 members, each elected from a geographic district. The mayor and council members are elected to unlimited four-year terms. The judicial branch consists of the Marion Circuit and Superior Courts. The municipal budget for 2024 is nearly $1.6 billion. The city-county government employs about 8,000 full-time employees.

Marion County contains nine civil townships that function independently from the city-county government under Indiana Code. Each township consists of an elected township trustee, a three-member board, an assessor, and a constable and small claims court judge, all of whom serve four-year terms.