The Sunday Post - Jan 11, 2026: From Council to the Statehouse, SmartIndy Metrics, and Warren Township Updates
- Michael-Paul Hart
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
A weekly report from Councilor Michael-Paul Hart — Building the Smartest City in America.
Volume 2, Issue 2
Full Council Meeting: A New President and a New Chance to Move Real Policy
At Monday’s first full council meeting of 2026, the Council elected Maggie Lewis as Council President, with John Barth as Vice President and Jared Evans stepping into the Majority Leader role.
Anytime leadership changes, it is worth asking a simple question: Will we see more urgency and better execution on the issues that matter most?
Last year I introduced multiple proposals focused on the basics that drive quality of life,
especially roads and public safety. Two examples you may want to revisit:
Spring Fiscal 2025 (road funding and practical budget amendments)
Public Safety Package 2025 (recruitment, accountability, and modernizing how we manage public safety operations)
One lesson from local government is this: when City leaders do not act, the same ideas often show up later at the Statehouse, and then we are reacting instead of leading.
See SB284 for Example:
Hammer and Nigel: A New Rhythm
Visit with Purple Ribbon Solutions: A Small Business Story Worth Highlighting
This week I also visited Purple Ribbon Solutions near 56th and German Church after Sandra Day
invited me to stop by.
This was one of those visits that reminds you what makes Indy work: people building something from scratch, helping others succeed, and creating space for entrepreneurship.
Sandra is doing real community-building through business. She is leasing space, supporting other small business owners, and helping people take the first step from idea to operation.
We talked about a few issues that overlap directly with what I focus on as a countywide leader:
How we support small business startups without burying them in red tape
How we approach homelessness with solutions that actually move people into stability
How infrastructure and new technology (including EV charging) fits into the next decade of Indy growth
If you are a small business owner on the Eastside building something positive, I want to hear from you. Stories like this matter, and they deserve visibility.
SmartIndy Update: Benchmarking the “Smartest City in America” Goal
This week we held a SmartIndy Housing and Homelessness Committee meeting chaired by Nick Morrison, with a strong turnout and a working session that was focused and productive.
Here is the big idea: we cannot claim we are building the smartest city in America if we do not measure where we are today.
So we are starting a benchmarking effort, with the goal of building a public-facing dashboard on the SmartIndy website.
Smart ideas are built with leadership and measurement. If we track performance publicly, we can pressure the system to improve, and we can highlight what is working.
We will continue meeting the second Thursday of every month. This month’s goal is to identify the best sources for each metric and assign owners for collecting and maintaining them.
The metrics we are tracking:
Warren Township Legislative Forum: Listening First, Then Getting Technical
On Saturday, I attended Warren Township’s annual Legislative Forum at the Warren Education and Community Center.
A large portion of the discussion centered on school operations and education policy proposals, including ongoing debates about cell phones, social media, and the tension between real learning and “teaching to the test.”
One point that came through clearly: when schools are forced to chase testing requirements,
instruction becomes fragmented. Kids do not get the full foundation. Teachers are pushed to cover what will be tested instead of what will produce long-term skill and confidence.
The other major focus was funding and fiscal stability, especially the long-term impact of Indiana’s property tax changes under SB 1 (Senate Enrolled Act 1), with phase-ins that extend through 2031.
Policy Analytics provided a thorough breakdown of what these changes could mean for school funding stability and the ability of local government to sustain services over time.
My takeaway: forums like this are exactly what smart government should look like. Bring people together, put the numbers on the table, and have the hard conversation in public. I appreciate Warren Township hosting it, and I will keep showing up and listening as these policies move forward.
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Thank you for reading Indianapolis City Council Updates and for supporting common‑sense leadership. Together, and with the community driving accountability, we are turning bold ideas into real‑world results.
Accountability, Transparency and Local Leadership
See you next week with more updates from the Neighborhood.
