INDIANAPOLIS — On Wednesday, the city's Office of Public Health and Safety took questions from members of a City-County Council committee about its $27,974,790 budget for 2026.

While there are some reductions, OPHS Director Andrew Merkley said they did see some major accomplishments.

"We are blessed we only had a 2% reduction as opposed to the 4% some of the city agencies had to recognize," Merkey told the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee. "We did not have to cut any of the funding OPHS directly oversees."

Merkley said the budget is devoted to addressing the root causes of violence in Indianapolis.

"A significant portion of those funds are going to the gun violence reduction strategy ," Merkley said.

One of the major concerns from the council was the funding needed to addr

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