The Zionsville Town Council met Nov. 20 and discussed Mayor Emily Styron’s veto of the town’s spending plan for American Rescue Plan Act funds on Nov. 16.
At its Nov. 6 meeting, the council approved a spending plan for ARPA funds. Councilor Josh Garrett said he and Councilor Alexander Choi worked with Deputy Mayor Andy Pickell on the 2024 budget and agreed that items cut from the budget would be moved to the ARPA plan.
“These are projects that were presented by the mayor in the budget workshop as the basis for the ARPA spending plan,” Garrett said. “There should have been zero surprises in this post.”
Styron explained her reason for the veto in a memo to the town council, stating that the creation of the ARPA spending plan should be a 2024 project, she and the town council did not jointly come to an agreement on the ARPA ordinance, and she does not agree that grants should be given to a select three nonprofits in the plan.
“The town council has not made community involvement a priority,” Styron stated. “This year, there have not been any ARPA public forums related to the current ARPA plan.”
Garrett said the forums happened in the previous year, the last being Oct. 24.
“We were going through and trying to get community input on how they wanted to see the ARPA spending plan,” Garrett said. “The feedback helped drive this plan.”
According to Garrett, the council discussed the ARPA plan at least four times at town council meetings. He said Styron did not attend any of the meetings.
Styron said Pickell attended meetings, and the administration has “consistently communicated to the town council the flaws in the ARPA spending plan.”
“This was communicated in the memo from my office to town council on Oct. 13, in the administration update during the Oct. 23 town council meeting, during an in-person meeting and through several emails,” Styron said.
Styron made a Facebook post on Nov. 16 stating that she has “consistently communicated to the town council the flaws in this ARPA spending plan.”
Garrett asked the council if the mayor had communicated with any of them, and all members shook their heads no.
Garrett listed the projects that he said, “The mayor no longer thinks are important to this community,” including:
- $720,00 in Department of Public Works equipment replacement
- $1.15 million in new pathway constructions for Cobblestone Lakes, Oak Street and Ford Road
- $30,000 for the town hall parking lot
- $150,000 for a transportation plan
- $300,000 for a comprehensive plan
- $510,000 in grants to zWORKS, the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce and the Cultural District for the Brick Street Market, Street Dance, Christmas in the Village and the summer concert series
The last part of the vetoed ARPA plan was $366,000 for self-contained breathing apparatus for the fire department. Garrett explained that the SCBA for the fire department was cut from the budget and moved to the ARPA spending plan.
“Those expire next year,” Garrett said. “These are things that keep our first responders safe. We’re not going to cut mission critical items for our first responders out of the budget. If we do not move forward with anything, we would not have all of those (items) and money that is federally funded will expire.”
Garrett presented an updated ARPA ordinance that would include changes per the department head’s requests and the items the mayor vetoed.
“As a quick refresher for the budget process, it starts with the mayor,” Garrett said. “Everything in here she came up with and came to us with, with the exception of the summer concert series. The mayor in her veto is vetoing the very items she proposed in August and requested to be a part of the budget.”
Styron said she and the town council agreed on the infrastructure, pathways, equipment and planning projects that are in the ARPA ordinance, but the administration never agreed with the $510,000 in grants to the three organizations.
“That is why I vetoed the APRA ordinance as presented,” Styron said. “Administration has advocated for, and continues to advocate, that nonprofits are funded through the food and beverage fund to ensure an equitable, transparent grant process. There should be no disparity of treatment of Zionsville’s many non-profits. The ARPA ordinance expressly states that it is ‘to be determined jointly by the mayor and the town council.’ This ordinance is not jointly agreed upon.”
The ordinance to amend the ARPA plan was passed on first reading by the town council’s 6-0 vote. Discussion of the updated plan will continue at the 7 p.m. meeting on Dec. 4.
If the ordinance passes, Styron will have 10 days to sign, veto it again or ignore it.
