Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Housing Agency no longer in control, HUD and city take over operations
INDIANAPOLIS — The City of Indianapolis and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will take over the Indianapolis Housing Agency.
This means the City and HUD will jointly work together to improve the agency. Previously, the IHA was responsible for paying its bills, issuing housing vouchers and more.
HUD says due to the agency’s serious failure to manage funds and records, it was time to take over.
HUD cited the following reasons as to why:
- IHA’s failure to maintain proper control over and properly use public housing HCV (housing choice voucher) grant funds.
- IHA’s failure to maintain, complete and accurate records and books of account in such manner to permit a speedy and effective audit.
- IHA’s failure to comply with federal procurement regulations.
HUD found about 1,500 vouchers are currently not being used out of the 9,000 vouchers available. This means families that could be getting federal help, aren’t.
“Nobody wanted to do the hard work it takes to issue a voucher, set the rent, work with the landlords and inspect the units,” Richard J. Monocchio, HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, said.
WRTV’s Rachael Wilkerson asked how bad of shape the Indianapolis Housing Agency was in.
“Bad shape. I’m not going to sugar coat it,” Monocchio said. “This is the responsibility the government has to the people, and the government hasn’t kept that responsibility. I walk these buildings. It’s unacceptable.”
On Wednesday, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Monocchio signed a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) between the city and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to jointly restore public confidence and accountability over the Indianapolis Housing Agency.
The agency will work together but the city, HUD says, will play a major role in supervising IHA.
HUD says there are three other incidents (New Orleans, Detroit and Gary, IN) where housing authorities reached a CEA, but described Indianapolis as the most unique situation.
“I don’t think the level of cooperation between federal government and chief executive of a city like this has happened before,” Monocchio said.
“What does this mean for residents?” WRTV’s Rachael Wilkerson asked.
“Nothing changes in terms of their lease or their contract with the landlord. Residents are going to be protected and the residents are going to see a better quality of life without question,” Monocchio said.
TIMELINE:
- In December 2022, the city requested assistance from HUD for IHA.
- In September 2023, the city and HUD signed a letter for intent for the CEA (agreement announced).
- On March 29, 2024, HUD made the official determination that IHA is in substantial default pursuant to the U.S. Housing At of 1937 because it violated fundamental obligations of its federal public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs.
- On April 10, 2024, HUD takes full possession of IHA in cooperation with the city.
IHA’s board is also dissolved.
Kimberly Size, HUD Indiana Field Office Director, will serve as the only member of the IHA board. There will still be public meetings for residents, but Kim is the only member.
“How has your experience living here been?” WRTV’s Rachael Wilkerson asked.
“It’s been Hell on Earth. That’s what it’s been,” Barton Tower resident Kathryn Lee said.
“So, now that the City and HUD is taking over, how does that make you feel?” WRTV’s Rachael Wilkerson asked.
“I don’t know yet. I gotta wait and let them take over and see what happens. I don’t know if it’s going to help me,” Lee said.
One of the biggest challenges for residents is restoring trust back into the IHA community.
“Because they don’t have it with me at all,” Lee said.
As for the current cyber attack investigation of IHA’s voucher system that is impacting some residents, the city says there is an ongoing criminal investigation and have no updates regarding the status.
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis councilman says ‘No Data Centers’ note was left at his home after someone opened fire
The home of a councilman in Indianapolis was shot at early Monday in what local police said was an “isolated, targeted incident.”
The incident came less than a week after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission voted 6 to 2 on April 1 to approve rezoning to allow the construction of a data center.
Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents District 8 on the council, spoke out in support of the rezoning and the efforts to build the data center in his district.
“Earlier this morning, between approximately 12:45 a.m. and 12:50 a.m., just a few hours after Easter Sunday, an individual fired 13 rounds at the front door of my home and left a note on my doorstep that read, ‘No Data Centers,’” Gibson said in a Monday statement.
Councilman Ron Gibson
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it was called to the home on Monday morning, and officers found evidence that gunshots had been fired at the house. Police said no injuries were reported.
“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said in his statement.
The Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The data center is set to be built by Metrobloks, a data center developer based in Los Angeles. Following the vote last week, Gibson shared a statement on social media promoting the project.
“Metrobloks has the potential to bring significant investment, create jobs, and generate long-term tax revenue that supports infrastructure, housing, and essential services,” the statement said.
A data center boom is happening across the US, with companies pouring billions into building the infrastructure to keep up with demand in the era of AI. The data centers have faced increased opposition, with critics pointing to the high resource costs, from water to energy, and other issues like noise pollution, as detailed in a Business Insider investigation.
Indianapolis, IN
Recorder Rewind: NCAA Division III basketball championship (Photos)
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis City-County Councilor says IMPD officer shoved him during protest
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis City-County Councilor says he was shoved by a police officer during a protest Saturday night.
In a post on Facebook, Jesse Brown — who represents council district 13 — indicated that a member of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department approached a group of protestors and began shoving and grabbing them.
“Tonight, an IMPD officer approached a group of protestors from behind/beside them, did not identify himself or issue verbal orders, but started grabbing and shoving people and cussing at them to move (we were stuck behind other people blocking the sidewalk),” Brown wrote on Facebook.
Brown added that he asked the officer for his badge number and told him he was a City-County Councilor.
“I told the IMPD officer who was shoving people that I wanted his badge number,” Brown wrote. “He refused to give it. I told him I was a City Councilor. He said that he didn’t care WHO I was and grabbed my arm to shove me as well.”
Brown finished his post by confirming that he filed a formal incident report on his encounter with the officer. He also offered some criticism for the officer in the final sentence of his post.
“Officers have a difficult job, but if this is how he treated two white male candidates / elected officials, I do not trust him to serve the public and de-escalate tense situations.”
Jackson Franklin, who is running for Indiana’s fifth district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was also involved in the incident. He made a Facebook post with greater detail on the incident.
Franklin said he, Brown and others were protesting near Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of Saturday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four games. Franklin said he and other protestors were at the Final Four “to demand the NCAA stop using the same airliners that ICE uses to break apart and deport families in this racist injustice system.”
A report from The Athletic that was syndicated by Yahoo Sports indicates that at least one airliner has contracts with the NCAA to transport student-athletes to tournaments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants.
In his post, Franklin said the officer involved in the incident “shoved/assaulted many of the protestors, including Indianapolis City-council person Jesse Brown.” Franklin added that the officer did not provide any warnings before he began shoving protestors
“I thought initially it was going to be some MAGA person just walking past that was offended by our anti-ICE chants, but I turned around and noticed that he was wearing a uniform,” Franklin wrote in his Facebook post. “It was only then he gave his commands to continue to move and he immediately went to push around many others, using his uniform as an excuse to harass those he disagreed with politically.
“There was absolutely no need for violence and the protest organizers filed a complaint, but I have no hope of any action occurring because of this complaint. While the lone officer assaulted us, there were about 10-15 other officers looking around awkwardly unsure of what to do, not protecting our first amendment right while also probably realizing the officer was way out of line and should have just asked us nicely to keep the movement on the public sidewalk going quicker rather than using violence as the first and only answer.”
FOX59/CBS4 reached out to IMPD for a statement on Brown and Franklin’s comments. As of this article’s publication, the agency had not responded to those inquiries.
Brown has been at the center of multiple city-county council disputes over the last 14 months. In February 2025, Brown — whose district encompasses portions of downtown and the near east side of Indy — said the city-county council’s democratic caucus expelled him from their ranks.
Brown also introduced a motion to remove the council’s president and vice president in July.
As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident Brown, Franklin and others were involved in had been made available.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
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