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The leader for the Marion County department that ensures individuals who can’t pay for an attorney have legal defense—a constitutional right—is advocating for changes to an almost 50-year-old requirement that county employees live in Indianapolis.
Ray Casanova, the chief public defender, lists eliminating the rule among his goals. He says the Marion County Public Defender Agency has five unfilled positions for attorneys who are supposed to go to trial in major felonies, such as sex crimes and murders, and the additional red tape harms the agency’s ability to attract and retain talent to fill those positions.
A City-County Council proposal aims to do away with the rule, but councilors on the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee voted 6-5 against recommending the Republican-authored proposal’s approval to the full council. One Democrat, Nick Roberts, joined the committee’s four Republicans in support of the measure.
The proposal heads to the full City-County Council for a vote at the Sept. 8 meeting. Councilors can follow the committee’s recommendation to not pass the measure, or they can opt to amend or pass it despite the committee vote.
Roberts, who represents the far-northeast corner of the county, said there should be some consideration of residency in hiring. But he said the city shouldn’t turn away talent just because they might live one minute north of his district, in Hamilton County.
“I do think there should be a preference for people who live in the city, but to me, it’s not the end-all, be-all,” Roberts said.
Democratic support for Republican proposals is somewhat rare in the City-County Council, where 19 Democrats rule the body over just six Republicans.
It gives the proposal’s author, Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, some hope that the conversation will continue when combined with urges from department heads, like Casanova.
Hart said a change might involve removing the requirement for the Public Defender Agency, or simply retooling the way in which waivers to exempt employees from the requirement are considered.
Currently, Indianapolis Chief Deputy Mayor Dan Parker is charged with reviewing and approving or denying those waivers. The code includes a carveout for people with specialized skills or training, but only if there is no “suitable applicant” in Marion County.
Casanova said the agency recently lost an employee who had such a waiver denied. An attorney in parental rights and child services at the agency for three years departed after the denial, leaving behind 114 cases that other attorneys needed to take on.
He added that the office needs to be mindful of this impact particularly in 2026. If councilors pass the Hogsett administration’s proposed budget as submitted, the agency will cut funding for 10 employees. If the agency maintained the 265 positions it currently has, it would run at a $700,000 deficit for 2026.
Casanova said the agency will likely manage this loss by attempting to fill the gap with federal reimbursement funds and by “slow-walking” the process of filling open positions.
Lucy Frick, a team lead in the Major Felony Division and an organizer within the agency’s union, said the office is “bleeding good talent” and her division “cannot afford to lose people.”
She said she’s seen departures as colleagues, particularly those with families, move out of the county to find more affordable housing or better schools.
“I would really love to see the city make the exception for anyone,” Frick said. “Anyone who works for the city… given housing costs and low city salaries, should be allowed to live where they wish.”
The sticking point for the Hogsett administration is income taxes. Due to changes made by the state legislature, income taxes will fund a larger portion of the city’s revenue from 2026 on than property taxes previously did.
Controller Abby Hanson estimates that between $3.5 million and $4 million could be lost. That estimate, which she called “rough math,” is based on the fact that about half of public safety employees eligible to live outside the county do so. Assuming all city employees could move to the donut counties at a similar rate, $3.5 million could be lost in income taxes, with an additional $500,000 in other taxes, she said.
Right now, 1,679 City-County employees live outside the county. That equates to about $3 million in income tax paid to other governments, a city spokesperson said.
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