Indianapolis budget includes plans to make Animal Care Services a new agency

A move to address years of dysfunction with Indianapolis Animal Care Services is part of the 2025 Indianapolis budget plans. IACS will become its own agency starting next year after an organizational assessment.

The change will provide more than $1 million in additional funding for the new department.

IACS currently operates under the Department of Neighborhood and Business Services and has since 2017. Since then the budget for animal care services has grown almost 50 percent.

At a budget meeting this week Department of Business and Neighborhood Services Director Abbey Brands acknowledged operations at animal services have had ongoing issues.

“People are frustrated and they're passionate, and there's so many emotions involved, and they want to be able to point a finger, and more often than not, that finger gets pointed at IACS,” Brands said.

The break from BNS will create new positions including a new IACS director, CFO and an office manager. The budget also includes money for kennel cleaning services so staff may focus on animal care.

Brands said they are aware of other issues plaguing animal care in Indianapolis. “It's backyard breeding. It's access to spay and neuter care, especially low and no cost spay and neuter care,” she said, “It's education within this community, it's an alignment of human Services and animal Services.”

The city recently passed a measure to create a registry for unaltered dogs to prevent backyard breeding. 

Many of the issues facing IACS are tied to its aging facility. The city is building a new shelter on the city’s southeast side that will help alleviate overcrowding problems. It will not open until 2026. 

IACS will operate as a new agency in January 2025.

Contact WFYI City Desk Managing Editor Jill Sheridan at jsheridan@wfyi.org.