The City-County Council approved Andrew Merkley’s nomination as director of the Office of Public Health and Safety on May 5.
The approval came despite concerns from some homelessness advocates about Merkley’s role in the recent winter contingency plan for people experiencing homelessness.
Service providers were still scrambling two weeks before winter contingency was supposed to start. On the city’s side, that responsibility largely fell on Merkley, who was the director of homelessness policy and eviction prevention since 2021.
But even some advocates who criticized Merkley acknowledged during a recent council committee meeting that blame couldn’t fall on one person.
“It’s not just Andrew,” said Tyler “TK” Slack, who along with his partner, Katelyn White, runs the service organization Allies For Humanity. “It’s all of us.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett appointed Merkley as OPHS director in March following the resignation of Martine Romy Bernard-Tucker in December.
The council’s Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee unanimously voted to recommend Merkley.
“There are significant challenges with solving for homelessness,” he told Mirror Indy after the committee meeting. “And unfortunately, my nomination this evening I think brought light to that.”
The council approved Merkley’s nomination by a 23-1 vote.
Eastside Democrat Jesse Brown voted no.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or [email protected]. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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