The special status of “included towns” was extended to 16 municipalities in the legislation that consolidated the city of Indianapolis and in 1970. Those towns were: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . Most of these communities originally opposed being included in Unigov.
The included towns are permitted to maintain local governments, adopt and enforce local ordinances, provide local services, and impose local property taxes. The local ordinances of included towns must be consistent with ordinances of the city of Indianapolis and Marion County. In addition, the must approve the issuance of any general obligation bonds by the included towns.
Many of the included towns have chosen not to maintain active governments. Some, such as Castleton and Ravenswood, have dissolved. The others generally have town boards that meet informally and infrequently. Most local services are provided by contracting with a private company, a township, the city of Indianapolis, or Marion County. Few of the towns still impose a separate property tax. The included towns receive revenues from distributions of state funds and from the city-county government. Where an active town government is not maintained, a clerk-treasurer usually serves to receive and put to use revenues received by the town; otherwise, those funds revert to the city-county government.
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