INDIANAPOLIS -- It was touted as a move to save millions, but Indianapolis hasn't been keeping tabs on the true cost of a massive police merger, as required by law.

The Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Department were joined in 2007 to create the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, which then-Mayor Bart Peterson said would save taxpayers $35 million.

An annual audit mandated by law only took place in 2007, under Peterson, but not in the years since Mayor Greg Ballard took office, 6News' Joanna Massee reported.

Ballard's staff originally told 6News that the audit was too expensive. But when Massee discovered that the 2007 study only cost $7,000, officials said they were making plans to comply with the law.

"We are going to follow the law. That's what we are preparing to do right now," said Assistant Public Safety Director Mark Renner. "2007 wasn't under this administration and 2008 was just this administration coming in … The courts are always looking at what's the intent of the law."

The 2007 audit, which reviewed 2006 records, found that it cost $2 million to merge the two departments, including outfitting officers with new uniforms and replacing car decals. But the merger also saved $280,000.

Rep. Phil Hinkle said he has been asking the city for years for statistics pinpointing the savings since 2007.

"Does it concern me? Absolutely," he said. "As any individual it's your right to abide by the statue, abide by the law, or to choose not to."

He said if government reform is to move forward, taxpayers need proof that they will save money.

Renner said the city is in the process of choosing an auditor to review the police consolidation, along with the consolidation of several township fire departments with the Indianapolis Fire Department.

The state statue does not include any consequences for not providing the annual reports.

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