INDIANAPOLIS -- In a meeting featuring chants from onlookers and name-calling among councilors, the City-County Council voted 15-13 Monday evening to increase Marion County's income tax from 1 percent to 1.65 percent.

The vote defied the wishes of a good portion of the attendees, some of whom chanted "No new taxes!" and "Shame!"

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Images: Protesters Make Scene As Indy Income Tax Increased
Capitol WatchBlog: Income Tax Issue Sparks Heated Debate

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Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson last month called for the increase, which he said would yield an extra $90 million yearly, most of which would be put toward crime-fighting initiatives.

Peterson, a Democrat, had said the new revenue was needed to hire new police officers, shore up pensions for officers and firefighters, fund new police and firefighter contracts, and maintain changes to the criminal justice system to prevent early jail releases.

Council members had sharp words before the vote, 6News' Ericka Flye reported.

"I refuse to be a part of taking hard earned money of our taxpayers and giving it to an administration that has proved incompetent in fiscal management," said council member Virginia Cain, a Republican.

One of her fellow Republicans, Lance Langsford, took a different view.

"Freedom isn't free, and to be safe and secure in this community and raise your families, I think everyone should pony up and pay that price," he said.

Also before the vote, Isaac Randolph, a Republican council member who also is a firefighter, asked to abstain, saying his participation would be a conflict of interest. His request was denied, but he abstained anyway.

Someone called him a coward for his decision. Randolph wasn't pleased.

"There are members of the council who feel like if you have any ethics, you're a coward," he said.

With the increase, a person making $50,000 per year will see his or her monthly income tax payment rise from $41 to $68. The increase is set to go into effect in October.

The council's vice president, Joanne Sanders, said the income tax hike "was necessary because no agency or group of agencies could cut enough from the budget to cover the costs that ensure the safety of our community."

The income tax increase was hotly debated in the past few weeks, partly because people already were upset with rising property taxes. Many homeowners across the state have seen steep increases in property tax bills, especially in Marion County.

On June 18, Gov. Mitch Daniels temporarily froze Marion County's property tax bills at 2006 amounts and ordered a reassessment there, saying the most recent assessment favored commercial properties and shifted an unfair portion of the tax burden to homeowners.

Peterson said the option to raise the income tax would have expired August 1, freezing the rate for another year, which is why he wanted to move forward now.

"I guarantee you, when we have straightened out this abominable property tax mess, there's only one thing people are going to care about, and that's to make sure that we're a safe city," Peterson said.

There had been discussion of using some of the income tax money for property tax relief. Peterson said Monday that is no longer needed because Daniels ordered that the properties be reassessed.

Tom John, chairman of the Marion County Republican Party, said the income tax increase "is another page in a sad chapter for Marion County."

"The councilors who supported this measure are assenting to the mayor's policy of spending first and asking questions later," John said. "There were many other ways to have funded this, especially if Peterson would work with the Legislature, but he didn't.

John said the money "would have been there if Peterson had managed his budget well, but he didn't. "

"Even worse is the fact that the mayor calls this necessary to fund public safety, yet only 10 percent of the funds will be used to hire more officers," John said. "We renew our call that every last penny of these new funds be used to put more officers on the street. If we can meet our goal of fully staffing IMPD for less, then the remainder should be used for property tax relief."