Bradford, J.
CASE SUMMARY
In 2012, Appellants/Defendants Gilda Orange, et al., in their capacities as members of the Common Council of the City of East Chicago, Indiana (collectively, “the Council”), reduced by $82,000 the 2013 budget of the City Court of the City of East Chicago, Indiana (“the City Court”), which is presided over by Appellee/Plaintiff the Honorable Sonya A. Morris, Judge. In October of 2012, Judge Morris filed a verified complaint in mandamus in Lake Circuit Court, seeking an order that the Council fully fund the City Court’s requested budget for 2013 and that the Council also pay the City Court’s reasonable expenses in prosecuting the action. The Council moved to dismiss Judge Morris’s complaint on the ground that it did not use the Indiana Supreme Court’s judicial assignment process as outlined in Indiana Trial Rule 60.5.
Special Judge George C. Paras was appointed to hear the complaint, denied the Council’s motion to dismiss, and held trial. Following trial, Judge Paras ordered the Council to appropriate an additional $65,000 to fund the City Court (“the Mandate”) and for each party to pay its own expenses and attorney’s fees. The Council contends that (1) Judge Morris failed to meet her burden to establish that the mandated funds were reasonably necessary to operate the City Court, (2) Judge Morris should have been required to use the judicial appointment process of Trial Rule 60.5, (3) existing probation funds could have cushioned the effect of budgetary cuts, and (4) the Council’s appeal is not moot. The City Court counters that (1) the Mandate was necessary to preserve the judicial independence of the City Court, (2) the mandated funds are reasonably necessary to fund court operations, (3) the Council failed to establish that the City Court’s budget is excessive or that East Chicago could not fund the budget, and (4) the City Court is entitled to appellate attorney’s fees and expenses. We consolidate and restate the issues as (1) whether Judge Morris produced sufficient evidence to support the mandate of funds, (2) whether Judge Morris should have been required to use the procedure outlined in Trial Rule 60.5, and (3) whether the City Court is entitled to appellate attorney’s fees and expenses. We affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand for calculation of the City Court’s appellate attorney’s fees and expenses.
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Here, Judge Morris did not issue a rule to show cause to East Chicago and the Indiana Supreme Court did not appoint a special judge pursuant to subsection (B). The Council argues that Judge Morris was required to adhere to Rule 60.5’s procedural requirements but did not. Judge Morris counters that city courts are exempt from Rule 60.5’s procedural requirements pursuant to the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision in Gary City Court v. City of Gary, 489 N.E.2d 511 (Ind. 1986).
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Judge Morris relies on Gary City Court as authority justifying her filing a complaint in mandamus in Circuit Court instead of issuing a mandate order. The Council argues in its Brief of Appellant that the basis for Gary City Court has eroded over the years and that, in light of a recent Indiana Supreme Court decision, may no longer be good law. Specifically, the Council argues that (1) the Indiana Supreme Court has not amended Trial Rule 60.5 to remove the reference to “municipalities” in the almost thirty years since issuing Gary City Court; (2) the court’s decision in In re Mandate of Funds for Center Township of Marion County Small Claims Court, 989 N.E.2d 1237, 1238 (Ind. 2013), has potentially superseded Gary City Court; and (3) there is no longer a logical basis for treating city courts differently under Trial Rule 60.5.
Whatever the merits of the Council’s arguments in the abstract, the Council itself concedes in its Reply Brief (and conceded again at oral argument) that City of Gary remains good law and is therefore absolutely binding on this court.
We are bound by the decisions of our supreme court. See In re Petition to Transfer Appeals, 202 Ind. 365, 376, 174 N.E. 812, 817 (1931). Supreme court precedent is binding upon us until it is changed either by that court or by legislative enactment. Id. While Indiana Appellate Rule 65(A) authorizes this Court to criticize existing law, it is not this court’s role to “reconsider” supreme court decisions.
Dragon v. State, 774 N.E.2d 103, 107 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002), trans. denied. Consequently, we are constrained to conclude that Judge Morris used the proper procedure to prosecute her mandate action and we need not address the Council’s arguments further.
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CONCLUSION
We conclude that because Judge Morris carried her burden to establish that the requested funds were reasonably necessary, the trial court did not err in granting her mandate request. We further conclude that Judge Morris used the proper procedure to prosecute her mandate action and so will not reverse the judgment of the trial court on that basis. Finally, we conclude the City Court is entitled to an award of its appellate attorney’s fees and expenses and so remand for calculation of those fees and expenses.
We affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand with instructions.
BARNES, J., and BROWN, J., concur.