24-02-2025
Gary Leaders Push Back as State Bills Threaten City's Finances
With state lawmakers pushing a wave of bills that could reshape Gary's finance and governance, city leaders are working to stay ahead. The Gary Common Council is considering a new committee to track legislation, keep local officials and residents informed, and strengthen the city's ability to advocate for its interests at the state proposal, introduced last week by Councilman Darren Washington, comes as Indiana legislators advances a law that could weaken Gary's representation on the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority board, along with a mandate forcing the city to repay millions due to a state accounting error.
Washington cited the sheer number of bills in the legislature as a major factor necessitating the new committee.
'There are so many bills that fly through the Indiana General Assembly,' Washington said. 'Our legislators don't catch everything, and sometimes many of us have eyes, and we see certain things, and we can help them out and the administration out by looking at legislation that can be detrimental.'
Council President Lori Latham said the committee is necessary to help Gary push back against increasingly direct challenges from the state.
'I remember a time when the forces against us were more subtle. However, subtlety has been lost. It's been, in many ways — especially with the airport bill — an all-out attack. I think a committee will be a way for us to at least begin to organize, to defend ourselves again,' she said.
'Gary is under attack; there's no nice way to say it,' Councilman Kenneth Whisenton said, supporting the committee's formation.
Washington said the goal of the committee would be to highlight any legislation that impacts Gary. The idea would be to have state legislators come in and inform the council and the public of what legislation is moving through the Statehouse.
'They will be on Facebook, it will be recorded, and they can articulate bills that will be detrimental or benefit the municipal city,' said Washington.
Several bills this session could significantly impact Gary. House Bill 1001 proposes reshaping Gary/Chicago International Airport's board, cutting Gary's mayoral appointees from four to one while granting appointments to Hammond, Crown Point, and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.
The plan for the new committee comes just weeks after council members made the trek to Indianapolis as part of Accelerating Indiana's Municipalities, which hosted a finance workshop for Black elected officials. During their visit, the council met with members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus.
Another bill of interest for the council is House Bill 1448, which requires the city to pay back more than $12 million after the Indiana State Comptroller mistakenly sent funds to Gary originally earmarked for Michigan City and East Chicago.
Latham said she and council members spoke specifically with state Rep. Greg Porter, D-Indianapolis, who's been advocating on their behalf as the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, which is where HB 1448 has been heard.
'It's great to see Gary's Common Council members rolling up their sleeves and advocating on behalf of Gary and its residents,' Porter said. 'We look forward to working with them more as we move Indiana and all of its great cities forward.'
Council members met briefly with the bill's author, state Rep. Harold Slager, R-Schererville, at the Statehouse to discuss key details of the bill.
'We want to be compliant with the law and make sure Michigan City and East Chicago get what they are due,' Latham said.
The current plan would require the city to pay a little more than $5 million from money already budgeted for 2025.
'We established the 2025 budget in 2024, so this is money that we've already budgeted for 2025, and then to make us pay more back and take money out of our budget for the next three years?' Latham said.'We're looking for a more reasonable solution, something that doesn't bankrupt us and require us to lay people off or disrupt city services,' she said.
Beyond these immediate legislative battles, the governor's plan to cut property taxes has concerned city leaders.
The Gary Common Council met with Gov. Mike Braun in the statehouse as part of a 'Hoosier Huddle' where they discussed possible changes to property tax collection.
'The cuts would be absolutely destructive to local cities and towns in Indiana,' Latham told Capital B Gary. 'You can't repeal such a large source of revenue for local cities and towns without any substantial plan for how local governments will be paying police officers and firefighters.'
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