Mayor Tom McDermott Jr.

I understand as much as anyone the need to cut back local government spending in these difficult economic times. Recently, a proposal at the county level has arisen that needs to be reconsidered and hopefully refused.

The County Commissioners have announced their intentions to potentially close the satellite courts and the offices that serve them throughout Northern Lake County. This would mean the current county offices at 232 Russell Street in Hammond would become empty. We cannot allow this to happen.

First off, we have to recognize the benefit of having the county court in Hammond to the local taxpayers. This building served an important role in last years historic election, as a satellite early voting faculty. And without an existing consistent regional mass transit system, forcing everyone to go to South County for government service would make it virtually impossible for some to have any reasonable access to their county government.

Next, we have to look at the potential economic effects of this loss on its immediate surroundings. Downtown Hammond has long been under served as a business community. In my 6 years in office, I have worked very hard at bringing that community back to Downtown Hammond. Progress has been slow, but steady, and the area has been gradually coming back. However this proposal to close the County Building in Hammond could bring all of that progress to a halt, and could take a vital link out of the economic food chain of that area.

The County Building currently has three court rooms in it. The County Clerk, Sheriff, Treasurer and Commissioners all have offices in that building as well. Beyond that, there are over a dozen law offices in that immediate area, that are there specifically to serve the County Court, as well as the Federal Courthouse in Hammond. Between all of the employees and patrons of the County building and offices that serve it, thousands of people are in Downtown Hammond every day.  These people are a large part of the customer base that the local restaurants and shops depend on to stay in business. If you take away the Hammond County Court building, you take away one of the biggest economic assets in Downtown Hammond.

Yes, consolidating the County Court system may in fact reduce county payroll cost and may result in a few pennies of annual savings for property tax payers throughout the county. But the economic cost of shuttering more businesses in Downtown Hammond, and more private sector jobs leaving Hammond because of it, simply isn’t worth those few pennies.

And has anyone looked at the cost of building new structures, or the renovation of the current government center in Crown Point to accommodate the moved courts?

This is a plan that would be very destructive to the City of Hammond, and as the Mayor I must strongly oppose it. I hope you will share that opposition with me, and respectfully let your elected county officials know of your opposition.  Feel free to contact my office to get the contact information on your Lake County Commissioner.

The culture in the State Legislature has sometimes been referred to an “us” versus “them” where the “us” is Indianapolis and the “them” is the rest of the state.  Although there has been progress on some issues, the latest bailout proposal for Indianapolis by increasing our taxes has me scratching my head again, wondering if they really think we don’t see what is going on.

Everyone in Lake County, and around the state, is aware of the terrible flooding that occurred here last September.  Homes were lost, lives were changed, and people watched everything they had ever worked for disappear under water.  Incredibly, almost no work has been done on the floodwall since the flood, unless you count finger-pointing and debate.

Shortly after the flood, I presented a proposal to properly fund the floodwall project.  I suggested that we divert the sales tax from generated from Cabela’s as a local match for the levy project.  Hammond is in a unique position to do this because Cabela’s happens to sit in the only “Sales Tax Increment Financing District” (STIF) in Lake County. This STIF district has been in existence since the 1980’s, yet it has never once been used.

The proposal seemed to make sense: use local sales tax to fix a local problem.  This plan would have brought in about $5 million annually.  With the total local cost estimate of around $16 million to finish the floodwall project in its entirety, it was plausible that, in a few years, the floodwall project would have been completed, and our homes would have been protected.  The resulting economic development of the Cabela’s site (which has been on hold until the levy project is completed) would more than make up for the “temporary” loss of revenue Indiana would have experienced under this plan.

This plan was well received by the Republican Town Council in Munster, the Hammond City Council, Frank Mrvan, the North Township Trustee, and his Advisory Board.  Yet one this idea reached Indianapolis, it was immediately rejected.

State Representative Ed Soliday, of Porter County, stated that “…there is no support [for the use of STIF]… That is not sales tax increment financing [McDermott’s] talking about; that’s sales tax diversion.”  The Governor’s office flatly admitted, “it’s unlikely the state would look favorably on the proposal.”  In other words, the idea of using sales tax money on a local project, even a project of such vital importance as flood protection, was not even considered by Indianapolis.  That is, until they needed to fund a local project of their own.

The Indianapolis Capital Improvements Board (ICIB), which operates Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, has found itself $50 million dollars in the hole.  A combination of poorly estimating costs and lower attendance than expected resulted in this financial pickle.  So what solution do Governor Daniels and our state government, who were so completely opposed to using sales tax dollars to build a floodwall, come up with? You guessed it—they proposed to use sales tax to bail out the stadium authority.

The governor’s plan would double the state liquor tax on every Hoosier and allow the ICIB to capture around $5 million in sales tax to help finance their deficit.  Interestingly, the amount of sales tax the ICIB would capture under this proposal was almost exactly the same amount of sales tax revenue we were seeking to build the flood walls.

We cannot ignore the blatant double standard being used by our state government, not to mention the completely skewed priorities.  The suggested bailout of the ICIB is yet another illustration that the City of Indianapolis’s problems are statewide problems, but our local problems must be handled ourselves.  And that a stadium is apparently more important to our state government than the safety and welfare of Northwest Indiana residents.

Maybe we should take the advice of a local radio commentator and build a football stadium in Cabela’s parking lot.  We would probably draw larger crowds than the current facilities in Indianapolis and we’d surely have the Governor’s support for capturing the sales tax generated in that STIF district.

Snow in April! While certainly not unheard of here in Hammond, but still no cause for celebration after a seemingly very long, very cold and very snowy winter.  I’m sure many Northwest Indiana residents are looking forward to warmer weather and more time outside, but even the Mayor can’t control the weather.  Spring and Summer are busy times in Hammond, the Hammond Optimist Baseball Opening Day Ceremony is just around the corner now on April 25th, as well as the 5th Annual Cinco De Mayo Fiesta at the Hammond Civic Center on May 1st.  Shortly after that starts the car shows, parades, fishing derbies, Venetian nights, fireworks, block parties and other special events which are part of summer life in the Region, but for me, summer is always highlighted by the Hammond Festival of the Lakes.

This year’s Festival of the Lakes, which runs from July 14 to July 19 promises to be one of the best Festivals ever.  I was very impressed by the top rate quality entertainment scheduled to play this year, my special events coordinator really outdid herself.  The Festival kicks off again this year with the very popular Tuesday night Evening of Dreams Odyssey Dinner Cruise.  In addition to the beautiful view of the Chicago skyline, the music and food make this a sellout event year after year.  In keeping with the family friendly theme of the Festival of the Lakes, the Carnival Mega Pass will once again be offered, as well as plenty of food and games.

The highlight of the Festival will once again be the five consecutive nights of free concerts featuring top name acts.   On Wednesday July 15th Together will open for Boys II Men, on Thursday, the Spin Doctors will open for the Gin Blossoms, on Friday, Lake County’s own Nicole Jamrose will open for Randy Travis; on Saturday, History’s End will open for the Black Crowes and Sunday is the always popular Latin Night with the Tellstars opening for Los Lonely Boys.  There is so much planned for summer, if only it would hurry up and get here.

Age, they say is relative.  On April 21, 2009, the City of Hammond Indiana turns 125 years old.   One hundred and twenty five seems old unless you compare it with Rome which was founded in 753 B.C., Moscow founded 1147 A.D. or even in our corner of the world San Juan, P.R. founded in 1521 and Saint Augustine, Florida established in 1565.  But Hammond looks good for 125 and there is no reason to think this City is even hitting middle age any time soon.With every decade, every century, comes changes.  The Hammond of 1884 is far different from what we see today.  Back in the 1880s this area was famous for the slaughter houses and the residents numbered around 700. Hammond at first didn’t have an official name and the name of the City was ultimately chosen following a coin toss. Some things remain from that era, including St. Joseph Church, St. Margaret’s Hospital and Oakhill Cemetery, but most of the City has been built and rebuilt since that time.

I am pleased to be the Mayor of a City with so much History, and look forward to leaving some small mark of my own as Hammond progresses into its second Century.   A new century brings new challenges and priorities.  The City that once dumped slaughterhouse waste into the river ways, now contains a major recycling center, environmental center, restored ecosystem at Wolf Lake, and will be one of the first Cities in the County to experiment with harnessing wind power for energy.  Industrial areas remain but are complemented with new parks, sports complexes, trees and green spaces. Where brown fields once existed, environmental cleanup and remediation opens new areas of the City to development and enjoyment, and a new RDA assisted project will revitalize Hammond’s Lake front.  I wonder what the next 125 years will bring, I can’t say for sure, but I am sure it will be wonderful.

Well, I didn’t need a Groundhog to tell me winter is not yet done with the Region, and even Indianapolis was recently crippled by snowstorm that shut down the State Capitol, but even with the winter weather, Hammond is still a great place to call home.

There have been recent developments that might make it easier for even more people to call Hammond Home.  The City of Hammond recently received 3.8 million dollars in Federal Housing and Urban Development funding which is earmarked for the purpose of the purchase and renovation of foreclosed Hammond homes.  Once the renovated home is sold, the proceeds will be used to repeat the process with additional properties.   Abandoned homes hurt neighborhoods, are a visual blight and became a target for vandals and criminals.  Newly renovated and owner occupied homes raise property values and promote neighborhood stability and a sense of community.   I am very excited about the potential for large scale housing stock improvement in our City.

The recent economic downturn has resulted in extremely low interest rates for home buyers.  Unfortunately, many first time home buyers, and long time renters, are more than able to make monthly mortgage payments, but lack the funds for the required down payment.  The recently expanded “Home Bound” program solves that problem as well.  “Home Bound” allows Hammond residents, and now non residents as well, to enroll in the program and receive a monetary match, in the form of a forgivable loan from the City, to be used as a down payment.   A person constructing a new home in Hammond is eligible to receive up to a $5000 match, a qualifying Teacher, Fireman or Police officer up to a $3500 match and a single family home purchase up to a $2500 match.  After five years of being a resident in the home, the loan is forgiven.   Even in hard times, Hammond is looking better and better, now if only there was a program to make Spring arrive faster each year!

The Holiday Season is over, the anticipation, the excitement, the planning the preparation, the food, the shopping, the gift wrapping, the parades and parties are all over.  With the end of another year and the inevitable post Holiday quiet, it’s time to think back on the year that was 2008.

2008 in reflection was a memorable year.  Unfortunately not everything memorable is something positive.  The economy is still in a lingering recession, prices continue to rise, budgets have to be trimmed, lay offs, cut backs, business closings and unemployment continues to soar.  However, at the moment, there is something besides snow and cold in the air, there is also hope.

We are only a few weeks away from the inauguration of our newly elected President, and just like the November election, the excitement surrounding this historic inaugural event continues to grow and grow.  People all over the United States, and the entire world, are going to be listening and watching on January 20, 2009, and while they are watching, they are going to be hoping–hoping for a change, hoping for a plan, hoping for peace, hoping for employment, hoping for improvement, hoping for a reason to have hope for 2009.

President Obama has his work cut out for him, and a full plate starting on day one, but we as Americans can do our share during this crisis, and do more than just hope.  We can let the excitement and involvement we experienced during the general election continue and grow.  We can join together as a nation and present a unified front against the problems we now face.  This may involve re-thinking the way we do things, this may involve a willingness to open our minds and hearts and show that we are in fact ready for a change.  So as we move into and through 2009, I hope that you along with me will be ready to face the challenges that will confront us and that we will work towards common goals and achieve them together.

The weekend of September 13th and 14th, 2008, created unparalleled flooding and devastation in the Calumet region.   This devastation was aggravated by an already unusually high water table, followed by rains that were the remnants of two consecutive gulf hurricanes.  The effect was three solid days of rain drenched the already saturated region and left the water nowhere to go. People and property in Northwest Indiana suffered immensely.  The enormity of the devastation will not be soon forgotten.

During the weeks and months of cleanup that followed, we all realized the extent and effect of the failure of the levee project to reach completion in a timely fashion.  In the rush to lay blame and point fingers, all progress on the Little Calumet levee project came to a complete and grinding halt.  Since September, not a single inch of the levee improvement has been accomplished.  The region is suffering the consequences of not thinking regionally, and it is time to join together and reverse that thinking before the next disaster strikes.

There are many issues that delaying and impeding the completion of the levee project, however, the largest and most persistent problem is funding.  Federal dollars are available for the project, but to acquire those dollars, a local match is required. The difficulty obtaining adequate and available sources of funds for the local match is causing the project to operate at a near standstill.   An available, consistent, and reliable source of funding is necessary to advance the project and bring it to its completion. This funding must help now and in the future.  Remember, once the levee is completed, operating costs and maintenance costs continue.  Again, planning now will protect us all in the future.

This funding problem has a solution.  This solution is known as Sales Tax Increment Financing (STIF).  The City of Hammond, Indiana is fortunate enough to be located inside a STIF district.   Woodmar Country Club used to generate a small amount of sales tax.  Woodmar is now gone, and Cabela’s is operating on the same property and generating far more sales tax.  The difference between the old sales tax collection and the new sales tax collection is what is known as the increase increment in sales tax.  That money is what would be available under STIF, and that money is the basis of the solution to the problem of flooding.

Indiana Law currently allows STIF money to be allocated towards paying off debt on bonds that are used for infrastructure improvements at that geographic location.  The General Assembly, however, could amend the current STIF legislation to allow this same increment in sales tax to be allocated for use by the Little Calumet River Commission for the sole purpose of providing the local match necessary for completing the levee project.  This same funding could insure maintenance and repair of the levee by providing additional funding to the County for this dedicated purpose.

This plan does not increase property taxes nor create a new tax.  This plan would divert funds which normally would go to Indianapolis, and instead keep them here in Lake County for use on flood control.  This plan creates a STIF allocation area which includes the entire 80 acres currently owned and occupied by Cabela’s, and as retail at that location grows, sales tax grows and the levee grows longer and longer.

STIF dollars were used ingeniously in Indianapolis to build the brand new  Colts stadium.  This was an important project in the City of Indianapolis and the Legislature used STIF effectively to help Indianapolis keep the Colts where they belong–in our State and in a new home.  Our homes are equally important and I believe using Hammond’s STIF ability to help the entire Calumet Region is the answer.   There is no time for finger pointing or delay; if we think regionally and work together, the completion of the levee will be a reality.

Now that we are in the recovery phase from the flood that has taken such a toll on many communities in our area, the focus has shifted to “how do we prevent this from happening again?” and “what could we have done differently to have prevented this from happening.”  Much of the blame has been placed upon the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission (LCRBDC), for their failure to timely erect the long planned flood barrier along both sides of the Little Calumet River.  Had these flood barriers been installed, it is likely much of the devastation would have been avoided.

These barriers were originally planned to take ten years to complete.  Now, 25 years later, the project still languishes. Leadership of the LCRBDC has failed the citizens of our communities.  As the Executive Director, Dan Gardner, must accept responsibility for this failure and step down.  Congressman Visclosky is correct to call for the immediate replacement of the Executive Director of this commission, and I have instructed my appointee to this commission to support the Congressman’s directive.

I must admit, however, that I am uneasy with the direction this debate is headed.  As part of the retooling of the Commission, there is a suggestion that we change the way Indiana law is written and amend the way persons are appointed.  I believe that this is a departure that we do not need and one that will remove local input into the decision making of the Commission.

The proposal being floated in Indianapolis would change the LCRBDC from 11 state and local appointees, to 5 members appointed by the Governor.  Waiting for a legislative change may take months.  Moving forward now is essential and can be accomplished under the current framework.

Currently, the LCRBDC is an 11 member, bipartisan, board.  The 11 members are broken down as follows: 1 member from Porter County Commissioners, 1 member from Lake County Commissioners, 1 appointment by the Mayor of Hammond, 1 appointment by the Mayor of Gary, 1 member appointed by the Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources, and 6 appointments by the Governor of Indiana.

At this time, the Governor has 4 appointees to this commission, 2 Republicans and 2 Democrats.  Unfortunately, the governor also has 2 vacancies on this commission, and they have been vacant for a prolonged period of time.  I urge the Governor to make these appointments as soon as practical so that the Commission can move on with its important business. There is a no reason to change state law and take away all local input into this critical project, when the Governor’s office has control (with 6 of 11 Members already, and 7 if you count the Indiana Department of Natural Resources appointment).

So do we need to change the Indiana Code and take all local decision-making away from Northwest Indiana, or does the governor simply have to fill the appointees he has been granted by law already?  I like the fact that local officials have some say in this project.

Even if this change in state law were accomplished, the General Assembly will not meet in session until January, and the new law would not take effect until May or June 2009 at the earliest.  Our communities cannot wait that long.  This is a problem that needs fixing now, not in the summer of 2009.  Under new leadership and with a full Commission, its business can be accomplished.  Waiting for a legislative fix will only delay the much needed levee project from moving forward.

By undertaking Congressman Pete Visclosky’s plan to remove Dan Gardner, requesting the Governor to fill his vacancies and then naming a new Executive Director, new life will be breathed into the Commission.  Local appointees will remain to keep local communities informed and the Commission can get down to business instead of waiting for the legislature to act in 2009.  Let’s get moving and get the levee project done!

Last week, I had the privilege to represent Indiana’s Democratic Party at the Democratic National Convention held in Denver, Colorado.  I was elected to represent Indiana’s 1st Congressional District as a delegate for Sen. Hillary Clinton, who I supported in Indiana’s primary battle with Sen. Barack Obama.  Although I was a Clinton Delegate, I voted for Sen. Obama at the national convention, and now am working hard on Sen. Obama’s behalf to help him become America’s next President.

It was a great week in Denver, with excellent weather in a magnificent city.  It was also an opportunity to witness history, with the Democratic Party becoming the first party in America’s history to nominate an African-American for President.  It was only in the 1950’s that the Federal Government finally started to enforce civil rights laws passed in the waning days of the Civil War, making America start the long road to desegregation.  And here we are, in 2008, selecting a Harvard educated, African-American attorney from Chicago, as the Democratic Nominee for the Presidency.  Only in America can a success story like this be equaled.

Then the day after the Democratic Convention, the Republican Party made history by announcing that Gov. Sarah Palin, of Alaska, would be their party’s nominee for the Vice-Presidency, suddenly springing new life into Sen. John McCain’s campaign for the Presidency.  It seems that McCain’s announcement, coming the day after Sen. Obama’s historic acceptance speech in front of 80,000 Democrats in Mile High Stadium, had the impact that the Republicans desired.

Regardless of how November’s election turns out, January 2009 will usher in a new era in American history.  We will either have America’s first African-American President of the United States, or America’s first female Vice-President.  That is something us Americans can be proud of.

I am only 39 years old, yet I realize the importance of this moment in American history.  I remember as a child listening to my mother complain about the lower wages she was paid at her job simply because she was a woman, or the many jobs she couldn’t attain because of her sex.  Or hearing stories in the 1970’s about parts of America that remained segregated to that day, openly hostile to any attempts by the government to remedy that tragic situation.

Yet, here we are, in the year 2008, about to elect either an African-American or a female to one of the highest positions in America.  I know there are many problems facing American citizens at this time, problems that are going to take some time for the next President to rectify.  However, as an American, I can appreciate when I see the country making progress, and, in my opinion, we have made much progress in the last week with the selections made by both candidates for President.  Let’s only hope and pray that whoever becomes the next President has the wisdom and capability to turn our country around economically and get us back to the prosperity we have grown accustomed to as Americans.