Merrillville, Crown Point officials talk shrinking budgets, successes
By Carrie Napoleon Post-Tribune correspondent February 16, 2012 5:44PM
Guests listen as Crown Point MAyor Dave Uran speaks about the state of the region during a luncheon on Thursday, February 16, 2012 inside the Maki Ballroom at the Old Courthouse, in Crown Point. | Scott R. Brandush~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 18, 2012 8:15AM
CROWN POINT — Doing more with less was the recurrent theme of 2011 for both Crown Point and Merrillville, as officials looked for ways to get the most out of every dollar in an ever-shrinking budget.
Crown Point Mayor David Uran and Merrillville Town Council President Shawn Pettit provided a look at how those efforts succeeded in the past year and what can be expected moving forward during the 2012 State of the Region Address hosted by the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Uran painted a picture of a year spent reinvesting in infrastructure like roadways and amenities such as the Sportsplex through state and federal grants, donations and refinancing of bonds. Uran said the city has come up with innovative ways to deal with the budget shortfalls each year and is in sound fiscal shape moving forward.
Investment in public safety manpower is at an all-time high with 41 police officers and 28 full-time firefighters, a full staff for the first time in the department’s history.
He touted projects including the 109th Avenue interchange, the resurfacing and intersection work along the Broadway corridor and storm water mitigation projects like Fashion Terrace that have resolved outstanding flooding issues.
“These factors have helped create an atmosphere in the city where people and businesses feel that they want to invest in this community and become part of something special. This is reflected in our numbers for growth in 2011,” Uran said.
Pettit said infrastructure reinvestment has paid off for his town as well. Officials plan to continue their efforts but funding constraints may begin to impact how that is done if the tax levy freeze imposed by the state is not lifted.
He cited $500,000 worth of improvements to rebuild Colorado Avenue that lead to landing Modern Drop Forge, which plans to invest $20 million in a facility there. Plans for a solar panel farm in town also recently were announced. Officials plan to tackle Merrillville Road in 2012 with tax increment financing dollars.
Officials in Merrillville also have been creative in dealing with budget shortfalls including reducing the park department to one and using part-time workers for permitting.
Pettit said the formation of the Ross Township Fire Protection Territory was another way to help fund the emergency services and bring up staffing levels to 14 full-time firefighters to improve safety in the town and the areas the territory protects. The territory is a taxing body with a $2 million budget.
Moving forward, Pettit said, the town has trimmed every corner and tightened its budget as much as possible and there is nowhere left to cut without impacting services unless a new funding source for local government is found.
“At the end of the day, you get what you pay for,” Pettit said.
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