Northwest Indiana Discussion

You know, the sewer's in my neighborhood, are undersized per a plumbing contractor and now they want us to pay a sewer usage fee! If I'm going to pay a fee, I want my sewer line to be the size that it should be!!! And I don't want storm water backing up into my home!!!

It is the size it should be when it was put in place the problem is the continued construction and the seperation of sewage and rain water. Sewers systems are required to be seperated to stop sewage from contaminating water ways and to accomplish that requires money. Now when you read about those property tax caps that Mitch Daniels put into the constitution and you more then likely voted for remember how large you want your sewer to be.

Damn that Mitch Daniels and his tax caps! After giving raises to the himself and the city council and continuing to thank senior citizens for underpaying on their properties for decades by giving them tax breaks, the Mayor has no money left for infrastructure--but isn't that exactly what the casino money was intended for? Infrastructure? Funny how in the north Lake County universe unsuccessful vote-buying schemes like College Bound fall under the umbrella of infrastructure.

So its the mayors fault that larger sewers were not installed originally? Don't forget the Federal Goverments demand for these improvements as for infrastructure I dare you to find another city that has done more.

I thought you said it was Mitch Daniels fault...

Isn't this the sort of things casino funds were "supposed" to be used for? You know ...instead of bailing out self insurance funds that had been running in the red for many years. Instead of building baseball fields? Instead of being used for Festival of the Lakes? And the ton of other things the money has been diverted to ......

(Isn't this the point at which one or another administration automaton is supposed to opine that "91 out of 92 Indiana counties have an income tax. Guess which one doesn't." This, while ignoring the fact that almost all Indiana counties DO NOT have a casino, let alone three)?

If you read the State Board of Account Reports, for years, under McDermott's administration Hammond has been mismanaged.

Casino revenue is been handed out for almost everything but what it was originally attended to address. Infrastructure.

Only one person to blame on that, as this problem has been on the table since before the first McDermott administration.

I guess because Tom has been Mayor for only the last 9 years and hasn't addressed this problem, choosing to spending tax money on litigation rather than address this problem, it is really not his mismanagement.

The problem is that fixing sewers ain't sexy. It may be the best use of funds in the long run but it ain't sexy. I am surprised no one at Kelly Consulting straightened the Mayor out regarding the best use of casino revenue, but then I'll bet he never asked.

Sewrs are not sexy neither are curbs (Walls) or Cul De Sacs evidently but I will argue that new parks, soccer fields and baseball fields give more bang for the buck then a new street.

Ok .... lets here your argument .....

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that that is probably the prevailing sentiment among everyone in Hammond who depends on a city paycheck.

Maybe the Mayor is trying to lure the Cubs and Sox into moving to Hammond. He's crazy like a fox.

No just an opinion from a parent. A baseball field will still be going strong when a street is in need of resurfacing or sewer replacemnet like Celtics

Do you really think parks and baseball fields don't need to be rehabbed? Weren't there existing baseball fields there before the new ones were built? Hermits little league ...Robertsdale ...already had larger facilities ..... but they were redone because they had been ignored and had fallen apart. Parks that were upgraded when the first casino funds hit, have already had to be rebuilt again due to age. Do you have any ideas how old the sewers that were upgraded were? 40 ...50 ....60 years ... I can guarantee you that the ball fields and parks won't last nearly as long.

Streets have to be repaved .... but because of the lack of casino funds in many cases they haven't been rebuilt (with new curbs and (with a shout out to Higgs ...) "oriental lighting). They were grated down and repaved. There are many streets that still haven't had as much as that done.

I too am a parent .... guess what .... my daughter doesn't play baseball ..... her park days are long since past ..... what matters to me is whether I need a wheel alignment when I go down my street. What matters to me is the needed infrastructure to bring new business to the area.

No sewer rates have been set, ummm, we have to petition the IURC for a rate increase (we have not even begun that journey yet).

All that has transpired is an informational meeting, nothing more nothing less. yawn

And don't ask for anything, if you want me to respond to a question, come to a meeting.