Although no formal decisions were made Tuesday, the Porter County Council addressed a number of pending issues including how to find financial support for the countys Enhanced 911 dispatch center and drainage repair in the South Haven area.

A new state law will allow counties to collect up to 90 cents per month on all phones, which is about doubled for cell phone surcharges, but council members said it will not be enough to cover the projected $2 million to $3 annual shortfall in county E-911 operations.

As a few council members are leaning toward using CEDIT money to keep the center afloat, Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd, and Jim Biggs, R-1st, believe the municipalities of Valparaiso and Portage, which have consolidated with the county system, and Chesterton and Porter which maintain their own dispatching, should assist county officials in developing a plan.

Rivas said he has reached out to Portage Mayor Jim Snyder but said there is no plan currently to move its E-911 system forward.

Biggs said that although the chances are slim for cash-strapped cities and towns to pitch in, all parties need to advise the county of their situation in order for the council to see where it stands.

Council members will request representatives from each municipality to attend the next council meeting on April 24.

County Commissioner President John Evans, R-North, said the county has enough in its rainy day fund to see the 911 center through the middle of 2013. The newly formed state 911 board, by statute, can raise surcharge fees on phones by 10 cents per year and could reach $1.35 per phone in a few years which could lend a significant subsidy to the county, Evans said.

Council member Jim Polarek, R-4th, told his peers it may be best to have another solution in hand.

"The answer is not going to come from the state," Polarek said.

Fellow Council member Karen Conover, R-3rd said a bit of progress was made by local state lawmakers who made the effort in the legislature to assist the counties with 911 revenue.

Members of the countys redevelopment advisory commission approached the council on revising its role, proposing to become a statutory commission. Porter Countys redevelopment commission is the only county redevelopment commission in Indiana that does not have statutory powers, said redevelopment commission director John Shepherd.

The new commission would consist of five members, with two appointments from the county council and three from the commissioners. According to Shepherd, officials could appoint themselves or anyone they feel is best to serve.

"You have a lot of opportunity in these terms," he said.

Evans said the commissioners would disband the current advisory redevelopment commission and re-establish it with statutory capabilities.

Council members were handed information regarding the duties of a statutory commission which includes establishing Tax Increment Financial (TIF) districts with the county commissioners.

Biggs said he feels the need for the county to have a TIF district possibly in the area surrounding the new Porter hospital at U.S. 6 and Ind. 49 but raised concern the district could hurt the Duneland Schools Corporation which has seen significant funding cuts from the state.

Council member Sylvia Graham, D-at large, advised she had the same concern.

Current redevelopment commission member Ric Frataccia, who is an associate superintendent with Portage Township Schools, said when state laws for TIF districts were introduced in the 1990s revenues were diverted from schools but since then lawmakers have made it feasible to protect school revenue.

Frataccia also explained that the state now gives revenue to schools general funds through state sale sales tax instead of property tax, but schools capital projects and debt service could potentially be impacted. However he encouraged county officials to appoint at least one school representative to see school budgets do not suffer.

When asked by Whitten in regards to other possible impacts, primarily the tax revenue coming from the new hospital, Shepherd said with a TIF district in place the area could see a small increase in tax rate. If "best laid plans dont come to fruition," Shepherd said, the county could generate funds from a bond issue or some other funding source.

A TIF district would have to be reviewed by the county planning department and the county commissioners, but does not need approval from the county council for it to be established.

Other council members showed enthusiasm like Conover who said TIF districts can be useful in improving roads and buildings in a certain area by collecting new taxes from new developments.

Also on Tuesday, drainage board president Dave Burrus, who has headed up the revamp work on troubled drainage spots throughout the county, presented the council with the same information given to the commissioners at their March 20 meeting regarding projects in South Haven.

Burrus estimated solutions to the woes in South Haven created by a 50 year-old stormwater system could cost more than $16 million, with $9.7 million in capital improvements and $6.5 million in maintenance improvements. He suggested the county move forward with maintenance improvements first which involves placing new lining in the pipes that could hold up for 50 years.

Burruss team, which includes DLZ Indiana, said they have also identified nine other major projects with costs totalling over $10 million.

Several funding options were presented based on whether the county would decide to fix the problems all at once or space work out over a few years.

"Any creative ideas would certainly be welcome," Burrus said.

Whitten and Council member Laura Blaney, D-at large, said it would make better sense to fix the problems now so future problems would be prevented.

Evans said he originally suggested using hospital sale proceeds to pay for the work but is rethinking his idea. He said it may be smarter for county officials to establish a bond issue from its own hospital funds, basically borrowing from themselves and gaining interest in the process.

In other items, Whitten said representatives from the Town of Hebron have asked council members to attend that towns council meeting this month on the topic of use of the interest on funds from the hospital sale.

The council has also been approached by Porter Starke Services CEO Rocco Schiralli on outreach programs. Whitten said the council will hear from Porter Starke at its April 24 meeting.

Posted 4/5/2012