Ind. House approves Little Cal levee fee

INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana House on Monday overwhelmingly approved a plan to charge most Lake County property owners an annual fee for Little Calumet River levee maintenance.

The Republican-controlled chamber voted 84-10 to send House Bill 1264 to the Republican-controlled Senate.

The legislation requires property owners in the Little Calumet River and Burns Waterway watersheds to pay a per-parcel assessment starting in 2013 to complete levee work and maintain the levees.

The fee varies based on how a property is used. Owners of residential parcels will pay $45, agricultural $90, commercial $180 and industrial or utility $360.

State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, said once the levees are completed and certified and have a maintenance plan in place, most Lake County homeowners can drop or will pay less for flood insurance, effectively offsetting the fee for levee work.

That argument did not persuade state Rep. Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes, who said the fee is a state-mandated tax increase without the consent of local residents. He said the state should empower the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission to impose the tax but not require it.

State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, piled on.

He questioned why Soliday, whose district is mostly Porter County, was meddling in Lake County affairs. Smith also asked why he was not asked to participate in the planning process for the legislation, which Soliday sponsored.

Numerous Northwest Indiana representatives, including state Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, state Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, and state Rep. Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, defended Soliday for going out of his way trying to achieve consensus in a region where that is rare.

"It's never easy to bring together a group of people, especially elected officials," said state Rep. Earl Harris, D-East Chicago.

Despite the brief infighting, every Northwest Indiana lawmaker voted in favor of the legislation.