CROWN POINT | The Lake County Council will send warning letters to nine cities and towns whose 2009 public budgets appear to be on the brink of financial trouble.
Council members declared East Chicago, Gary, New Chicago and Whiting to be fiscally unsound, which is no surprise to those community leaders, who already know they face the loss of more than $55 million in revenue because of state-mandated property tax cuts beginning in 2009.
However, the council also said the suburbs of Lowell, Munster, Schererville, St. John and Winfield may face similar problems because their projected spending exceeds their apparent income.
The County Council controls the purse strings for county officials, but hasn't sat in judgment of other government agencies until this year under a new state law requiring the council to review all levels of public spending except for school districts.
The council's recommendations are nonbinding, but state fiscal officers who do have the authority to cut government spending may be influenced by the County Council's opinion.
Council members said their opinions could be flawed since they don't have any reliable data on future real estate values. They gave cities and towns one of three color-coded grades: red for budgets in the worst shape; yellow for those that are close to being balanced but needing more cuts; and green for those they approve.
They gave yellow rankings to Calumet Township, the city of Crown Point and its public library, the Dyer sanitation district, the town of Griffith, the Hammond Public Library, the city of Hobart, the city of Lake Station, the Whiting Sanitation District and public library; and the county public library.
They gave green passes to the town of Cedar Lake, Center Township, the town of Dyer, the Dyer water district, Eagle Creek Township, the city of Hammond and its redevelopment and sanitation districts, the town of Highland and its sanitation district, Hobart Township, the county solid waste management district, the Lake Ridge Fire Department, county government, the town of Merrillville, North Township, Ross Township and the Winfield water district.
