PORTAGE | Lower collections of various state taxes made city officials scurry to find other sources of revenue to fund it motor vehicle highway and local road and street funds.

Portage Clerk-Treasurer Donna Pappas told the City Council on Tuesday night the Department of Local Government and Finance has told the city it needs to cut the two funds by $131,314 because of declining collections of gasoline and cigarette taxes used to support the two funds.

But this time the city was lucky. Pappas was able to find money to replace those funds this time from unappropriated balances in the city's cable television fund.

Next time, she said, the city may not be so fortunate.

Pappas, who was headed to Indianapolis after the meeting to attend an Indiana Association of Cities and Towns workshop, said she anticipated revenues from the state to continue to decline.

The $380,000 local road and street fund, which is used for paving, was cut by about $30,000. The $2.26 million street department fund was cut by about $100,000.

The only bright side was word of declining revenue came early in the year before the city had spent its funding. Last year the two funds had to be reduced in December.

"It is better to take it out of the budget now than try to cover it in the fall," Pappas said.