Councilman Dan Whitten is leading the charge, claiming the RDA is a tax grab to benefit Lake County.
Perhaps Whitten and others with his view could use a lesson in economics.
We'll start with commuting patterns.
Porter County has 107,546 residents who were employed in 2007. Of those, 22,315 workers -- nearly 21 percent of the labor force -- commuted to jobs in Lake County. Still others are employed in Chicago.
And likewise, a large number of Lake County residents commute to jobs in Porter County.
Then there are students commuting across county lines to various campuses.
What about shoppers? Or those making use of parks such as the Indiana Dunes?
Whitten's logic is simply illogical. He and others like him have tunnel vision.
They just don't get it that the horizon has expanded. We live in Northwest Indiana, a region where people share many aspects of life -- from work to school to shopping to playtime.
The RDA was established to help all parts of the region, not just one particular community.
And while we haven't agreed with every single action by the RDA, it is doing a phenomenal job -- and Porter County is a part of the RDA's vision.
For instance, RDA money went to help develop the new park and community center along the Lake Michigan shore in Portage. It is the first project of U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky's lakeshore Marquette Plan.
The RDA helped fund an express bus running from Valparaiso to Chicago.
Future plans include projects directly benefiting Porter County, most notably an extension of the South Shore Railroad,
But thinking of Porter County alone in such parochial terms isn't what the RDA is all about. It is a regional development authority, not a Porter County exclusive club.
And besides, RDA projects outside Porter County will actually benefit Porter County. Take the planned investment at the Gary/Chicago International Airport designed to make it a cargo hub for the Chicago area. Doing this will help drive economic development and create added jobs.
But investing in the airport is just one of the RDA's primary responsibilities. It is also meant to support the Marquette Plan, expand South Shore rail service, establish a regional bus service and promote economic development.
Porter County Council member Laura Blaney expressed concern the South Shore service isn't being extended using the proceeds from the tax already put in place in Porter County to help support the RDA.
That begs the question of whether Blaney and Whitten are any good at math. Porter County's RDA dues are $3.5 million a year. The larger cities in Lake County, as well as Lake County itself, each pay the same amount.
The RDA just got its start a couple years ago. It's already put money into projects like the Portage lakeshore park.
The South Shore extension to Valparaiso will easily cost many millions more than the RDA can generate within the next few years. It will require federal funds, something Visclosky says he can get if he has the financial match required of the local communities -- including Porter County.
So when Indiana Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, proposed creating a four-county transportation district that could impose a 0.25 percent income tax to support regional transportation and provide funds to match much needed federal dollars, Whitten and Porter County Commissioner Bob Harper squawked loudly.
"It's time to revolt," Whitten said.
Pulling out of the RDA is a revolting idea, all right.
The RDA is for long-range projects. It's for regional efforts that benefit us all.
The Porter County Council acted wisely when it voted to be a part of the RDA.
A majority of its members need to show such bold leadership again by defeating Whitten's unwise move. Pulling out would be foolish.
