Budget hearings for the city of Gary started Sept. 16, and at a special meeting Tuesday, the Gary Common Council finished approving the city’s budget items.
“It has been a long process,” President Tai Adkins, D-4th, said on Tuesday. “We did, in fact, work diligently with (Gary Mayor Eddie Melton’s) administration to get this done. We look forward to a successful operating year in 2025.”
The council approved the redevelopment budget, next year’s salaries and the general budget. All items passed unanimously, with all council members present.
The council also voted to revert the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority’s budget to its 2024 numbers — one week after most members voted not to pass the agency’s budget.
Melton thanked council members for their work passing the city’s budget. He also acknowledged how important it was for his administration to collaborate with the council.
“We’re going to work extremely hard to increase the value of the city, increase the revenue of the city so we can provide greater services,” Melton said. “That’s my commitment to the citizens. I think we are on track to do just that.”
Melton’s salary was one of the city employee salaries approved Tuesday night. He will make $90,661.63, which is the same as 2024.
His office’s salaries will total nearly $500,000, according to online budget documents. The mayor’s office total budget is about $839,000, which is nearly $20,000 more than 2024.
Salaries for the Gary Common Council are the same as 2024, with each member making $35,000 in 2025. The council’s budget includes more than $550,000 total for both full-time and part-time employees.
The council’s total budget is more than $1.1 million, which is equal to 2024.
The police department’s salaries were more than $7.9 million but are still about $50,000 less than 2024. The fire department’s salaries increased about $4 million.
The city’s budget proposes more than $24 million in full-time salaries and more than $700,000 in part-time salaries.
All funds for the city total nearly $66.3 million, which is up from almost $65.8 million in 2024.
City Controller Celita Green said the redevelopment authority’s budget had little change.
The redevelopment authority’s budget totaled $220,524. Its executive director, Chris Harris, will make the same salary as 2024, which is $92,369.39. His executive assistant will make nearly $44,500, the same as 2024.
Other redevelopment budget items include professional services, supplies and insurance, according to the ordinance. The current tax levy for the fund is more than $360,000, and the budget estimated its maximum funds to be raised at $393,120.
Eight members voted to make the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority’s upcoming budget equal to 2024. Councilwoman Lori Latham, D-1st, abstained from the vote.
At the Oct. 15 meeting, only Councilman Dwight Williams, D-6th, voted in favor of the budget. Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, was absent from the meeting.
President Tai Adkins, D-4th, said she learned before the meeting that the council had to revert the budget since it wasn’t approved on Oct. 15. The airport budget ordinance was not originally included on the special meeting agenda.
“The action was taken by this body after we did not align with what was presented in (the airport budget ordinance),” Adkins said.
In previous situations, Adkins said the budget would automatically be reverted to the one from the previous year. Council members had thought that was the case this time.
“The city was notified by the Department of Local Government Finance that we had to state that on the record for that to be official,” Adkins said. “We have never done that before.”
The Gary/Chicago Airport Authority’s 2024 budget was about $4.4 million, according to Post-Tribune archives. In 2024, the maximum tax levy was about $2.7 million.
The airport authority estimated its budget to be more than $4.7 million in 2025. The airport’s current tax levy is almost $2.3 million.
Former U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, airport authority chairman, released a statement on the council’s original decision.
“While the airport authority is disappointed in the council’s decision, it respects its prerogative,” the statement said. “Going forward, the employees and the board will continue working hard to develop the Gary/Chicago International Airport in order to create new jobs and economic opportunities in Gary and Northwest Indiana.”
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com
