Mayor says Hammond will hold businesses to Urban Enterprise Association paperwork requirements

Mayor reported that he is taking a "pretty hard" and "aggressive" stance on businesses that did not submit required paperwork to receive incentives through the Hammond Urban Enterprise Association.

The mayor told the council that some businesses had failed to complete required paperwork for one or more years and then later sought to claim incentives. "If they failed to do the paperwork for a year, for 2 years, sometimes even longer, and then they come to us and they say, hey, I didn't get my benefit," the mayor said, "It's because of them. It's because of their failure. It's not because of ours, and it's too hard to unwind. Once the money's been paid out to us, to the county, to the libraries, to the schools, it's hard to unwind that." He compared the paperwork to filing taxes: "This is their tax form, and they didn't file it." The mayor added, "I've taken a pretty aggressive stance on that. If you have a problem with it, I'm willing to talk. K?"

Why it matters: the HUEA incentive program ties tax or other incentives to annual compliance; the mayor's statement signals a stricter enforcement posture toward businesses seeking retroactive benefits.

Discussion and next steps: the mayor said he was placing the issue on the council's radar but did not present a council motion or ordinance; business owners may contact the mayor's office to discuss individual cases.