Porter County commissioners press RDA on local benefits, staffing and fund management

Porter County commissioners spent nearly an hour on a lengthy review of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, pressing the RDA for details about how its staffing, revenues and projects benefit Porter County.

The discussion began after commissioners asked the RDA to explain what the county’s roughly $59.5 million of participation has produced since Porter County joined the authority in 2007. ‘‘We want to know what our ROI is,’’ Commissioner Vicks said, asking for specifics on projects, staffing and how TDD (transit development district) revenues are managed.

Sherry, CEO, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, said the RDA has added two staff positions — an economic development director and a controller — to manage growing revenues tied to transit development districts that have been created across Lake and Porter counties. She said the RDA anticipates substantial private development tied to rail and transit investments and that the authority manages some shared financial oversight for those TDDs when communities engage the RDA.

The RDA team said it does not unilaterally select projects for cities. ‘‘We do not determine what development occurs,’’ Sherry said. Instead, she said, the RDA provides financial analysis, capital-stack advice and administrative oversight when local governments and developers request help and when communities opt to use TDD receipts to support projects.

Commissioners repeatedly challenged that account. Commissioner Abey and others said they were surprised that some municipalities outside Lake and Porter counties appear to receive RDA advice while not contributing to RDA funding. They also questioned salary levels and whether RDA-managed dollars have been spent in Porter County in ways commissioners can verify.

Dave Bowman, director of communications for the RDA, and Bill Shelder from the RDA’s policy analytics team described prior investments the RDA says have benefited Porter County, including shoreline restoration and grants to local infrastructure and business projects. Bowman said the RDA has made about $146 million in earlier investments in shoreline and related projects and listed several grants and project amounts that the RDA associates with Porter County and regional efforts. He also described a Brownfields revolving loan fund administered by the RDA that previously provided a roughly $600,000 loan/grant that is being repaid.

Commissioners asked whether Michigan City, LaPorte and St. Joseph County projects had received RDA-managed dollars; RDA representatives said those jurisdictions collect some revenues directly and that the RDA did not manage every local TDD fund. The RDA representatives also said some large rail projects were cash purchases funded by federal, state and local participants and that those funds did not flow through the RDA.

The RDA representatives said a comprehensive strategic plan will be released soon and offered to provide follow-up briefings and written detail about local project spending, staffing and the RDA’s role in managing transit development district revenue. Sherry acknowledged communication lapses and said she would work to improve responses to county invitations and provide the county with more frequent updates.

Commissioners said they want clearer documentation of Porter County-specific spending and return-on-investment figures and indicated they will follow up with the RDA board and legal counsel if needed.

The meeting included several exchanges about statutory authority: Sherry said the RDA was created by the Indiana General Assembly in 2006, which identified shoreline restoration, airport development, rail projects and bus transportation as the authority’s statutory focus areas.

The RDA presentation did not include a formal vote or directive; commissioners and the RDA agreed to arrange follow-up briefings and better lines of communication.