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Gary Finance Committee reviews 2026 salary and operating ordinances for multiple funds
Summary
City finance committee heard presentations and questions on a slate of 2026 appropriations and salary ordinances affecting general, parks, police, fire, transit and airport funds; no formal votes were recorded in the transcript.
The Gary City finance committee on the evening agenda reviewed several 2026 ordinances proposing salaries and operating appropriations across multiple tax-based funds, including general, parks, police, fire, public transit and airport funds.
Committee chair Linda Barnes Caldwell, who said she was stepping in for Councilwoman Mary Brown, listed the ordinances at the start of the meeting: CPO 2025-48 (salary ordinance for 2026), CPO 2025-49 (operating appropriations for general parks, police and fire), CPO 2025-50 (Gary Public Transportation 2026 budget), CPO 2025-51 (special redevelopment fund budget), CPO 2025-52 (nonresidential wastewater treatment fees), and CPO 2025-56 (Gary/Chicago Airport 2026 budget). The ordinances were described as sponsored by Mayor Eddie D. Milton and City Controller Salina Green, with specific items also sponsored by department directors where noted.
The meeting included brief department-level budget explanations. Torzel Hawkins, building commissioner, reported the building department removed one inspector position and redistributed funds among nine remaining inspectors; he said this change produced no net increase to the department’s 2026 budget. Hawkins said existing inspectors are “doing an amazing job” and that the department could maintain services without the deleted post.
City Controller Salina Green and staff answered council questions about how salary adjustments in the salary ordinance (CPO 2025-48) relate to the operating budget (CPO 2025-49). Green explained changes in 48 affect internal salary lines while the overall operating totals in 49 remained unchanged. Committee members asked about a number of fund-specific items that will require follow-up, including redevelopment TIF details and the airport’s TIF/ADZ reporting.
Presenters said the Gary Public Transportation Corporation (GPTC) budget showed modest increases but also noted negotiations with regional contract communities over service payments; GPTC staff said some municipal partners have been paying below the actual cost of service and that outreach and meetings with those jurisdictions are underway. Airport financial staff summarized the airport’s two property-tax funds (operations and cumulative improvement) and said the airport’s $4.5 million operations budget is partially funded by property tax and largely by fees; the presenter noted circuit-breaker rules will reduce the portion of levied property tax that actually reaches the airport.
No formal roll-call votes on the listed ordinances were recorded in the provided transcript excerpt. Council members asked staff to provide follow-up materials: a list of TIF districts and expirations tied to the redevelopment budget and a breakdown of airport TIF/ADZ information; staff agreed to provide those documents by email.
The committee paused discussion for more detailed items (wastewater fees, TIF spending plans and contract negotiations) and directed staff to supply written materials and expiration dates for TIFs before further action.
Further action, including any formal introduction or adoption of the listed ordinances, was not shown in the transcript excerpt.
