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Votes at a glance: Hammond council approves new tax line items, traffic-safety grant and budget referrals (Oct. 14, 2025)
Summary
The Hammond Common Council took a series of votes on Oct. 14 establishing new tax-related funds, approving a traffic-safety grant and referring the 2026 city and related budgets for further council review.
The Hammond Common Council took the following formal actions on Oct. 14. All votes below were recorded by roll call unless noted.
1) Claims approval - Action: Approved claims dated Sept. 23, 2025 through Oct. 8, 2025 (claims #8572 through #9294). Amount: $15,554,802.07. - Mover/Second: Councilwoman Menendez / Councilman Spatale. - Vote: 9-0 in favor.
2) Ordinances (final passage) - Ordinance 25-18: Create new funds (3397, 3398, 4683) for the municipal food-and-beverage tax. - Mover/Second: Councilwoman Venez / Councilman Kowinski. - Vote: 9-0 in favor. - Ordinance 25-19: Create new funds (2249, 2250) for the municipal excise tax and concurrent wheel tax funds. - Mover/Second: Councilwoman Venez / Councilman Spatali. - Vote: 9-0 in favor. - Ordinance 25-20: Create new funds (2493, 2494, 2495) for the FY2026 Comprehensive Highway Injury Reduction Program grant funds; the grant totals $51,750 and will fund traffic-safety enforcement programs. - Mover/Second: Councilwoman Venez / Councilman Spatali. - Vote: 9-0 in favor.
3) Ordinances (first/second reading and referral to council-as-a-whole) - Ordinance 25-23: 2026 City of Hammond budget proposal — Passed first and second reading and referred to council-as-a-whole for Oct. 27 at 5:00 p.m. (Motion by Councilman Rakos; vote 9-0). - Ordinance 25-24: 2026 Redevelopment budget — Passed first and second reading and referred to council-as-a-whole for Oct. 27 at 5:00 p.m. (Motion by Councilwoman Venez; vote 9-0). - Ordinance 25-25: 2026 Sanitary District budget and Special Sanitary Debt Service Fund — Passed first and second reading and referred to council-as-a-whole for Oct. 27 at 5:00 p.m. (Motion by Councilwoman Venez; vote 9-0). - Ordinance 25-26: Salaries/wages ordinance (nonstatutory positions) — Passed first and second reading and referred to council-as-a-whole (Motion by Councilman Rakos; vote 9-0). - Ordinance 25-27: Salaries/wages for police and firefighters — Passed first and second reading and referred to council-as-a-whole (Motion by Councilman Rakos; vote 9-0). - Ordinance 25-28: PILOT for Renaissance redevelopment — Final passage recorded (see separate coverage); vote 9-0. - Ordinance 25-29: Stormwater user-fee ordinance — Passed first and second reading and referred to council-as-a-whole (Motion by Councilwoman Venez; vote 9-0).
4) Resolutions - Resolution 25R-20: Proclaimed October 2025 as Polish American Heritage Month in Hammond — Adopted (Mover: Councilman Kalinski; vote 9-0). - Resolution 25R-21: Prohibiting uncoordinated use of city property by ICE — Adopted (Mover: Councilman Tyler; Second: Councilman Rakos; vote 9-0).
Where the transcript recorded a mover and a second, those names are listed above; some motions referenced the sponsor and a second in abbreviated form in the record. If a specific second or exact text was not recorded in the transcript, the article lists the mover and the recorded second if given and marks remaining details as not specified.
Provenance: the roll-call results and ordinance numbers are recorded in the meeting transcript during the ordinance and resolution readings and roll-call segments.
