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Hammond mayor frames 2026 budget amid $30 million revenue shortfall; council takes initial actions
Summary
Mayor Thomas McDermott presented the city's proposed 2026 budget and warned that Hammond faces roughly $30 million in lost revenue from casino shifts and state changes. He defended maintaining public-safety staffing, confirmed previously offered police and fire hires will be honored despite a hiring freeze, and said nonunion city staff would get a
Mayor Thomas McDermott told the Hammond Common Council during public hearings that the city faces roughly $30 million in revenue losses over several years tied to changes in gaming revenue and state legislation, and said the proposed 2026 budget is designed to preserve public-safety commitments while looking for other revenue options.
The mayor said the city already committed to nearly 20 police recruits — 9 currently in the academy and offers to about 10 others — and that those hires will proceed despite a recently enacted hiring freeze. He also confirmed contractual raises for unions were built into the budget: police 3.5 percent this year, firefighters 2 percent and Teamsters 2 percent, while nonunion city staff would receive a 2 percent increase.
"We already lost $15,000,000 in gaming to the Hard Rock Casino already," McDermott said during the hearing. "SB1's gonna take another $15,000,000 from us. So we're gonna suffer a $30,000,000 revenue blow in the course of about 5 years." He warned that without new revenue the city could face layoffs in police and fire within a year.
The council approved claims covering operations and capital disbursements, voting to accept claims numbered 8572 through 9294 totaling $15,554,802.07. Council members then opened public hearings on the city, redevelopment and sanitary district 2026 budgets and moved the full budget proposals to council-as-a-whole for further review on Oct. 27.
Public commenters urged greater transparency about Tax Increment Finance (TIF) funds and how redevelopment dollars interact with school and public-safety needs. One resident objecting to the timing of hearings said the public had been "ambushed with a budget" and urged earlier disclosure of budget details.
Mayor McDermott defended use of TIF for economic projects and said Hammond's assessed value has doubled during his administration in part through TIF-supported projects. He also emphasized the share of city spending that goes to police and fire, saying, "Police and fire account for two thirds of our spending," and rejecting claims the departments were underfunded.
Council members repeatedly moved to refer the major budget ordinances (the 2026 city budget, redevelopment budget and sanitary district budget) for council-as-a-whole review; each referral passed on initial votes. The council also heard that the state's budget changes and reduced gaming revenue make near-term decisions about fees and revenue sources likely.
Next steps: the introduced budgets will be reviewed by council-as-a-whole on Oct. 27 and more detailed hearings and line-item discussions are expected before final adoption.
