Hammond funds bus service through end of year

By Jeff Burton, Times of Northwest Indiana
jeff.burton@nwi.com

HAMMOND | City buses will be running until at least the end of 2009 after City Council members granted the Hammond Transit System a reprieve Monday night.

In a 7-1 vote, City Council members agreed to fund the bus system with $400,000 in gaming revenue, taking $40,000 from each of the six district council members, $120,000 from Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr. and $40,000 from revenues the council and mayor share.

McDermott said funding the bus system now is the right thing to do, but in order to sustain the system, he said, a more regional approach needs to be taken. "We would be doing a disservice to our residents if we let the buses stop," McDermott said.

Fifth District Councilman Dan Repay, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said the resolution amounted to a blank check for an inefficient system and those dollars could be used for better programs down the road.

"The reality is that we're going to be facing the same situation at budget time, when we're looking at $400,000 in cuts," he said.

While he voted in favor of the allocation, Third District Councilman Anthony Higgs agreed that the system has its problems. Higgs said if the transit system ever needs more gaming dollars to fund a budget shortfall, he's going to have to see a plan that either cuts costs or has alternative funding mechanisms.

"That plan may consist of eliminating a few routes or enlarging a few routes," he said.

Higgs said while he has issues with the proposal, he knows many of his constituents use the system to access places like medical facilities, grocery stores and the Woodmar shopping area. "Sometimes you have to do what's best," he said.