Extras
The people who appoint the RDA are getting a look at how money can be raised for all its projects before it is submitted to state Budget Director Charles Schalliol. Here is who they are and their appointees:
Gov. Mitch Daniels - Chairman John Clark
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. - Howard Cohen
Gary Mayor Rudy Clay - Bill Joiner
East Chicago Mayor George Pabey - Carmen Fernandez
Portage Mayor Doug Olsen -- Harley Snyder
Lake County Council and commissioners - Louis Martinez
Porter County Council and commissioners - Gus Olympidis
BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com

The South Shore commuter rail extension to Lowell and Valparaiso could become reality with the passage of a local option income tax, according to a report delivered Tuesday to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

Construction would start in 2009 and be completed about 2016 and cost about $1 billion, according to the draft strategic development plan authority board members saw for the first time.

With the combination of a local option income tax and the RDA's current funding, the authority's three other target projects also could be completed. Those are the Gary/Chicago International Airport expansion, regional bus service, and the Marquette Greenway Plan for lakefront development.

"These are the projects, this is what we're focused on doing ... and these are the alternatives on how to fund the plan," said RDA Chairman John Clark at Tuesday's RDA meeting at the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana.

It would take $661 million in local money to fund the four target projects, according to the plan. The rest would come from the federal government and other sources.

The RDA decided not to release the draft strategic development plan to the public at Tuesday's 11 a.m. meeting. But in the afternoon it was e-mailed to county commissioners, County Council members and mayors. The Times obtained a copy.

In Porter County, it added to some county officials' disenchantment with the RDA.

County Commissioner Bob Harper took one look Tuesday at the RDA funding proposal and said it's time for Porter County to walk away from the RDA.

"I think we should get out of it," Harper said.

Porter County officials joined the effort with the belief the initial contribution from the existing income tax would be enough money to help fund the proposed rail line into Valparaiso and a local bus service, Harper said.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said property tax relief would have to be part of any local option income tax in Lake County.

"We could fund the South Shore that way, and we could fund property tax relief," McDermott said. "It's a win-win."

Without the local option income tax, the South Shore only could be extended to Munster, according to the plan delivered Tuesday. With the addition of a food and beverage tax, other projects could be funded.

Last May, the Porter County Council voted 4-3 to approve a 0.25 percent local option income tax to generate $7.5 million. Of that, $3.5 million was earmarked to pay yearly RDA dues and the remaining $4 million goes to homestead credits for Porter County homeowners.

Lake County and its three largest cities contribute $14 million in casino money to the RDA.

Lake County does not currently have a local option income tax in place.

The RDA on Tuesday resolved to give mayors and other officials who appointed them a few days to go through the plan before it is submitted to state Budget Director Charles Schalliol. The budget director then will give it to the state budget committee for review.

Under the RDA's enabling legislation, Schalliol must approve the plan in order for the state to continue kicking in its $10 million per year. On Tuesday, Clark said the plan would be posted on the RDA Web site for public consumption when it was delivered to Schalliol.

Some RDA board members at the meeting did broach concerns about the strategic development plan being taken the wrong way by elected officials, though there was almost no discussion of specifics.

"This scenario certainly will contemplate some taxes that certainly are not ours to propose," board member Gus Olympidis said.

On Jan. 9, the RDA accepted part one of the strategic development plan, which detailed nearly $4 billion in projects.

Both parts of the plan were prepared by Policy Analytics LLC of Indianapolis. Company President Bill Sheldrake delivered part two of the plan Tuesday and described it as "a step that says how do we achieve that bold vision you wanted to accomplish."

Times staff writer Bob Kasarda contributed to this report.
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