BY PATRICK GUINANE, Times of Northwest Indiana
pguinane@nwitimes.com
INDIANAPOLIS | Envisioned as a unifying force for the region, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority now finds itself at the center of a divisive tug of war.
Led by state Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, and U.S. Rep Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., proponents of extending South Shore commuter rail lines south to Lowell and Valparaiso are pulling for an RDA commitment of $150 million. Meanwhile, East Chicago and Gary leaders are pushing back, arguing the costly rail plan could shortchange RDA projects in their cities.
Most of the contentious South Shore debate has taken place outside the sanctum of the seven-member RDA board. But the cash-driven clash crept its way into last week's RDA board meeting, and Bill Joiner, Gary's appointment to the RDA, wanted to know why.
"The board has not taken any action, nor have we received a proposal for any funding for the extension of the South Shore railroad," said Tim Sanders, the RDA's executive director. "However, it is an issue that's out there. It's like the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about."
With key region lawmakers touting the $150 million RDA commitment as a foregone conclusion, the board might as well discuss it, added RDA Chairman Leigh Morris.
"The assumption is there," Morris said. "And it's there in our planning documents that we have the capacity to do that."
The assumption of RDA involvement in commuter rail expansion has been there since the 2005 closed-door talks that spawned the state legislation creating the two-county development co-op.
The RDA was forged to spur expansion of Gary/Chicago International Airport, create regional bus service and redevelop the lakeshore -- all boons to northern Lake County. South Shore expansion was added to the mix to bridge the divide between north and south Lake County and help draw participation from Porter County.
"The airport was on first, the railroads were on second, buses were on third and the governor came up to the plate and hit the home run," state Sen Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said when Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the RDA legislation in May 2005.
The cooperative effort also staved off attempts by downstate Republicans to commandeer millions in region casino cash that they believed was being poorly spent. East Chicago, Gary, Hammond and Lake County each agreed to steer $3.5 million in annual riverboat money to the RDA while Porter County raised its income tax to cover its $3.5 million share.
But East Chicago and Gary now face potentially crippling budget cuts tied to proposed property tax caps, and those cities are questioning their continued financial support of the RDA.
The proposed $1 billion South Shore expansion is the one initiative RDA planners determined they could not afford without at least $20 million a year in additional revenue. Dobis and Visclosky have been lobbying for $350 million in state tax money -- $30 million annually -- to match $150 million from the RDA and $500 million in anticipated federal dollars.
East Chicago, Gary and Hammond in turn have pushed to bring their own initiatives to the table: a rail hub for Hammond, a $130 million South Shore link to the Gary airport and RDA assistance for East Chicago's $270 million shoreline redevelopment plan. Those demands could help sink the already heavy state funding bill.
On deck
The South Shore legislation, House Bill 1220, is scheduled for a Senate committee vote on Tuesday. But Senate Tax Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, has indicated he won't move the legislation unless the state sales tax diversion is replaced with a local tax hike.
The legislation would steer 12.5 percent of the sales tax collected in Lake and Porter counties -- as much as $35.7 million annually -- to the $1 billion plan to extend commuter rail lines to Lowell and Valparaiso. Another $7 million a year from LaPorte and St. Joseph County sales tax would go to improve the eastern half of the South-Bend to Chicago commuter line.