Budget

NIPSCO discusses how customers who qualify can apply income-eligible assistance. Northwest Indiana financial advisor Greg Hammer joins us to discuss money lessons for kids this holiday season. Indiana lawmakers will return to the Statehouse January 8, 2024 for the short, non-budget legislative session and education is among the top priorities. Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch is with us to talk about the upcoming session, mental health and wellness during the holidays.

Indiana property tax caps are posing challenges to the Gary Community School Corporation's 2024 budget. Manager Dr. Michael Raisor adopted a budget totaling more than $74 million Monday. It includes an education fund of about $32.5 million and a referendum fund of about $10.3 million.

The town of Merrillville is working to make sure its needs are met with the money it'll have available next year. The town council adopted the 2024 budget Tuesday. It totals just over $45.4 million, having been cut by almost $2 million from the initial proposal.

The Hammond School Board approved the district's 2024 budget Tuesday, but where to cut spending remains a topic of debate.

The town of Schererville expects its property tax rate to remain about the same, under the 2024 budget. Like many local governments, the town aimed slightly high with its budget proposal, with the expectation that the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance will trim the final version.

The School City of Hammond is bracing for more financial struggles, as it puts together its 2024 budget. Cash reserves have dropped from $13 million in early 2022 to just over $3 million this summer, with the operations fund taking the biggest hit.

Valparaiso's 2024 budget proposal includes a minimum two-percent pay raise for city employees. City Administrator Bill Oeding says the goal is to bring everyone to the midpoint of a recent wage study, plus a two-percent cost of living adjustment.

Lakeshore Public Media host Dee Dotson speaks to Congressman Frank J. Mrvan about his mmunity Project funding requests for Fiscal Year 2024.

Governor Eric Holcomb is asking the General Assembly to invest in the Gary/Chicago International Airport.

The city of Portage appears to be off to a better financial start in 2023.