The Gary Common Council, at its Tuesday meeting, heard an ordinance that aims to approve the city’s salaries and operating budgets for employees in special revenues and grant funds.
The ordinance was on first reading and was moved to the council’s finance committee for further consideration. The finance committee’s next meeting is Wednesday evening, but the ordinance is not on the posted agenda.
The ordinance includes numbers for various Gary departments that were not included in the city’s recently passed 2026 budget. Those include the alcohol fund, the city court’s public defender fund and drug court funds.
According to the Indiana State Board of Accounts, special revenue funds are legally restricted to expenditures for specific purposes, which are most commonly a motor vehicle highway fund, local road and street fund, riverboat, park and recreation operating fund, cemetery operating fund, aviation operating fund, parking meter fund and rainy day fund.
An overview of specific numbers in the special revenues and grant funds will be provided at a finance committee meeting and when the council votes on the ordinance.
At its Oct. 28 meeting, the Gary Common Council approved the city’s 2026 general budget, and budgets for the Gary Public Transportation Corporation, redevelopment commission and Gary/Chicago International Airport.
The total 2026 budget for the city’s tax-based funds is about $1.25 million, City Controller Celita Green said Tuesday night, which is an increase from 2025, when the budget was about $1.23 million.
The budget includes 20 new public works positions, an increase in the redevelopment fund and “stable salary levels” for administrative staff and council members.
“Every decision in this budget was made with our residents and our city’s comeback story in mind,” Mayor Eddie Melton said in a news release. “This is a responsible, forward-looking plan that will directly fuel our redevelopment momentum and enhance the basic services our citizens deserve. We are charting a new course forward together.”
According to a Wednesday morning news release, the approved Gary budget secures “a path forward for strategic spending in the face of evolving state fiscal landscapes, including the impact of (Senate Enrolled Act) 1.”
“At the same time, we must be honest about the challenges ahead,” said Council President Lori Latham, D-1. “Indiana (Senate Enrolled Act) 1 poses significant risks to our municipal budgets, potentially undermining the progress we’re making today. These hires are an investment not just in our workforce, but in our residents — and we’ll continue fighting to ensure Gary’s local government has the resources it needs to deliver essential services.”
