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Calumet Township Recoups $1.3 million

State overpays Gary; township, others must be reimbursed

 The sharp eyes and quick brain of Calumet Township financial advisor Curtis Whittaker, CPA, spun into action January 20, when he saw the City of Gary and related entities were overpaid $8.3 million by the Lake County auditor  at the expense of other governmental units, including Calumet Township.

 “This was not through the city’s fault but because of a miscalculation by the state auditor’s office, which calculates such payments,” Whittaker explained.  “It should also be understood that the auditor’s office was operating in uncharted territory, since Gary et al were the only governmental units to petition for such relief.  I believe that’s why the mistake was made.  But to their credit, the mistake was corrected as soon as Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin and I, in conjunction with the Gary Community School Corporation, brought it to their attention.”

 According to Whittaker, when the city petitioned the DUAB, it granted $23.5 million in relief to the city and other city-related agencies such as the Gary Storm Water Management District, Gary Public Transportation Corporation and Gary/Chicago International Airport; but because of low tax collections and the impact of the circuit breaker, they should have received only $16 million.

 Once Whittaker discovered the mistake he dispatched a flurry of e-mails to State Auditor Tim Berry and his staff about the problem. Elgin, Whittaker and school corporation financial consultants Alicea Pritchett and Michael Washington met with Berry February 8, in Indianapolis to press their case for a review of the allocations.  Berry responded swiftly and by midweek had concluded Whittaker was right. 

 The $8.3 million loss to the city will be divided as follows: Gary Community School Corp., $3.5 million; Lake County, $1.5 million; Calumet Township $1.3 million and the remainder to other Gary-related funds and the Lake County solid waste fund.

 “It’s a pity this problem arose,” said Trustee Elgin.  “However, the point is no one should be shortchanged at the expense of another.  If it had not been straightened out it would have caused a severe crimp on our budget, meaning we would have been able to serve fewer of those in need.  Fortunately, the funds, however distributed all benefit the people of Gary.”

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