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GARY, Thur. Dec. 15: Last night, secessionist leaders in the Town of Griffith struck out for the second time in as many years in their efforts to leave Calumet Township. This came about when the Calumet Township Board met and rejected a resolution from Griffith requesting “reorganization of the Town of Griffith” so that it could be removed from the township. A substantially similar resolution was also rejected last year.

In both instances the board responded with a resolution of its own declining to participate in Griffith’s proposed reorganization.

“Certain factions in Griffith feel aggrieved at being a part of Calumet Township and want to bail out. I disagree with them vehemently, but they have the right to their feelings and to petition this board for redress. I’m glad my fellow board members, Ron Matlock and Clorius Lay, plus Trustee Mary Elgin feel as I do on this matter,” said Alex Cherry, Calumet Township Board chairman, following the vote.

Griffith town council members believe the town pumps too much finances into the township in relation to services received. They took their case to the state legislature earlier this year and were granted a hearing on October 20, before the commission on state tax and financing policy, which subsequently declined issuing any finding on the matter.

Seeking amicable resolution of the matter, Trustee Elgin has held a series of meetings with Griffith councilors and local state legislators, to no avail. Elgin proposed establishing a satellite township office in Griffith, plus certain tax reductions for property owners.

“The board and I are in full agreement that the geographical integrity of the township is of utmost importance. In that light, as elected official as recently as last year, we intend to keep fighting to keep our township unified and moving forward,” said Elgin.

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Curtis Whittaker CPA, Trustee Mary Elgin, and Attorney Cynthia Minor appearing before legislative study committee.

Legislative Committee Hears Calumet Township/Griffith Issue

Gary, Indiana October 26, 2011

Members of the Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy Committee were bombarded with a dizzying array of taxes, levies and other financial data at a legislative hearing on October 20, in Indianapolis. The hearing was brought about because the Town of Griffith believes it is paying too much in property taxes to Calumet Township, while receiving very little township poor relief assistance in return.

Town Council Members Rick Ryfa and George Jerome explained the town of 17,000 people annually pumps approximately $2.5 million into the township budget but residents receive only about $11,000 in township assistance.

“The financial burden has become so great that our town has been pursuing the goal of secession from the township since 2007,” Ryfa told the committee. According to him, Griffith has the third highest levy in the state. His conclusion is the town could save substantially if it were granted permission to secede from the township or, failing that, were allowed to administer its own poor relief program.

Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin, buttressed by financial consultant Curtis Whittaker, attorney Cynthia Minor and State Senator Earline Rogers, laid out a comprehensive defence of township financing and operations. She agreed the case presented by Griffith exists, however, explained it was not by design but merely reflected the better economic health of Griffith.

Using U.S. Census data, she showed Gary with a median household income of $27,367, compared to Griffith’s $55,811. The median owner-occupied home value in Gary is $69,400, compared to Griffith’s $136,400; while 33.4% of individuals in Gary are below the poverty level, compared with only 8.8% in Griffith.

“The stark differences between those figures tell the story,” said Elgin. “Those figures indicate the levels of need between the two communities, and account for what Griffith sees as unfairness.” But Elgin pointed out that when Griffith suffered from flooding in 2006, the township established a satellite office at the Griffith town hall to provide assistance specifically for Griffith. Likewise, when the town suffered tornado damage in 2008, the township set up a special hotline dedicated solely to Griffith residents.

“Under circumstances of genuine need, Griffith residents who qualify for assistance get whatever is mandated by law. There is no discrimination, no unfairness, just unrivalled service,” said Elgin.

She also explained the township and Griffith held a series of cordial meetings during the summer in an effort to resolve the contention. On October 4, the township proposed establishing a satellite office in Griffith with all costs of the facility, aside from personnel, being borne by the town, and extending tax relief to the town by reducing the township’s tax levy by 31% over three years. Griffith representatives have acknowledged that even with the $2.5 million saved by seceding from the township individual property owners would see no reduction in their taxes. Griffith countered with an offer of six million dollars to the township spread over five years if it gets to leave the township.

Whittaker, Minor and North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan, Jr., supported the township’s perspective.

“This is an issue best worked out by Calumet Township and Griffith,” summed up Rogers. “They’re engaged in discussions and should be allowed to seek their own solution.”

“I don’t think they made a convincing case to the committee,” Elgin said of Ryfa and Jerome following the hearing. “Simply put, this is all about politics. I believe the residents of Griffith understand there is a level of cost we all bear in order for society to function. They are fortunate to be in much better financial shape than the folks in Gary, but the township stands ready to assist anyone who qualifies in time of need.”

The committee consisted of Senator Brandt Hershman, chairman; plus Senators Ryan Mishler, Timothy Skinner, Representatives Eric Turner and Scott Pelath. The committee said it would issue no recommendation but is encouraging both parties to resolve the issue.

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Calumet Township Fends Off Griffith Secession

If Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin had not been alert, the closing days of the 2011 Indiana Legislative Assembly would have meant doom for the township. Secessionist forces from the Town of Griffith, led by Councilman Rick Ryfa and other town council members, had engineered an ingenious legislative ploy to deny the township, of which Griffith is an integral part, over five million dollars from its budget. Ryfa’s rationale was that Griffith residents pay much more into township coffers than they receive in services.

On Wednesday, April 20, Elgin became aware of the ploy, which was an amendment attached to Senate Bill 526. She immediately contacted Senator Earline Rogers urging her to scrutinize the bill carefully before voting and to use her influence to block its passage. Elgin and Curtis Whittaker, CPA, financial advisor to the township, along with Executive Aide Stafford Garbutt, then went to Indianapolis to meet with pertinent legislators in hopes of stopping the bill.

Following a late night meeting with Rogers the trio next met with Representatives Phil Hinkle, Vernon Smith, Charlie Brown, Mara Caldelaria Reardon, Dan Stevenson and others for lengthy and sometimes heated discussions on the bill.

“This legislation is meant to rectify an economic distortion,” said Reardon, one of the driving forces behind the bill.

When called upon, Elgin explained that in addition to the five million dollars the amendment would take away, the township would be deprived of further revenue due to property tax caps and low tax collections; resulting in $12 million lost from a $15 million budget.

“How are we expected to keep our doors open to serve the dire need of those in economic pain?” asked Elgin. “Are the conservative forces in Griffith, acting out of pure politics, saying the good people of Griffith lack compassion and don’t care about fellow township residents in need?”

In a committee hearing, Hinkle called the Griffith matter “the most egregious example of township unfairness”, prompting Rogers to have him explain other “egregious” examples he was aware of but he was unable to do so. Hinkle, a masterful politician and rhetorician was also corrected several times by Whittaker when he misunderstood or misinterpreted financial data about the township provided by the Legislative Services Agency. Because of Rogers’ mastery of arcane Senate rules and that about two dozen other townships would also have been adversely affected, the amendment was taken out; only to be replaced by another just as financially detrimental to the Calumet Township, over the Easter weekend.

The amendment the Reardon-Stevenson-Ryfa troika devised would have set up a pilot program whereby Griffith would administer its own township assistance program, without being designated a new township. Rogers immediately decried this new “special legislation” and set about countering it. Going down to the wire, Rogers utilized her considerable political powers, massaged egos, called in chips and persuaded fellow legislators that the revised amendment was not germane to Senate Bill 526. She suggested the matter be put to a legislative study committee wherein the township and Griffith would present their cases and try to reach an amicable solution. Elgin also met with Ryfa and other Griffith town council members while in Indianapolis but reached no common ground.

“Northwest Indiana legislators such as Senators Lonnie Randolph, plus Representatives Charlie Brown, Earl Harris and Vernon Smith, aided by their colleagues from other areas, were instrumental in helping Calumet Township survive,” said Elgin. But Senator Rogers was the rock in this whole episode. Hers has been the voice of sanity and persuasion in all discussions. She is a credit to Gary and all her constituents.”

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