NIRPC wants more money; funding formula has been same for 31 years
A funding source set up more than 30 years ago doesn’t meet the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission’s needs any more, the regional group says.
The full commission voted Thursday to ask the Indiana General Assembly to increase the appropriations NIRPC gets from its three member counties — Lake, Porter and LaPorte.
In 1992, the legislature set the county appropriations at 90 cents per person, but the rate hasn’t been changed since then despite the effects of inflation.
“We’re able to do less and less and less (with the funding),” NIRPC Executive Director Ty Warner said.
NIRPC uses the county appropriations to match federal funding through the U.S. Department of Commerce and other sources, and the lack of a local funding match limits the federal grants.
The resolution passed Thursday by the city, town and county officials on the NIRPC commission asks the legislature to raise the county appropriation rate to $1.50 per person, and then index that to inflation in the future.
It would mean an increase from the counties, but it would also make more federal money available, Warner said.
Cedar Lake Town Council member Robert Carnahan said NIRPC member counties will need to approve the request, and Porter County Surveyor Kevin Breitzke asked NIRPC to send letters to the county fiscal bodies.
In NIRPC’s $17.7 million budget for 2024, adopted Thursday by the commission, the county appropriations totaled $349,000 from Lake County, $121,251 from Porter County and $78,692 from LaPorte County, a total of $549,033. Most other revenues came from state and federal agencies.
The commission also set Warner’s salary for next year at $183,055, a 4% increase over this year. Attorney David Hollenbeck noted that 2024 will be the last year in Warner’s current three-year contract.
Also Thursday, the commission adopted an updated version of its “Sensible Tools Handbook,” a compilation of “best practices” suggestions for local planning officials and agencies in the three NIRPC counties.
It can help local officials think through the effects of what they’re doing and help them make informed decisions, Warner said.
The 182-page handbook groups proposals under chapters for resilient, healthy, sustainable, equitable and smart planning techniques and strategies.
NIRPC planning manager Iman Ibrahim said NIRPC will offer training sessions for local officials on the new handbook, which was compiled by NIRPC staffers and an advisory committee of city and town planners and university professors.