The Gary Common Council approved some adjustments in its budget for the current calendar year in order to support city recycling programs and purchase computer security software.
The council on Tuesday voted 8-0 to approve the financial transfers. The total dollar amount for the budget remains the same, but money will be transferred from portions of the budget where city officials think there are some excess funds.
No one voted against the transfers, but councilwoman Ragen Hatcher, D-at large, was not present for the vote.
One transfer will provide $32,025 for the city’s recycling initiatives.
Money will be used to purchase more recycling bins that allow people to dispose of certain items separate from their regular trash. It also will help to cover the cost of repairs to the special trucks the city uses to pick up the recyclable items on trash days.
City officials currently have four routes and five drivers whose job is to pick up the recyclables.
The measure also will provide some $20,000 for the city’s Information Technology system to cover the cost of purchasing Secret Server software, which is a secure password management system.
Money will come from funds that were intended for the Gary/Chicago International Airport system. Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said the new software will benefit all city computers and make them less susceptible to viruses and potential hackers.
In other business, Freeman-Wilson said the city’s Fire Department plans to hire six new firefighter/paramedics.
The department currently has a list of 26 people who have passed entrance examinations that make them eligible for future vacancies. City officials have said previously they hope to eventually hire all 26 to add to the 171 firefighters and officers currently employed by Gary.
Meanwhile, the city plans to hold a hearing on the land acquisition plans of MaiaCo at 5 p.m. on June 15 at Roosevelt Academy. The Gary-based company has a contract to advise the Gary Redevelopment Commission on how to purchase plots of land and merge them into sizable tracts that can be offered to would-be developers.
Councilwoman Carolyn Rogers, D-4th, said many city residents remain confused as to what MaiaCo is, and she had wished to hold a hearing earlier this week because she said her city district has more vacant land plots than any other.
Also, the Common Council deferred action on approval bylaws for the city’s Port Authority.
The council’s finance committee previously reviewed the bylaws, but Freeman-Wilson said some questions remain about the operating procedures. She said officials expect to get answers in coming days, and that a final vote to approve those bylaws likely will be taken when the council meets again June 19 at City Hall.
Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
