Porter County government will commit to buy American-made products and services with federal stimulus monies coming to the county, under a resolution adopted this week by the Porter County Commissioners.

Commissioner President Robert Harper and North County Commissioner John Evans both endorsed a “buy-American” resolution presented by Rosa Maria Rodriguez and other members of United Steelworkers Local 1010. Commissioner Carole Knoblock was absent.

Rodriguez said more than 500 states, towns, and other public entities have signed similar resolutions pledging to purchase American-made materials, whenever feasible, with the funds they will get through the American Recovery and Revitalization Act passed earlier this year by Congress.

The resolution commits the county government to buy goods and services made or produced in the United States with ARRA funds, “thus employing the very workers that pay the taxes for the economic recovery plan spending in the first place.”

Harper said if every entity getting ARRA funds passed such resolutions, “we’d probably all be in better shape.”

The ARRA includes $787 billion in federal stimulus funds for education, infrastructure, job training and other programs. The amount coming to Northwest Indiana for road and infrastructure projects this year is expected to be $17.96 million, of which $446,712 has been tentatively designated for projects in Porter County’s unincorporated areas. These projects are paving work on Meridian Road in Liberty Township and C.R. 700 North in Portage Township and road striping around the county.

In other matters at Tuesday’s county commissioner meeting:

*The commissioners approved a request from Faith Jones, who organized the April 15 anti-tax Tea Party, for another Tea Party protest at the Porter County Courthouse on July 4.

*For the second meeting in a row, County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger reported that a final contract with the county’s new tax billing software vendor, Low Associates, is still not ready for commissioner approval. The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance must approve tax vendor contracts, and Low disagrees with the state’s new model contract. Rinkenberger said the DLGF on Monday forwarded its suggested revisions to Low. Other vendors in Indiana have signed off on the state’s model contract, but Low “is demanding many changes,” she said.

*As requested by Porter County Fair Manager Lonnie Steele, the commissioners agreed to install a rough concrete floor in the cattle barn at the Expo Center, agreeing to spend up to $25,000 in Harper’s Center District share of county income tax funds for the project. Steele said the Porter County Ag Society will contribute the concrete. The new flooring surface will improve cleanliness and make the barn more versatile for other uses year-round, Steele said.

*In another matter involving the Porter County Fair, the commissioners accepted a proposal from the Porter County Fair Board to designate a special county government day at the fair, with admission and carnival ride discounts for county employees. In turn, designated county employees will help sell advance fair tickets. Evans asked if the special fair prices can be extended to municipal employees as well. Steele expressed support for the idea, but said he needs final approval from the fair board. This year’s Porter County Fair will be July 23 to August 2.

Posted 5/21/2009