Town of Chesterton municipal employees are about to get a cost of living adjustment (COLA).

At a special meeting Tuesday--called to discuss 2009 CEDIT expenditures--the Chesterton Town Council voted 4-0 to give all full-time employees, with the exception of elected officials, a 2-percent COLA, effective July 1. Member Dave Cincoski, R-3rd--a Chesterton police officer--abstained from the vote.

Members noted that when they made the decision in July 2008 not to grant raises to employees this year, they also pledged to re-consider the fiscal climate after the first half of 2009. The fiscal climate is no great shakes--the town is robbing Peter to pay Paul, making ends meet with one tax anticipation loan after another--but Clerk-Treasurer Gayle Polakowski has found a surplus of approximately $300,000 in the health insurance fund.

Polakowski estimated that a 2-percent COLA for all full-time employees would amount to around $80,000.

“I think the employees will be happy,” Stormwater Utility Superintendent Mark O’Dell said.

“It’s overdue,” replied Member Jim Ton, R-1st.

“The employees thank you,” Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg added.

The council will make the COLA official in an amendment to the 2009 Salary Ordinance at its next meeting, June 22.

Meanwhile, members tentatively earmarked a total of $1,162,000 in county economic development income tax (CEDIT) revenues for 2009, with the single biggest earmark of $200,000 for paving and sidewalks, to which sum will be added another $200,000 in Rainy Day Fund moneys.

Schnadenberg has not yet finalized a paving list for the season, partially because he is still waiting word on whether he will receive federal stimulus funds for three particular projects: Wabash Ave. from Waverly Road to North Calumet Road; 11th street from West Porter Ave. to 1100N; and West Porter Ave., from 15th Street to 23rd Street.

Schnadenberg did note that this would be the season to allocate as much cash as possible to paving--to get the biggest bang for the buck--since the council early this year took advantage of Walsh & Kelly’s offer to lock in the 2008 asphalt price, which is essentially the 2007 asphalt price and considerably lower than the 2009 asphalt price.

Other big-ticket CEDIT items: $100,000 for playground equipment at Coffee Creek Park and Dunes Friendship Land; $95,000 for salaries and benefits; $90,000 for the re-modeling design of the former United Tractor facility at 106 15th Street; and $100,000 in emergency reserve for such items as road salt.

The complete list of CEDIT earmarks:

*$50,000 for land acquisition.

*$50,000 for grant matches.

*$30,000 for the design of a municipal website.

*$40,000 for streetscape and intersection enhancements.

*$20,000 for town beautification.

*$40,000 for paving as a parking lot the recently acquired lot across the street from town hall, the installation of light poles in the lot, and the reconstruction of the sidewalk in front of town hall.

*$2,500 for the final closure of the former underground storage tank site behind town hall.

*$35,000 for firefighters’ bunker gear.

*$15,000 for a lawn mower for the Parks and Recreation Department.

*$100,000 for playground equipment.

*$15,000 for police officers’ bulletproof vests and Tasers.

*$10,000 for in-squad computer upgrades and replacements for the CPD.

*$5,000 for the ongoing licensing of IDACS for the CPD.

*$2,500 for the ongoing expense of computer upgrades for the CPD.

*$7,500 for tool replacement for Central Services.

*$22,500 for the fourth and final lease-purchase payment on the Street Department’s front-end loader.

*$200,000 for paving and sidewalks.

*$5,000 for legal fees.

*$50,000 for upgrades to general communications, computer, and billing upgrades.

*$95,000 for salaries and benefits.

*$90,000 for the design of the 15th Street facility.

*$25,000 for the annual mortgage payment on the 15th Street facility.

*$50,000 for miscellaneous expenses.

*$5,000 for a town-wide wireless surveillance camera system.

*$100,000 for emergencies.

*$75,000 for a new restroom facility at the former New York Central passenger depot at 220 Broadway, currently the home of the Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce, for use by visitors to the Downtown and its festivals.

*$22,000 for half of the annual lease-purchase payment on the vacuum truck, the other half to be paid by the Utility.

The grand total: $1,162,000.

The town’s estimated CEDIT draw in 2009 is $845,785 and the unspent balance from its 2008 draw $364,084, for a total available amount this year of $1,209,869.

If the town were to spend the entirety of the earmarked $1,162,000, it would have a balance at the end of the year of $47,869.

Posted 6/10/2009