During my door-to-door campaign these five questions were the most frequently asked by concerned voters:
1. What happened to the missing $3,700?
You, I, and everyone else know that money shouldn’t go missing, ever. Finding the missing money is a top priority for me. In response to my request, the Porter County Sheriff investigated but could not determine where it went. The State Auditor has closed its investigation on my office and the official report does not hold my office accountable for the missing money, however I am in the process of soliciting more investigation because “We don’t know” isn’t good enough. The State Auditor’s report on the Police Department has been remanded to both the State’s Attorney General and the Porter County Prosecutor’s offices and is ongoing. Questions about the Police Department should be appropriately directed to the mayor.
2. Is it true that there has been “ghost pay rolling” in the Utility Department?
The State Auditor’s report on the Utility Department mentions “ghost pay rolling” five times. It seems that the Utility Department’s superintendent had hired a relative who had numerous time card discrepancies that led to the relative’s employment termination. Further questions should be directed to the mayor, as she heads the Utility Service Board.
3. Why is the county providing our 911 dispatchers?
That’s a great question, because this never should have happened. The county collects approximately $1 million per year from the 911 user-fee attached to your phone bill to pay for Portage dispatchers. Unfortunately the mayor, despite promising to keep the dispatchers during her campaign, gave 911 dispatching responsibility to the county because she was unwilling to pursue these funds. Your money is not being used wisely.
4. Why is Regional Development Authority (RDA) membership a bad idea?
I oppose RDA membership because Lake County does not have a stable revenue stream such as the Porter County CEDIT – County Economic Development Income Tax. You cannot do long range regional planning without a stable economic base. Working with counties that are not as financially stable as Porter County is a recipe for disaster. Portage receives CEDIT money, which can be used to do infrastructure improvements. We do not need to be a member of the RDA to fund infrastructure improvements.
5. Why were cinders used on the roads last winter?
Cinders are cheaper than salt. Cinders were used in combination with salt on our streets during the winter of 2009/2010 because the Street Department superintendent didn’t wait for the city’s budget projections to be finalized. I promise that will never happen again if I am elected mayor.
Have other questions? Email them to me at donna@donnaformayor.com with your name, email address, and phone number.