Lake Council to investigate sheriff's books
NWI Times
Feb 15, 2017
CROWN POINT — The Lake County Council voted to police the sheriff — at least in fiscal matters.
The council refused Tuesday to immediately pay about $180,000 in food, police uniforms and services vendors provided late last year.
Instead, the council created an oversight committee to investigate the sheriff's costly overruns.
Council President Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, pleaded with fellow council members not to delay payments.
He said it would be unfair to businesses that already have provided products and services to the county. "I would have to have the government turned over to a collection agency," Bilski said.
Councilwomen Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, and Elsie Franklin, D-Gary, said it was unfair to single out the sheriff for overdue bills when others did the same.
The council did agree Tuesday to pay 2016 bills totaling about $5,300 for the county fairgrounds director, recorder, elections board, coroner, juvenile court and the economic development department.
The sheriff didn't appear before the council Tuesday, but did write a letter last week arguing his bills were emergencies due to a surge of additional jail inmates and unforeseen equipment and auto repairs.
Council members Dan Dernulc, R-Highland; David Hamm, D-Hammond; Eldon Strong, R-Crown Point; and Jamal Washington, D-Merrillville, voted against any payment of the sheriff's late bills until the oversight committee look into them.
Dernulc said they had given the sheriff all the money he requested last year.
Washington said he sponsored the ordinance establishing a seven-member oversight committee that will have subpoena powers to "determine the cause of budget shortfalls and the lack of timely payment of invoices and related budgetary issues."
Hamm, Strong and Washington will serve on the investigative body as would two from the Lake County Board of Commissioners, one from the county auditor as well as the sheriff's bookkeeper.
The council also voted to give the Lake County Board of Commissioners permission to seek bids from private real estate firms to commercially develop about 6 acres of the Lake County Government Center's lawn at 93rd and Main (Taft) Street.
The land has remained an open field since the county government center opened at this site 43 years ago.
Commissioners attempted in 2015 to interest a developer in the site. Hawk Development of Crown Point offered to entice fast-food and service station tenants to locate on the Main Street frontage, but commissioners declined to act at that time.
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