Howard Fink promoted at Town of Merrillville

A hearty congratulations to our good friend, Howard Fink, with the announcement of his promotion at the Town of Merrillville to Town Administrator.

From the Times:

Howard Fink's responsibilities in Merrillville will increase starting Monday, but Fink said he is ready for the opportunity.

Fink, who has served as the town's community development director since 2006, was named town administrator Tuesday.

The Town Council decided to promote Fink about a week after a second town manager candidate declined the job.

Fink said he was honored to accept the position and happy town leaders have "trust and faith" that he can handle the administrative duties.

Town officials said the town administrator position has many of the same responsibilities of a town manager, but not as much authority as a town manager would have.

Some of Fink's new responsibilities include overseeing the town's daily operations, making sure the town is following proper rules and procedures and being a person residents can contact regarding town topics.

"I will work hard to meet the needs of Merrillville citizens," Fink said.

Fink is familiar with working with Merrillville residents. He led several informational meetings regarding stormwater management fees and also fielded several calls when the town decided to reduce to a single waste hauler.

Fink said he will still take care of the community development director responsibilities while working as town administrator. He said it's important to continue economic development work even with a slow economy.

Town Councilman Shawn Pettit, who is chairman of the Personnel Policy and Employee Benefits Committee, said Fink's promotion doesn't come with an increase in pay. Fink's current annual salary is above $50,000.

If Fink proves he can handle his added responsibilities, the Town Council could later offer him the town manager position. Fink said he would be interested in the job if given the opportunity.

"I wouldn't have taken this role if I wasn't interested," Fink said.

Town Councilman Richard Hardaway said he is confident in the decision to promote Fink. He said Fink has been a loyal town employee who will be able to lead the town in the right direction.

Again, Congratulations!

Indiana Municipal Property Tax Reports

For many of our clients, having recently received their 1782 statements, this is a good time to have a report completed on the impact of the circuit breaker going forward.

Yes, Legislative Services did conduct preliminary analysis for all local government entities in Indiana last spring, but now with new assessment and budgets these reports can be recalculated to refine the projections for 2009 and 2010.

Contact us immediately if you want to have Cender and Company refine your projections for the next couple years. Sorry for the brevity of this post, but frankly we're pretty busy working with our private sector clients all over the State of Indiana on these important updates.

Porter Twp Schools to use tax warrant borrowing

Porter Twp. schools may borrow to help cash flow

PORTER TOWNSHIP | The Porter Township School Corp. board on Monday gave Superintendent Nick Brown approval to seek tax anticipation warrants if necessary to maintain the district's cash flow. (Source: NWI Times)

The borrowing is a normal annual occurrence as school corporations await payment of state and county tax monies.

The state approved the district's 2008 budget last week, Brown told the board, freeing the way for payment of state tuition support funds. But when those funds would arrive was uncertain, Brown said, prompting him to seek borrowing power if necessary.

Brown said he would probably know by midweek how much the district might need to borrow from the Indiana Bond Bank and at what interest rate that would be.

Tax revenue payments from the county were not expected until late in the year, which would also factor into the district's borrowing needs, Brown said. Semiannual county tax payments have been delayed in recent years, prompting many school districts to seek a second round of tax anticipation warrants in a year to pay bills until the funding comes in.

Brown said he didn't feel the nation's financial crisis would affect the district's ability to obtain a loan, but he was unsure whether it would have an effect on interest rates.

Many county municipal entities will be forced to use tax warrant borrowing this fall, quite a few of our clients are doing so, as assessments and budgets are being approved for 2008 on a drastically delayed schedule.

Indiana Municipal Bonds - Financial Advisor

Serving as independent financial advisors to a variety of public and private sectors throughout the State of Indiana, Cender and Company LLC provides each client with individualized, client-focused services to help achieve the results and goals needed for a successful, financial future.

Whether it's your business or personal needs, the combined 48 years of experienced advisors at Cender and Company offer sophisticated, forward-thinking solutions in an ever-changing environment. Just look at the recent media and political frenzy surrounding the credit markets, and an impending government bailout, this has affected all credit markets. We are currently working with our municipal and public sector clients to review options for bond financing in this volatile situation.

Our services include:

• Bond financial advisory services

1. Underwriter selection and fee negotiations
2. Rates and maturities
3. Coordination of steps necessary to complete the bond issue in the State of Indiana
   

In later posts we'll outline additional consulting services from our redevelopment, economic development, and business consultants. But, it's important to note that the public sector in the State of Indiana is enduring some dramatic changes, and a financial advisor may be one very necessary tool to help navigate the coming year.

Indiana County Councils begin budget reviews

House Enrollment Act 1001 (HEA 1001) requires for the first time this year, that county councils in Indiana review all budgets for municipalities and townships (and other taxing units) in each county. There is some confusion about the actual affect of these reviews, since they are not binding.

Porter County will begin their reviews tonite.

VALPARAISO | After spending four long nights pouring over the details of more than 90 budgets within the county government, members of the County Council will begin work tonight on their new responsibility of reviewing the budgets of nearly every other local taxing unit.

At least some of the council members question the value of the additional work, considering they were not given the power to take any action in response to their reviews.

Cender and Company will be assisting LaPorte County in conducting their reviews so that they don't feel additional pressure to add staff for the new task. If you are a council member or county staff assigned with this new responsibility let us know, we'd be glad to assist in this chore.

Scannell Wealth Management Group

225 Aberdeen Drive, Suite A Valparaiso, IN 46385 (219) 531-4941

Tim and I had a chance to golf and get caught up on Thursday last week, at the Porter Starke Services golf outing. Great outing and a great time to see a ton of NW Indiana's leaders.

Thanks Tim

Links to Wealth Management Articles worth checking out:

View Recent Scannell Wealth Reports
Scannell Wealth Report, August 25, 2008 Weekly Market Commentary, August 18, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, August 11, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, August 4, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, July 28, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, July 21, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, July 14, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, July 7, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, June 30, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, June 23, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, June 16, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, June 9, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, June 2, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, May 27, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, May 19, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, May 19, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, May 12, 2008 Scannell Wealth Report, May 6, 2008

Mishawaka impact from HEA 1001

Budget woes for South Bend, and a possible surplus for Mishawaka Source: WNDU.com

St. Joseph County, IN Posted: 5:36 PM Aug 7, 2008 Last Updated: 5:40 PM Aug 7, 2008 Reporter: Marcie Kobriger

South Bend leaders say the city's budget is in dire straits. Right now, a local option income tax is the only option on the table for raising revenue lost to the circuit breaker. If a local option income tax raise is passed, leaders say budget cuts in South Bend could be bearable, while the city of Mishawaka could end up with a surplus. It's a tale of two cities. In South Bend, city leaders are trying to chop 18 million dollars out of the budget by 2010, while Mishawaka looks at a more manageable 2 million in cuts. So why is there such a big difference? “Our last five years have been the biggest construction years ever in our history, this year we’ll triple our biggest construction year ever,” says Mishawaka mayor Jeff Rea. Rea says the city has also cut back for the last five years, which comes with challenges. “Everyday people call and say, ‘I want more police patrols, I want improvements to my parks,’ but also that ‘I pay enough taxes,’ so it puts a big burden on all of us to figure out how to operate more efficiently,” explains Rea. South Bend leaders say they have also made cuts. But with 40 police and 53 firefighting positions threatened by the circuit breaker, Mayor Steve Luecke says it is time to look at other ways to raise revenue. “We’re really taking a hard look at the option income taxes as a part of the solution for providing the services that our residents and our businesses want, and we need to have South Bend thrive,” says Luecke. The leaders of two of the three major entities in the county: Mishawaka, the county itself, and/or South Bend, have to approve any income tax hike. If the maximum is approved, South Bend would try to cut 2 million dollars, while Mishawaka parks, police, and development could benefit from a considerable surplus. “The option income taxes that we currently have were not voted on by Mishawaka, they were voted on by South Bend and the county, and we benefited from them,” says Rea. The maximum amount income taxes could be raised under House Bill 1001 is 1.25-percent. South Bend would need the maximum raise to get them to a 2 million dollar deficit, while Mishawaka could break even with just a .25-percent increase. The deadline for a decision is mid-October, but lots of residents have already made up their minds on the matter.