Merrillville council approves four resolutions on bond reimbursements, tax allocations, appropriations and pension payments

The Merrillville Town Council unanimously approved four resolutions addressing housekeeping and budget allocations during its February meeting.

Resolution 26-03 corrects a previously passed resolution to ensure reimbursement for expenses tied to the sale of 2025 general obligation bonds is deposited to the municipal capital development fund rather than the general fund. Town staff said the earlier action had misstated the recipient fund and this resolution "will correct for that and will be able to then have this applied, transferred, and deposited to the credit of the MCCD," Griffin said.

Resolution 26-04 authorizes allocations of financial institution tax and commercial-vehicle excise tax as permitted by Indiana Code. Staff noted this is the first year the town could route these revenues to the general fund but recommended retaining amounts that support debt service; the council approved the allocation as presented.

Resolution 26-05 moves appropriation balances among major budget classifications within the fire equipment/project fund and the corporate capital fund for proper accounting. Griffin described specific line adjustments including moving $427,944.75 from contractual services into two capital outlay accounts and establishing a $120,070.75 reimbursement subaccount tied to the bond reimbursement resolution; staff said the net effect on the overall budget is zero.

Resolution 26-06 affirms employer and employee shares of public safety pension payments to the Indiana Public Retirement System (INPRS) during Police Officer Amanda Early’s military leave; the council approved continued contributions while she serves in the National Guard.

All four resolutions were approved by the council during the meeting; staff characterized several items as accounting or housekeeping adjustments rather than new spending authorizations.