[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6353717,"mediaKeyId","2221047-490e95431c0d60311f0fdaa73c6f1d9c","parentId",2221047,"title","Michigan City unveils winter emergency plan; council approves staffing changes and multiple budget ordinances","audioSeconds",2024,"startMs",342000,"endMs",2366000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2221047-490e95431c0d60311f0fdaa73c6f1d9c&start=342&end=2366","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2221047-490e95431c0d60311f0fdaa73c6f1d9c/thumbnail_342000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6353717/Michigan-City/LaPorte-County/Indiana/Michigan-City-unveils-winter-emergency-plan-council-approves-staffing-changes-and-multiple-budget-ordinances","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6353717-53648efbee71fc892a67c4c6378e010a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771162689&Signature=gKPnVFUW-pY45cmzfvT9Bu6LpK9YZ3nT1ixGR4uOC3Jq7v~75gFJZdXJeKb7vdkMCa-XKbs-q6dXO0sNKdg5HsH5em4AlHlfPkzW0h-V~waILl7pEETWJCvbU17xKA38yk6l4IVIqmcuxBlSQ9n3P8SJhcd9ps0ZDD-4Nfmp0I3lI0QhqW6GYjFQQytNCUzLDRh~ya18NdLhY2IoXtt2IA4y0xspg1RnV~w~qAr6P9fdHQTDqr0C0TkDOJ-ovD03BYTtX2SRjIcPmWxwCzqXgz8zLSp2lgiqTYjf-M7-YqDKjLPHrxGvwOK1JWBdC5lhRr9Q6wP9XeNB1RxqwcRO5A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Michigan City, IN","date","2025-02-05T03:51:34Z","article","City officials on Tuesday presented an expanded winter emergency storm plan and the Michigan City Common Council approved a package of ordinances and staffing changes aimed at shoring up public works, planning and public safety operations.

Daryl Garbaczyk, superintendent of Central Maintenance, told the council the city has developed a four-level Severe Weather Emergency Team response, maps for eight primary snow routes and an operational communications chart. Garbaczyk said the plan is a \"living document\" and that the version shown to the council is not a public document in full because it contains personal contact information. He said the plan lists warming centers and identifies a street director as the snow removal coordinator.

\"This is what we have come up with,\" Garbaczyk said, explaining the team and levels. \"When we get to level 3, that's what we call all hands on deck. A blizzard is coming, an ice storm is coming, severe weather that's going to nail us is coming.\" He added that level 4 focuses on post-storm cleanup such as removing snow from intersections.

Council members asked questions and offered support for the plan. Sean Smith, the street director named in the plan as snow removal coordinator, was present at the meeting.

On personnel and budget matters, the council moved quickly through a series of votes after presentations and public comment:

Votes at a glance

- Encumbrance resolution: Council approved a resolution to encumber certain 2024 purchase orders so payments occur from prior-year obligations rather than 2025 operating funds. Motion passed 6-0.

- Planning appropriations shift (contractual services): Council approved moving $21,250 from salary/wages to contractual services to fund a three-month contract for a building superintendent (David Albers), as a bridge while the administration hires permanent staff. Motion passed 6-0. Mayor Angie said no additional funds are required; the charge will come from existing budget lines.

- Arborist apprentice position: Council added an arborist apprentice position to the 2025 salary ordinance and approved second and third readings the same night. Michael Wolf, city forester, said the apprenticeship is a three-year program designed to produce an ISA-certified arborist. Council approved the ordinance (waiver of rules and passage), recorded 6-0.

- Fire department salaries: The council approved an ordinance establishing fire department salaries for 2025 after waiving the rules for second and third readings; motion passed 6-0.

- Permit specialist and building superintendent positions: The council approved creating two positions in the Planning & Inspection Department and approved a short-term contract for David Albers to serve as building superintendent while the department is reorganized. Motion passed 6-0.

- Redevelopment fund appropriation: Council approved an additional appropriation for the redevelopment fund to cover salaries for the redevelopment director and redevelopment business manager; the ordinance passed after public hearing and vote, 6-0.

- Tree Board appointment: Laura Henderson was reappointed to the Michigan City Tree Board; appointment approved by unanimous voice vote (acknowledged \"Aye\").

- Revolving Loan Fund committee: The council tabled appointments to the revolving loan fund committee to allow legal review of the ordinance language that requires one member to be a \"senior level professional loan officer.\" The motion to table passed 4-2.

Details and context: The planning-department action accompanies a three-month contract approved by the Board of Works to place experienced management in the department while the city recruits permit and building staff. Mayor Angie said the contract moves a budgeted salary line item into contractual services for a short term, and that the administration wants the council to support second and third readings quickly so hiring can proceed.

Wolf said the arborist apprentice position is grant-supported: \"The salary for this position is coming out of the $1,000,000 grant that the department received for new trees and the associated expenses,\" he said.

What to watch: Council members asked the city attorney to review the revolving loan fund ordinance language and requested a firm definition or ordinance amendment to clarify the \"senior level professional loan officer\" requirement before making permanent appointments. The council tabled the matter for follow-up legal guidance.

The meeting also included routine approvals: minutes, claims docket, monthly police and fire reports and correspondence. Public comment included notices about local events, Black History Month programming and calls for infrastructure coordination before paving projects.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Michigan City Common Council February 4, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","City officials presented a new winter emergency storm plan and the Common Council approved several ordinances and staffing moves on Feb. 4, including creating an arborist apprentice position, hiring short-term contractual help for planning and approving fire department salaries.","taxTitle","Michigan City, LaPorte County, Indiana","taxId",12510,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6353721,"Michigan City council adopts resolution opposing bill to reclassify city from second to third class",987,2471000,3458000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2221047-490e95431c0d60311f0fdaa73c6f1d9c&start=2471&end=3458","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2221047-490e95431c0d60311f0fdaa73c6f1d9c/thumbnail_2471000.jpg","/articles/6353721/Michigan-City/LaPorte-County/Indiana/Michigan-City-council-adopts-resolution-opposing-bill-to-reclassify-city-from-second-to-third-class","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6353721-810b540d1c5b79d00523d720467a2a7b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771162689&Signature=AmIVC5lNdZ5fdodNAoS0kTuWxMXua1joI1KFv67fCMmSwaf86xeo6hLNPFbgQrjrd0lXRFY0EjRVKJECJZI2AzGt7-Nnbn0ae3Whot5m7e08JnSQukAavPHrr0vvlrZoKFWYhL2hatNT~ykjQwIRYoPVyz~GaKId9n47AniIKnjXHdt~xu9JEdl0zJbJZYPkrWN0Zcmai0u0LNyqEbKYXk0CfCqUtRwRSu4Tv35JvEK~gIlBW~lq2i~cAO3Y1Yal5gHXwULr1e-iGrHO1UQu~JQL6DSqGdWO31bo06noh6Hrt5FgdjmlcZKnKBz9LbvN53RBRWkkmLLwSfIR3T3vPA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Michigan City Common Council voted 6-0 Tuesday to adopt a resolution opposing any 2025 state legislative effort that would reduce Michigan City's status from a second-class city to a third-class city.

The resolution says the council opposes Senate Bill 436 and similar measures because the change could harm the city's administrative capacity, reduce representation and create economic and procedural costs. Council members cited recent and anticipated private development projects as reasons the city should retain second-class status.

Why it matters: The resolution frames the issue as more than semantics. Council members and the mayor told state officials they want the city to keep the governance structure that supports an elected clerk and a city controller and that allows the city to maintain a sanitary department under current Indiana law. The resolution notes that moving to a third-class status would replace the existing city controller/clerk arrangement with a clerk-treasurer system and could shift financial duties to an elected clerk without specialized fiscal training.

At the meeting Councilman Dabney read the resolution aloud and the council discussed specifics the document lists as harms from the proposed legislation, including: potential loss of administrative efficiency; reduced legislative representation; a perceived negative signal to investors; legal and logistical costs tied to restructuring; and a statutory limitation that would affect the city's sanitary department.

The resolution also lists local development projects the council said support retaining second-class status, naming Franklin Tower (222 residential units), Solo (900 condominiums and a 60-room hotel), the Fifth Street project (500 residential units and a grocery store), Helix 303 (275 units), a proposed workforce housing TIF (160 units), and several other planned developments and private capital investments cited by council members. The resolution states the city has seen more than $100 million in private capital investment in the last three years and more than $3 billion in capital investments over the past six years, as presented during the reading.

The council directed the city clerk to forward the resolution to state legislators named in the text and to regional bodies including the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission and the Michigan City Economic Development Corporation.

Mayor Angie, who earlier in the meeting updated the council on several bills under consideration at the State House, told the council she personally briefed the state comptroller and legislators about Michigan City's budget adjustments and the city's need for full recovery of gaming-related funds, and that she planned additional appearances in Indianapolis while the bills are active.

The vote: The motion to adopt the resolution passed 6-0, recorded as \"Aye\" from the council members on the dais. The resolution passed after a public comment period that included one resident who voiced support for the city's status.

The council said it will continue monitoring related legislation and report any amendments that arise in the coming weeks.","The Michigan City Common Council voted 6-0 on Feb. 4 to adopt a resolution opposing a proposed state legislative change that would reclassify the city from a second-class to a third-class municipality, citing concerns about finance, representation and economic development.","actionData","errors"]

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Michigan City unveils winter emergency plan; council approves staffing changes and multiple budget ordinances

Michigan City council adopts resolution opposing bill to reclassify city from second to third class