Hammond's mayor told residents at a Mayor's Night Out at Harding Elementary School that the state law commonly called SB1 will give homeowners a $300 property-tax credit but also substantially reduce local government revenue, leaving the city facing an estimated $15 million budget gap next year.

"We're supposed to lose $15,000,000 in 1 year, and they don't know how much we can replace it with," the mayor said. He warned that two-thirds of Hammond's operating dollars go to police and fire, and that absent a state fix the city will need to seek savings across departments or consider local revenue options.

The mayor described the possible choices as limited: raise local revenue via a local income tax or wheel tax, which would reduce the net benefit of the $300 credit for many households, or cut municipal services. "If you make over $30,000 this $300 tax credit is going to be eaten away by a local income tax," he said, outlining examples of how different household incomes could be affected.

Councilman Scott Rakos and City Controller Megan Flores were present when the mayor discussed the budget risks and matched staff questions from the audience about which services would be impacted. The mayor emphasized that the administration will first target areas outside police and fire but that, if the projected shortfall cannot be bridged, public safety staffing could be affected. "Police and fire get 2 thirds of the money we spend in local government, and we're experiencing a $15,000,000 loss next year," he said.

Residents in the audience urged officials to press the General Assembly for relief and noted that school districts face similar cuts; the mayor and others said schools have fewer local tools to offset lost revenue than municipal governments do. The mayor encouraged residents to follow state-level deliberations and said the city will provide updates on how it plans to respond.

City officials did not announce concrete layoffs or a new local tax at the meeting and said specific responses depend on forthcoming state actions and final accounting of available replacements.