(La Porte County, IN) - La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody and La Porte County Commissioner Joe Haney threw jabs at each other today during a funding request to pay for extending water and sewer lines to two new housing sites.

 

Dermody asked the commissioners to support allocating $500,000 to run municipal utilities to a planned 150-housing-unit development on Park Street, where 40 new homes are planned at the existing Whispering Pines subdivision along Indiana 4 on the southeast side of the city. In exchange, the city will pay the remaining $1.5 million.

 

The purpose of the subsidy would be to help lower the cost of the new housing so it’s within the price range of more prospective buyers, with Dermody saying “What’s good for the county is good for the city. What’s good for the city is good for the county."

 

Haney opposed the request, which he described as a "thumb in the eye" by Dermody to unincorporated residents over matters like the recent annexation of the 39 North Conservancy District and not repealing a city ordinance prohibiting water and sewer extensions outside the city unless property owners in those areas agree to be annexed.

 

“A partnership goes both ways,” he said.

 

Dermody responded by saying that “politics” should not get in the way of coming together to address the major need for more housing countywide and doing other things for the greater good.

 

“I understand people say things politically to get elected. We’re not going to get caught up in all of this Mickey Mouse pettiness. Our top priority is housing in La Porte and making a difference for families,” he said.

 

Haney replied a lot of new housing is going up in Kingsford Heights and more is planned in the future but the town has not asked the commissioners for help in subsidizing the cost of that work. “It would be fantastic for the City of La Porte to take some pointers from Kingsford Heights, where everybody is moving to,” he said.

 

By a 2-to-1 vote, the commissioners approved the request, which will go before the La Porte County Council for final consideration.