CONTACT Kim Krull – Lake County Republican Central Committee Chairwoman
Crown Point, IND, June 14, 2011 – Lake County Republican Party Chairwoman Kim Krull is pleased that the Hammond city council heeded the pleas of Councilwoman Poland and Councilman Markovich and voted to table the issue of forming a Conservancy District at their June 13th meeting. Many homeowners were on hand at the meeting and spoke very passionately in opposition against forming the Conservancy District to replace the Little Calumet River Basin Authority. “I was concerned that the council would not table this issue without more information and public input” said Chairwoman Krull.
Also in attendance was Hammond Republican Mayoral Candidate George Janiec, who waited until midnight to speak.
The Lake County Republican Party is in the process of coordinating meetings to get the public more informed on this issue as it will affect most residents in Lake County. Among Krull's concerns are:
- 9 new elected officials will be added to the Lake County payroll.
- The Conservancy District representatives will not necessarily have any qualifications contrary to the commission set up now. If the Conservancy District representatives do not have knowledge on how to operate or maintain the river, they will need to hire consultants similar to many elected officials already throughout Lake County.
- Mr. Van Til states it will only cost taxpayers $20/year although there is nothing to prevent the new taxing entity to impose a higher amount like $200 or $300 per household. Although there are tax caps in place now, this new taxing entity would not fall under any tax caps and they would have unlimited authority.
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It has been said that "all politics is local politics" and I usually do not buy it. In what is becoming an ever-more top-down United States of America we have to vigilantly fight for the Constitution and the principles that men like George Washington and Paul Revere and Henry Lee fought for in the 18th Century when we began to put together a Federal Republic with much power reserved for State and Local governments. The Founders would barely recognize our government now and, if they knew that up to 70% of our GDP was owed in debt they would doubtless be apoplectic!
Lake County is in trouble after decades of Democratic Machine rule that has broken much of the county North of US 30 and doubtless lusts after the wallets of individuals and communities to the South. I don't need to remind the readers that Gary is literally falling apart and East Chicago is not exactly the American Dream, either. With that being said, it is absolute insanity to give Democrats or in fact anyone in Lake County free rein to tax as they like to control an agency devoted to something they do not comprehend. By all means, let's hire nine new people to draw paychecks at our expense so they can drive their Lake County vehicles to work and park at a desk while hiring more people to actually do they jobs these nine would be expected to do - without any evidence to support their necessity?!
Can a Hammond entity add to my tax burden in South Lake County? Even if their power only extends to the city limits of Hammond at first, one can envision oversight creep setting in from the very beginning. This entire idea smacks of "let's form a board for friends and relatives of the local Machine and take another bite out of Lake County residents' paychecks." After all, we can still afford to buy half a tank of gas AND some soup and crackers right now. Lake County is hungry for those crackers! If it says Lake County on the side, I have to believe some of my tax dollars are heading there. At any rate, Hammond needs all sorts of things in the form of infrastructure repairs and other practical matters. We already have an agency that is supposed to be dealing with the Little Calumet River.
What need is there for a new board of politicians collecting paychecks? Mr. Van Til had better have a very compelling presentation to present to the public yet another rathole intended to drain off their money. This bears careful watching. If you want even more detail, hyperbole and fervor I suggest reading Eric Krieg's take on the matter here! 
