Northwest Indiana Discussion

heck...this is my home...just look at my screen name! i live here!

and free, you are no longer welcome!

I don't care how many people care about this. I CARE ABOUT IT. If you don't like the topic, you are welcome to move on.
Here's part of the story that has me so interested. Mcmayor is NOT quoted in it, and he's the one who decided to pay Krusa the quarter million dollars in public moneY:

Krusa defends wearing multiple hats as consultant

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BY SUSAN BROWN
sbrown@nwitimes.com
219.836.3780 | Sunday, March 02, 2008 | 4 comment(s)

HAMMOND | Water Works Department head Edward Krusa, a longtime Hammond economic consultant whose latest city contract expired Thursday, acknowledged last week he also served as a paid consultant to Jupiter Aluminum during that company's tax abatement quest.

Jupiter's latest tax abatement was approved by the City Council in 2005, at which time Krusa was under city contract as a financial consultant.

But Krusa insists he has avoided any conflicts of interest by staying away from representing the city "in analysis of the Jupiter application for abatement or anything related to it" while he was being paid by both parties.

Until Thursday, Krusa had been under contract to the city since 2004, advising the city administration on a plethora of issues, from municipal finance to redevelopment issues to city insurance to representing the mayor's office at City Council meetings. For his contractual services, Krusa was paid a total of $247,030 from 2004 through 2006. As of last week, Krusa had submitted no claims for work performed in 2007.

Hammond in talks with NIPSCO to free portion of 165th Street for development

July 01, 2012 8:00 pm • By Chelsea Schneider Kirk chelsea.schneider@nwi.com, (219) 933-3241


HAMMOND | City officials said they are in discussions with NIPSCO to move the company's pole yard on 165th Street to free up land for economic development.

The opportunity to develop the pole yard is contained in a settlement agreement NIPSCO and Hammond reached this month, NIPSCO spokesman Nick Meyer confirmed Friday.

The city appealed the state's approval of NIPSCO's electric rate increase to the Indiana Court of Appeals in January.

Through the settlement, NIPSCO will move the yard from its current location, which is across the street from the Menards at 165th Street and Columbia Avenue, if an alternative site is identified to store its poles.

Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. made note of the development at a city event last week.

“The ability to develop the NIPSCO pole yard was high on our list,” McDermott said.

The city also received an old NIPSCO building at the intersection of Columbia Avenue and Chicago Street, which is scheduled to be demolished, McDermott said.

“It made the lawsuit worthwhile,” McDermott said. “The City Council gave Hammond permission to intervene in the rate case, and it took us two years to get to this point. ... We worked out terms that were beneficial to the city.”



Comments:

truthseeker
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truthseeker - July 02, 2012 11:55 am
I knew all along Tombo was using the suit against NIPSCO for his benefit. He never cared what NIPSCO charges for electric. This guy is a LIAR AND A THIEF! I bet his crooked father is involved with this somehow as well. Both are a couple of sleazy bottom feeders.

J Bird
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J Bird - July 02, 2012 6:29 am
Redevelop it with what? and by who? Maybe the guy who is renovating the old K Mart into a cinema complex and building Carson's a new store.

Mr Speed Racer
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Mr Speed Racer - July 01, 2012 11:38 pm
Wasn't Eddie's property assessed at nearly $900,000 and he was paying substantial taxes? Then Eddie appeals those taxes and the bill was reduced to $8,000 or so?

Appears to be something wrong here.

Mr Speed Racer
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Mr Speed Racer - July 01, 2012 11:35 pm
First Mayor Tom gives a gumba a job in the water department. The gumba is not qualified for the job.

Then Mayor Tom makes sure this unqualified individual gets training and additional education to qualify for the job.

Then Mayor Tom pays this gumba $250,000 in advance, was it 4 years of annual salary.

All of the above at the taxpayers expense. And btw, it is illegal to pay a municipal/county/state employee in advance.

Then the gumba gets to practice real estate while working for the city.

The gumba, per the Times, also serviced 18 clients while working for the city.

The gumba also put together a $35,000,000 bond deal while working for the city.

Eddie must be exceptionally important.

And who gets fired is Salinas for behavior that McDermott can't tolerate. My bet would be Sailnas lost his usefulness and someone else pays better.



TPaine
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TPaine - July 01, 2012 11:18 pm
This is certainly not the first time that Krusa has acted on behalf of the McD Team to gain control of key real estate, while still giving Tommy a little insulation.

TPaine
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TPaine - July 01, 2012 11:15 pm
45-07-07-226-001.000-023 26-37-0019-0012 1302 1440 165TH ST, HAMMOND $8,800 6/30/2012 2011 2012

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Owner Information
Owner KRUSA EDWARD D/B/A ETK LLC (READ BY

Owner Address 7217 KNICKERBOCKER
HAMMOND IN 46323
Transfer Date 11/27/2006



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location Information

Taxing Unit 023
Township 007
Parcel Address 1302 1440 165TH ST HAMMOND
Deeded Acreage .0000
Section & Plat

Routing No. I37-019 5
Legal Desc. STRIP 50 X 2640 FT. S. OF STANDARD AVE.-165TH- ACROSS NE. SEC. 7 T.36 R.9 2.201 AC. EX. W.765.94FT.

Krusa owns a strip of land than runs all of the way across the proposed development site.

Turk182
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Turk182 - July 02, 2012 3:39 pm
I remember Feetime/Marsha reporting this a few years ago.

lubu
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lubu - July 01, 2012 10:55 pm
I read at another site that Ed, The Head of the Hammond Water Dept. owns some adjacent and necessary property for this site to be "developed". His name is also rumored to have the real estate listing for another adjacent property, a former bowling alley. Also, interesting is the a Hammond Port Authority bored member owns other adjacent land, that could benefit. What was McDermott quoted saying? "We worked out terms that were beneficial to the city.” I guess by "city" he means "my friends".

truthseeker
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truthseeker - July 02, 2012 11:58 am
You are correct lubu. Tom has never done anything on purpose to benefit Hammond taxpayers. He always has an ulterior motive in that if it needs to be done the first thing he asks is "what's in it for me"?

Boardmonkey
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Boardmonkey - July 01, 2012 9:38 pm
Woodmar is not city owned property. It is privatly held. Not sure what you mean by Standard Oil site since all that property is owned by BP. Calumet Theater was just demoed recently, but is between two properties that is not owned by the city, so might be harder to work with for now.

SFer
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SFer - July 02, 2012 4:22 pm
I was refering to blighted property in Hammond, I never said city owned. The city didn't own the Nipsco properties til Tommy started whining. By the way, the boarded up eyesore Standard Oil property is just south of Calumet College, not the BP oil refinery. If you combine the Calumet Theatre site with the boarded up hamburger stand, you might have something.

SFer
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SFer - July 01, 2012 9:24 pm
So, Tommy says we won't pay the rate, but can we have your land? What a crock! How about developing the old Cal theatre site or the Standard Oil site. He did such a great job at Woodmar. That dude is a trip.

Add Comment

Parcel Number Address Current Total Value Data as of Assess Year Pay Year
26-37-0019-0012 1302 - 1440 165TH ST $935,400 08/10/2008 10:47:00 2007 2008
Owner Information
Owner Name KRUSA EDWARD D/B/A ETK LLC (READ BY CB)
Owner Address 7217 KNICKERBOCKER
HAMMOND IN 46323
Transfer Date 11/27/2006
Location / Description
Taxing Unit 023 Hammond
Township 7 North
Parcel Address 1302 - 1440 165TH ST

Section & Plat
Routing # 5 I37-019
Parcel Address 1302 - 1440 165TH ST
Legal Desc. STRIP 50 X 2640 FT. S. OF STANDARD AVE.-165TH- ACROSS NE. SEC. 7 T.36 R.9 2.201 AC. EX. W.765.94FT.Parcel Type Topography Services
Property Class Code 400 Com Vacant Land
Neighborhood Code 26923
Neighborhood Factor 1.00
Street / Road Code A


Level Ground Y
High N
Low N
Rolling N
Swampy N

Water Y
Sewer Y
Natural Gas Y
Electricity Y
Sidewalk N
Alley N
Assessment Information
Current Land Value $935,400 Residential Land $0 Deeded Acreage .0000
Current Imp. Value $0 Residential Imp. $0 Average Value / Acre $0
Current Total Value $935,400 Residential Total $0 Appraisal Date
Commercial Land $935,400 Non-Res Land $935,400 Reason For Change 60
Commercial Imp. $0 Non-Res Imp. $0 Prior Land Value $9,400
Commercial Total $935,400 Non-Res Total $935,400 Prior Imp. Value $0
Dwelling Value $0 Classified Land Value $0 Adjustment Factor 1.00
Farmland Value $0 Homesite Value $0

Name / Address:
Krusa, Edward D/B/A ETK LLC
7217 Knickerbocker
Hammond IN 46323 Old Property Number: 26-37-0019-0012
Location: 1302-14 165th St, Hammond IN 46320
Legal Description: STRIP 50 X 2640 FT. S. OF STANDARD AVE.-165TH- ACROSS NE. SEC. 7 T.36 R.9 2.201 AC. EX. W.765.94FT.

TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF YOUR TAXES
Tax Summary Item 2009 Pay 2010
1. Gross Assessed Value of property
1a. Gross Assessed Value of Land 8,800
1b. Gross Assessed Value of Improvements (including personal property) 0
2. Equals Total Gross Assessed Value of Property 8,800
2a. Minus Deductions (See Table 5 Below) - 0
2b. Minus State Supplemental Deduction (See Table 5 Below) - 0
3. Equals Subtotal of Net Assessed Value of Property 8,800
3a. Multiplied by Your Local Tax Rate 4.5530
4. Equals Gross Tax Liability (See Table 3 Below) 400.66
4a. Minus Local Property Tax Credits - 0.00
4b. Minus State Homestead Credit - 0.00
4c. Minus Savings Due to Property Tax Cap (See Table 2 Below) - 20.98
4d. Minus Savings Due to 65 Year & Older Cap - 0.00
5. Total Property Tax Liability 379.68
Please See Table 4 for a Summary of Other Charges to This Property

TABLE 2: PROPERTY TAX CAP INFORMATION
Property Tax Cap
(Equal to 1%, 2% or 3% of Line 2, Depending on Type of Property) 264.00
Adjustment to Cap Due to Voter-Approved Projects And Charges 115.68
Maximum Tax That May Be Imposed Under Cap 379.68

TABLE 3: GROSS PROPERTY TAX DISTRIBUTION AMOUNTS
Taxing Authority 2009 Pay 2010
County 54.77
Township 6.56
School District 143.32
City 156.32
Library 18.65
Tax Increment 1.77
Special District 19.27
Total 400.66

TABLE 4: OTHER APPLICABLE CHARGES TABLE 5: APPLICABLE DEDUCTIONS


TOTAL ADJUSTMENTS 0.00 TOTAL DEDUCTIONS 0

RECONCILIATION INSTALLMENT
Delinquent After Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Current Property Tax 379.68
Other Charges (See Table 4) 0.00
Delinquent Tax 196.62 (DELINQUENT TAXES?)
Delinquent Penalty 19.66
LESS PREPAYMENTS -595.96
Amount Due for FALL 0.00

0

A five percent (5%) penalty will be added if the installment of the tax bill is paid within thirty (30) days after the due date and there are no other outstanding delinquent charges. A ten percent (10%) penalty will be added if an installment of the tax bill is not paid within thirty (30) days after the due date.