Make LaPorte Great Again

10/12/2025

The EMS debacle explained - we love the EMS and the work they do but how much money do we spend before someone starts asking questions and demanding solutions? Overtime pay in the private sector gets a hard look if it exceeds 8%. LP County EMS is at about 30% and that's just with the latest request for more money. We didn't transcribe the whole year to see if there are others. How do we fix this problem to get OT back in line or do we just keep asking taxpayers for more money and make the same mistakes over and over?

Also, FIX THE COUNTY CORONER ISSUE DAMMIT. County Council is demanding coroner's people work for McD wages, not paying time for on-call or overtime, using a 1099 excuse while demanding these subcontractors forfiet their vacation time, family time, etc. This is against the law and I guess Novak forgot that is EXACTLY what he sued MCFD for to get his golden parachute out of the MC Fire Department. Being on-call, forfieting his personal time without compensation. You would think he would be the most sympathetic and arguing to get this office the money they need and protect the County from a lawsuit like he threw at Michigan City. Seems County Council demands the Coroner's office does more with less while flushing EMS and Sheriff's office with funds. Fix it, already!

10/12/2025

💸 They Don’t Want to Cut — They Just Want More of Your Paycheck 💸

LaPorte County Council sat through three budget hearings and guess what? Not one serious cut. Not one real belt tightening. Just a lot of “dollar for dollar” talk and “nobody’s getting cut.”

That’s a direct quote from their own meeting:

“It’s dollar for dollar… nobody’s getting cut… there’s been very little cut.” — Council budget workshop transcript, Sept. 29

Instead of fixing runaway overtime, inflated contracts, or bloated payroll lines, their grand solution is to slap another 0.20% local income tax on you — the workers who are already paying the price for their lack of discipline.

They even admitted it themselves:

“The EMS LIT will free up some funding in the public safety LIT… maybe a million dollars… to move either more sheriff salaries into that.” — Sept. 22 workshop transcript

Read that again:
They’re calling it an “EMS tax,” but behind the scenes they’re planning to shift the freed-up money elsewhere. That’s not fixing a problem — that’s a shell game.

Meanwhile, Baker Tilly (the consultants they hired) stood up and told them they could raise even more taxes in the coming years — another 0.7% LIT “bridge” by 2030 — and the council didn’t push back. No talk of cuts. No accountability. Just more “revenue levers.”

They know property tax reforms are coming that will hit them hard. They know circuit breakers are eating into revenue. But instead of tightening the purse strings, they’re tightening yours.

We’ve sat through hours of these hearings. Here’s what’s clear:

No cut-first plan.

No cap on overtime.

No hiring freeze.

Just new taxes, disguised as “for EMS.”

You deserve better than another hand in your wallet.

👉 Tell the County Council: Cut waste before taxing workers.
👉 Demand the EMS LIT come with a hard sunset, clear KPIs, and a no-backfill clause so they can’t play musical chairs with your money.

LaPorte County doesn’t have a revenue problem — it has a spending discipline problem.

10/12/2025

Our favorite time of the year, cooler weather, lower NIPSCO bills, pumpkin spice, leaves turning color and nuts falling from the trees.

Yes, they are really coming. ❤️🩷🧡💛💚💙

10/11/2025

We call balls and strikes on both sides and found Mrvan's deflection and pandering to the troops incredible.

10/11/2025

🚨 What’s Really Planned Next to Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area?

County officials say they’re just “improving infrastructure.” Consultants talk about “positioning for large-scale investment.”
But take a look at this map 👇 — it shows county and consultant activity directly bordering the Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area, one of LaPorte County’s most important public conservation sites.

Through public records and GIS mapping, we learned that the county’s hired consultant is:

Requesting federal land transfers in Kingsbury Industrial Park, adjacent to Kingsbury FWA. 🤔

Discussing new access roads and easements leading straight into that land, and

Coordinating with federal offices and state economic development officials.

No one has officially said “data center,” but everything about this looks like the same playbook being used across Indiana — start with “roads,” call it “infrastructure,” then quietly roll out an industrial project.

This proposed area is:
📍 1.5 miles from residential subdivisions
🌳 Surrounded by wetlands and protected forest
💧 Critical to the groundwater and habitat feeding Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area

So the question isn’t just “what are they planning?” — it’s why haven’t they told the public?

If this is truly “transparent infrastructure planning,” why did we have to file records just to find out who’s talking to U.S. Senators about federal land transfers?

Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife Area belongs to all of us — hunters, anglers, birders, and residents.

We deserve to know what’s really happening next to it.

10/11/2025

“Not a Secret?” — We Had to File Public Records Just to Learn About It 🙄

Matt Reardon, owner of MCR Partners — the firm running the County’s “economic development” operation — now says “it’s not a secret.”

Really?

Then why did it take a formal APRA request to uncover:

📄 Emails between Reardon & Associates, federal agencies, and multiple U.S. Senators about transferring 1,500 acres of federally owned land at Kingsbury Industrial Park;

🗺️ Maps, parcel records, and valuations buried in county files showing federal land marked for acquisition;

📞 Coordination with Congressman Rudy Yakym’s and Senator Todd Young’s offices which was never disclosed in any public meeting.

That’s not “open government.”
That’s planning behind closed doors and then claiming transparency after the fact.

And now that same consultant tells us this is just about “roads” — right before admitting these upgrades would “place larger developments on property zoned for manufacturing.”
Translation: industrial-scale expansion is already the goal.

Meanwhile, residents who live near KIP say no one from the county — not Commissioner Gramarossa, not Holifield — has ever come out to talk to them.

They’re learning about it from Facebook posts, not from their own elected officials.

So yes, Matt, people are asking questions — because they’ve seen this movie before.

The meetings come after the deals are already in motion.

📢 Transparency means telling the public before you start calling U.S. Senators about land transfers, not after we file to get the emails.

10/10/2025

Fair elections should be the goal of everyone.

10/10/2025

📢 LA PORTE, IN — Resident Sues City of LaPorte for Retaliation and Unequal Enforcement

Michelle Friday, a La Porte resident, has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of La Porte and several city officials, alleging that they retaliated against her after she publicly criticized city decisions, and that they selectively enforced ordinances to punish her.

Key claims:

Friday says that after she raised concerns about the City’s handling of public-works contracts and zoning, officials began targeting her with code citations and public criticism.

The complaint accuses the City of unequal enforcement — penalizing her while ignoring similar violations by others — violating her Equal Protection rights.

It also alleges violations of her First Amendment rights (for speaking out) and Due Process rights (for lack of fair notice or hearings).

Friday further claims defamation, negligence, and emotional distress under Indiana law.

She’s asking for damages, legal fees, and a court injunction to stop further retaliation.

Why it matters:
If parts of this case survive dismissal, it could open up the City’s internal practices to scrutiny — especially how La Porte enforces property codes and treats citizens who criticize local government. Even if it settles quietly, it may expose uneven enforcement or misuse of authority.

What’s next:
The case, filed October 6, 2025 in the Northern District of Indiana (Case No. 3:25-cv-00841), will likely face a motion to dismiss soon. If any claims survive, discovery could bring to light emails, records, and testimony that clarify whether retaliation actually occurred.

Bottom line:
This is a long-shot civil-rights suit — not impossible, but uphill. The evidence Friday included may keep one or two claims alive, but federal judges often toss broad “retaliation” suits unless there’s clear proof of intent.

Stay tuned — I’ll post updates as the case develops.

Link to complaint: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R3CnnDxhi0ZCfpv_sfBm7xB8KIzMTaFc/view?usp=sharing

10/10/2025

10/10/2025

Yesterday’s conspiracy theory is tomorrow’s fact!

10/10/2025

🚨 “We’re not trying to do anything shady here.” — County’s Own Consultant Said It Out Loud.

If you have to say you’re “not trying to do anything shady,” maybe you already know folks are catching on.

That’s exactly what county consultant Matt Reardon said during the September 24 “KIP Road Discussion Workshop” — now fully transcribed and public.

👉 Read the full transcript here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GM26nQgnYw9SQc4cYw4G8F8zvBrk9NpGMEkbCW-hy-c/edit?usp=sharing

Reardon, who’s also been emailing U.S. Senators and the Department of Defense about land deals around Kingsbury Industrial Park, told council members:

“We’re not trying to do anything shady here — it’s just that without the county taking ownership, we can’t get state or federal funds.”
— Sept. 24, 2025 KIP Road Workshop Transcript

But here’s the truth:

They’re talking about taking over privately owned road parcels at KIP — not fixing potholes.

They said it’s to make the park “grant eligible” and ready for “significant investment.”

They confirmed the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) is directly involved — the same agency behind Indiana’s data center funding projects.

This isn’t just a “road project.” It’s infrastructure prep for industrial expansion — and residents living near KIP are furious.

Half a dozen homeowners have commented on our page saying nobody from the county ever came out to talk to them, despite Commissioner Connie Gramarossa claiming she “spoke to residents and HOA leaders.”
➡️ Not one person has confirmed seeing her.
➡️ Not one meeting notice was posted publicly.

So why the sudden rush to take over land and pave roads inside KIP? Why the hush-hush talks with federal officials?
And why are they trying so hard to convince us it’s not shady?

💬 Residents deserve honesty — not gaslighting.
If this really is “just a road project,” why does it look exactly like the first step in a data center buildout?

10/08/2025

Our goal is accuracy and transparency - if you're gonna push back against a firm like Baker Tilly (same consultant City of LaPorte hired to get around the State debt ceiling and bury the city in debt) you better have the data correct!

Our 1.6% Local Income Tax number came from:
https://www.symmetry.com/payroll-tax-insights/indiana-state-local-tax-system

They didn’t spell out their data source, so we went straight to the Indiana Department of Revenue and pulled the 2024 County Income Tax Rates ourselves.

After running the actual numbers — totaling all 92 counties and dividing by 92 — we came up with an average of 1.895%. So yes, the Purdue professor’s 1.6% is a little low, but still nowhere near Baker Tilly’s ridiculous 2.81%.

LaPorte County currently sits at 1.45%, about half a percent below the state average — soon jumping to 1.65%.

Here’s where it gets even more absurd. We double-checked our assumptions thinking, logically, that counties with lower household incomes would have lower local tax rates. You know, less income, less to tax. But in Indiana, it’s the exact opposite. Counties with higher household incomes pay lower local income tax.

Translation: If you move from LaPorte County to Porter County, you’ll likely make more money and pay less tax. 😳

So when Baker Tilly and certain county officials start talking about “finding revenue,” what they really mean is digging deeper into the pockets of people who already have the least to spare.

LaPorte County’s poverty rate sits at 14%, yet their solution is to raise taxes on the poor instead of tightening the purse strings. That’s not fiscal management — that’s financial negligence.

At some point, this county needs to stop hiring consultants to tell them how to squeeze the taxpayers and start doing the hard work of cutting spending.