(A) Expenditures. Expenditures are authorized from all gross revenues received by the city from riverboat gambling for property tax relief on the following basis:
(1) In addition to the state created 2% circuit breaker, an additional $500 will be payable to the Lake County Treasurer on the qualifying residential property identification number (key #) for Hammond homeowners possessing an over-65 exemption or disability exemption as recorded with the Lake County Auditor for the tax years 2007 (pay 2008) with relief expiring December 31, 2008. In order to accomplish this relief, $1,800,000 annually in gross riverboat revenue not previously dedicated and encumbered shall be dedicated, limited and receive preference over all other non-emergency uses, and be used and set aside for elderly and disabled citizen property tax relief, and tendered to the Lake County Treasurer when such property tax bills are due and owing in 2008, for year 2007 property taxes.
(2) Should the monetary amounts listed above need to be increased or decreased to correspond to actual amounts needed to provide annual property tax relief, such increase or decrease shall be done by the Mayor with the approval of the Common Council. Should the state legislature pass property tax relief, the relief shall supersede the relief provided for in this division (A) and render it null and void.
(3) In 2009 and into 2010 only, $1,500,000 of total riverboat gaming revenue received by the city in 2009 and 2010 shall be set aside, dedicated and used to supplement and support the House Bill 1001 and State of Indiana mandated cuts in the public safety budget, public safety being defined as Hammond Police and Hammond Fire Department budget. Once those funds are exhausted, they must be replenished by ordinance.
(4) In 2010 only, $1,250,000 from each of the 6 districts share and $3,750,000 in Mayor's gaming revenue received by the city in 2010 shall be set aside, dedicated and used to supplement and support the H.B. 1001 and state mandated cuts in the public safety budget, public safety being defined as Hammond Police and Hammond Fire Department budget. Once those funds are exhausted, they must be replenished by ordinance.
(B) Expenditures - gross gaming revenue; net gaming revenue defined. Beginning with the annual city budget for 2021:
(1) GROSS GAMING REVENUE shall include and be defined as all gaming revenue received by the City Controller, whether received pursuant to a Local Development Agreement, disbursement of wagering taxes from the State Auditor, or from any other source, from any city riverboat gambling operation licensee or licensed owner as those terms are defined in Title 4 Article 33 of the 2019 Indiana Code and any subsequent recodification thereof.
(2) Gross Gaming Revenue shall be reduced by the following, the exact amounts of each of the below items to be determined by the Common Council and approved by the Mayor in the annual city budget, but which will be set in an amount to meet any obligation previously agreed to in any bond indenture or other municipal financing document as applicable:
(a) Senior and Disabled Tax Credit, also referred to in this section as "elderly and disabled citizen property tax relief";
(b) City-wide demolitions under the Indiana Unsafe Building Act (I.C. 36-7-9 et seq.);
(c) Hammond Academy of Science and Technology bond payment;
(d) Police Patrol Unit overtime (Public Safety - Henry Unit);
(e) Police capital;
(f) Legal Aid Clinic operations;
(g) United Neighborhoods Inc. (UNI) operations;
(h) Facade rebate program;
(i) Hammond Development Corporation operations;
(j) Hammond Is My Home Project program as previously codified in this section and including the Governor's Parkway Project;
(k) Academy Bound as previously codified in this section;
(l) Medic Bound as previously codified in this section;
(m) Home Bound program;
(n) General fund transfer in an amount appropriate to properly fund the city budget.
(3) After the reduction of gross gaming revenue by those amounts in division (B)(2), the remaining amount shall be defined as NET GAMING REVENUE. The following formula for allocation of net gaming revenue shall be as follows:
(a) Sixty-two percent for work on projects approved by the Capital Improvement Board for infrastructure work. INFRASTRUCTURE WORK shall be defined as follows and shall include all necessary property acquisition, architectural, engineering, and expenses incidental to the following projects:
1. Streets;
2. Curbs;
3. Sidewalks and other pedestrian ways;
4. Alleys;
5. Trails;
6. Bridges;
7. Other paved public places;
8. Electric signals;
9. Parks, parks buildings, grounds, or park equipment;
10. Associated utilities with any of the above infrastructure;
11. City portions of matching federal and state grants.
(b) Fifteen percent to be divided equally among each of the city's 6 District Common Council Members for work on the following:
1. Trees;
2. Lighting;
3. Parks, parks buildings, grounds, or park equipment;
4. City portions of matching federal and state grants;
5. Community events and other community engagement;
6. District-wide economic development.
(c) Fifteen percent for one or more of the following purposes, the amounts and specific projects to be determined by the Mayor with the approval of the Common Council:
1. Trees;
2. Lighting;
3. Parks, parks buildings, grounds, or park equipment;
4. City portions of matching federal and state grants;
5. Community events and other community engagement;
6. City-wide economic development;
7. City and public safety capital programs;
8. Matching federal and state programs;
9. Infrastructure projects as defined in division (B)(3)(a) above;
10. Bond retirement;
(d) Four percent to the Gaming Advisory Committee to be distributed to city non-profit and community organizations.
(e) Four percent to the city Non-Reverting Rainy Day Fund.
(4) The Mayor, with the approval of the Common Council, shall annually establish an itemized non-reverting budget to include all annual revenues to be received and all specified expenditures to be made under this section.
(C) Any advisory boards, foundations, committees and/or commissions or any other such organization or group formed to oversee the distribution of certain portions of riverboat gambling revenues, including net gaming revenue as defined in division (B)(3) shall be established by ordinance.
(1) Capital Improvement Board. A Capital Improvement Board is created in the City of Hammond.
(a) The Board is comprised of 7 members. The chairperson of the Board shall be the City Engineer who shall be a permanent member of the Board. Three of the members shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and shall be city department heads, city employees, or city residents. Three of the members shall be appointed to 1 year terms by the Common Council from among the members of the Common Council and shall serve until a successor is appointed and qualified. A member may be reappointed after the member's term has expired. If a vacancy occurs, the appointing authority shall appoint a new member that shall serve for the remainder of the vacated term.
(b) The Board shall be responsible for reviewing, considering, and approving projects presented to it provided they are permitted categories of infrastructure as defined under division (B)(3)(a).
(c) The Board shall meet in public and comply with the Indiana Open Door Law. Minutes of the meetings shall be kept by the Hammond City Clerk and forwarded to the Mayor and Common Council once approved.
(d) The Board may adopt and promulgate rules and procedures that it considers necessary to carry out its duties. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum, and the concurrence of a majority of the members of any quorum is necessary to authorize any action.
(2) Gaming Advisory Committee. A Gaming Advisory Committee is created in the City of Hammond.
(a) The Committee is comprised of 11 members. The chairperson of the Committee shall be the Chief of Staff of the city who shall be a permanent member of the Committee. Five of the members shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall be residents of the city. Five of the members shall be appointed by the Common Council and shall be residents of the city. Members shall serve 1 year terms and shall serve until a successor is appointed and qualified. A member may be reappointed after the member's term has expired. If a vacancy occurs, the appointing authority shall appoint a new member. That new member shall serve for the remainder of the vacated term. Members may be removed for cause by their appointing authority.
(b) The Committee shall be responsible for reviewing, considering, and approving annual funding requests by non-profit organizations, charitable organizations, and the like that demonstrate that their project activities and services provide direct benefit to city residents. The Committee shall also ensure that any funding awarded is used in accordance with the project activities presented to the Committee. The funding made available to the Committee is that contemplated in division (B)(3)(d), 4% of net gaming revenue.
(c) The Committee shall meet at least once annually in a public meeting and comply with the Indiana Open Door Law. Minutes shall be kept by the Hammond City Clerk of any regular public meetings of the Committee and forwarded to the Mayor and Common Council once approved.
(d) The Committee may adopt and promulgate rules and procedures including the application for committee funds and the criteria necessary for receiving committee funds that it considers necessary to carry out its duties. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum, and the concurrence of a majority of the members of any quorum is necessary to authorize any action.
(D) A development agreement between the Hammond riverboat licensee and the city shall be approved and authorized by ordinance by the Common Council, within 30 days of the issuance of the state gaming license.
(E) Quarterly report of gaming funds expenditures.
(1) The Hammond City Controller shall issue a quarterly report detailing the way in which Riverboat Casino Funds received by the city have been expended. The report shall be prepared within 30 days of the end of each quarter.
(2) This report shall detail expenditures as set forth in division (B)(1) of this section.
(3) Such expenditures shall be reported as follows and in the following categories:
(a) Expenditures authorized from gross gaming revenues, such as property tax relief;
(b) Expenditures representing the 60% share of revenues allocated to the 6 Council Districts for use as authorized by this section, including but not limited to infrastructure work, public safety, streets, curbs, sidewalks, alleys, trees, lighting, access walks, parks/park equipment and dumpsters, with said reporting broken down by the 6 Council Districts;
(c) Expenditures from the shared 10% for College Bound or other approved uses; and
(d) Expenditures form the remaining 30%, to be reported according to authorized use such as but not limited to parks and recreation activity, city-wide economic development, neighborhood development, debt reduction, public safety, capital programs and street projects.
(4) This quarterly report will be made available to the Mayor, Clerk and Common Council, and shall be maintained as a public record in accordance with state law. The Council shall then present the report to the public in 1 or more of the following ways:
(a) By distributing copies to the public at the office of the Common Council, at other City Hall offices and at every branch of the public library; and/or
(b) By posting it on the city’s Internet site.
(Prior Code, § 36.05) (Ord. 7685, passed 5-23-1994; Am. Ord. 8200, passed 8-23-1999; Am. Ord. 8564, passed 5-24-2004; Am. Ord. 8630, passed 11-15-2004; Am. Ord. 8645, passed 1-24-2005; Am. Ord. 8718, passed 12-12-2005; Am. Ord. 8754, passed 4-24-2006; Am. Ord.8755, passed 4-27-2006; Am. Ord. 8854, passed 6-11-07; Am. Ord. 8930, passed 4-29-2008; Am. Ord. 9017, passed 8-10-2009; Am. Ord. 9061, passed 5-10-2010; Am. Ord. 9194, passed 2-25- 2013; Am. Ord. 9252, passed 5-12-2014; Am. Ord. 9359, passed 11-28-2016; Am. Ord. 9375, passed 5-22-2017; Am. Ord. 9462, passed 2-24-2020; Am. Ord. 9470, passed 9-14- 2020; Am. Ord. 9536, passed 1-24-2022)