04282015 - News Article - FBI continues investigation around Portage city government

FBI continues investigation around Portage city government
NWI Times
April 28, 2015 3:15 pm
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/fbi-continues-investigation-around-portage-city-government/article_6eb4c990-d14a-5eaa-99d7-9b710c29e688.html

PORTAGE | The FBI is continuing its investigation in and around city government.

Agents recently requested and were provided with meeting minutes from the Portage FOP Lodge 145, which is made up of officers from the police department, said Recording Secretary Sgt. John Ryan.

The agency was after the lodge's monthly meeting minutes for all of 2011, Ryan said. The FBI gave no indication of a target or what they were looking for, he said.

The request came by phone and the minutes were transferred over electronically, Ryan said.

News of the request comes in the wake of several subpoenas being served last year around city government.

Clerk-Treasurer Chris Stidham confirmed in October he received an electronic subpoena from the FBI seeking records of all payments and invoices from Circle R Electric between Jan. 1, 2008 and the end of September.

Stidham also confirmed he was interviewed the month before by an FBI agent for more than an hour. During the interview, Stidham said they discussed a "wide range of topics" involving the mayor's office, Redevelopment Commission activities, property purchases and relationships between various individuals.

Stidham said he was also asked to provide certified copies of Board of Works minutes by the city attorney's office involving contracts for the purchase of garbage trucks. The information was necessary, he said, to fulfill a subpoena the city's street department received last month.

The clerk-treasurer subpoena was the latest in a string delivered by the FBI to various officials. In July, the FBI requested Mayor James Snyder's campaign finance records and records from his political action committee Portage Mayor Elect 2011. The Utility Services Board also received subpoenas that month seeking documents related to a trip Snyder took to Austria he initially funded through the department, but then paid back the cost.

Snyder declined comment at the time, but had previously said Portage will cooperate with all requests.

04202015 - News Article - Portage's Snyder, Clancy spar over property tax bills

Portage's Snyder, Clancy spar over property tax bills
NWI Times
Apr 20, 2015
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/portage-s-snyder-clancy-spar-over-property-taxbills/article_2dbcd3cd-c280-50fc-a7f8-834299795611.html
PORTAGE | Portage Mayor James Snyder and Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy got into a sparring match Monday over local property tax bills.

Snyder issued a press release Monday morning pointing the blame in increase in property tax bills on Clancy. Clancy called Snyder's allegations "smoke and mirrors."

It is possible Clancy, a Democrat, will face Snyder, a Republican, in November's mayoral race.

In his statement, Snyder said his office has received calls from residents after seeing a "noticeable tax increase."

"Upon review of several tax bills, what was found is that the Township Trustee's tax rate had soared 29 percent from 2014 to 2015, while the tax rates for the Civil City, School Corporation, County and Township libraries all declined by 7.5 percent, 1.75 percent, 1.75 percent and 14 percent respectively," Snyder wrote, pointing to a "nearly 400 percent increase" in the township's recreation budget since 2011.

"We have worked incredibly hard to move Portage forward without raising taxes and by making much needed improvements to the city that continue to raise the appraised value of Portage homes and businesses, which in turn reduces the property tax burden on our residents and homeowners," said Snyder.

"We were shocked to see the increase created by Trustee Clancy's office as we believed our residents were going to see relief this year," said Snyder.

"In regards to Mayor Snyder's allegation that the township park budget increased by 400 percent; those figures are entirely misleading," Clancy said in a written response to Snyder's allegations.

Clancy said while township revenue has decreased from $3 million in 2009 to $1.9 million in 2014, spending has increased on parks with the use of grants, grant programs and outside revenue.

"In order to increase the parks budget, other department budgets were reduced in addition to the implementation of many money saving programs. Any increase in the parks budget did not result in the tax payer paying any additional taxes," Clancy said.

Clancy said Portage township has a below average debt of approximately $16 per capita. He said the city's debt per capita last year was $294.

"While the city has had to borrow money to repair their infrastructure, the township improved our parks, cemeteries and the Bonner Senior Center from our general fund without having to borrow money from you, the taxpayer," said Clancy, adding the township's debt will be paid off in five years while the city, under Snyder, has issued more than $14 million in bonds and has a debt now exceeding $104 million, which won't be paid off for 20 years, leaving Portage with the fifth highest debt in the state.

04172015 - News Article - Portage Mayor Snyder tops fundraising in race for City Hall

Portage Mayor Snyder tops fundraising 
in race for City Hall
NWI Times
April 17, 2015
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/portage-mayor-snyder-tops-fundraising-in-race-for-city-hall/article_fc462b7d-44e1-51d2-8aaa-cf9a64555ea9.html

VALPARAISO | Portage Mayor James Snyder has no primary election opponent, but the first-term Republican has already raised $37,285 this year, according to campaign finance reports due Friday.

This compares to $27,920 raised by Brendan Clancy and $7,211 raised by Leo Hatch, who are seeking the Democratic mayoral nomination and the chance to unseat Snyder.

As was the case when Snyder filed his 2014 year-end financial report, he used some of the funds ($5,200) to pay rent for a campaign office at his business, SRC, at 3173 Willowcreek Road; paid his wife, Deborah, $2,844 for consulting work; and paid himself $1,629 for various reimbursements, according to his report. Another $395 was spent on babysitting and Snyder's campaign owes $2,953 in outstanding debt, primarily to himself.

Snyder's campaign treasurer Kenard Taylor, of Valparaiso, said the money paid to SRC was to cover various campaign-related costs.

Snyder's wife was compensated for event planning and coordination, volunteer coordination, maintaining a contact list and handling mailings, Taylor said.

Only one of the 10 individuals contributing a total of $8,120 to Snyder's campaign is from the city, according to his report.

"Most of the people who have given us money at this point in the campaign are people who have been supporters for several years and knew we would need additional help this year and stepped up early in our campaign," Taylor said. "Also while many of them have out of town addresses they have business connections in Portage. We will have local fundraisers as soon as the primary is over."

Clancy reported that $2,510 of the $6,432 he collected from individual donors came from outside the city.

He said this percentage reflects the local flavor of his campaign, with much of the balance coming from family and friends outside the city.

Clancy paid $433 to his business, Clancy's of Portage, to cover food costs for a volunteer envelope-stuffing gathering, he said. He said he has not paid any rent costs to his business because he has not really used the site for much other campaigning yet.

Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas, who is unopposed in the primary and thus far for the general election, posted contributions since the first of the year of $18,550.

Portage Clerk-Treasurer Christopher Stidham has raised $6,845 this year to fend off a Democrat primary challenge from former Clerk-Treasurer Donna Pappas, whose only contribution was a $3,000 loan from herself, according to finance reports.

Stidham loaned $2,295 of his own money to his campaign.

04172015 - News Article - Electronic poll books get early high marks in Porter County - Board receives complaint over Portage Mayor Snyder's campaign finance reports

Electronic poll books get early high marks in Porter County 
Board receives complaint over Portage Mayor Snyder's campaign finance reports
Post-Tribune
April 17, 2015
chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-porter-elect-board-st-0418-20150417-story.html
Electronic poll books are being used for the first time at Porter County's three early voting sites, and everyone is getting used to them.

Clerk Karen Martin, who also is a Republican representative on the county's election board, said during a meeting Friday that she's hearing both poll workers and voters like the streamlined process, in which drivers licenses are scanned in when voters enter a polling place and they sign in on a touchpad.

"It's so much faster," said David Bengs, also a Republican and president of the board. "I think it's going to help."

The poll books are in place at the early voting centers in the county administration building, the North County complex in Portage, and at the Chesterton Town Hall, with one at each site. Martin said all 57 precincts in the May 5 primary would have poll books.

The Voter Registration Office staff, the poll workers and the voters are all adjusting to the new system, board members said.

"It's a good thing this is a slow election year," Bengs said of the municipal elections coming up, adding next year's presidential election will drive up turnout. "If there's something wrong that's going to happen, this the year it's got to go."

The election board voted 2-1 to approve an order for use of the poll books. Democrat Kathy Kozuszek, sitting in as a proxy for J.J. Stankiewicz, voted against the order.

The board also received an update on the complaint filed by Democratic Party Chair Jeff Chidester over the campaign finance reports for Portage Mayor James Snyder, a Republican who is seeking another term in office.

The complaint contended that Snyder's campaign received funds in excess of the state limits set for donations from corporations. Kenard Taylor, Snyder's campaign treasurer, has said the excess funds would be returned and the finance repots would be amended to reflect that.

"We did file it on Thursday and highlighted the sheets where we returned the excess funds," Taylor said, adding in a recent meeting with the state election board he learned a business could be fined for making a donation over the limit, but candidates are not bound to return the funds.

"We did it because it was in the best interest of the businesses not to be in violation, and I think it's a good practice. And we restructured so we don't run into any problems this year."

Additionally, as directed by the board, board attorney Ethan Lowe sent out letters to all current and former candidates with open campaign funds, stating that the board would be cracking down on delinquent and defective campaign finance reports.

"Obviously, only some campaigns are responsible for filing reports this year," he said, adding there had been some confusion after the letters went out that has since been resolved.

Three people have not filed end-of-year reports for 2014. They are Democrat Chuck Scheuer, who unsuccessfully ran for county coroner; Republican Ed Morales, who unsuccessfully ran for Porter Township Trustee; and former Auditor Robert Wichlinski, also a Republican.

Lastly, the voting place fort the Center 16 precinct, for voters in the Valparaiso school referendums, has been moved from the county's highway department, at 1955 S. Indiana 2, to the emergency services building, at 1995 S. Ind. 2.