At our September 23 Town Council meeting, I was glad to hear Merrillville Clerk-Treasurer Eric January give credit where credit is due. In his department report, he praised the role of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds in making big-ticket projects possible that simply wouldn’t fit into our general fund.
This is a notable shift for Mr. January, who in recent months had been one of the loudest voices against Merrillville’s use of TIF allocation areas. While he still feels abatements run too long (the length of the abatement term in years), he acknowledged the benefits TIF brings to Merrillville’s growth and stability. That recognition matters.
Why Merrillville Needs TIF
Merrillville has always had to be creative with money. At only 54 years old, we’re a relatively young town compared to our 100-year-old-plus neighbors. Unlike Hobart, Gary, or Crown Point, we don’t have our own utilities—no water service, trash removal, or sewage fees to pad the budget. Those user fees give other towns financial breathing room; we must make do without them.
That’s why tools like tax abatements and TIFs are so critical. If we don’t offer developers competitive incentives, they’ll simply head to nearby towns that do. As Redevelopment Commission President Shawn Pettit often says, “We’d just lose the development.” And he’s right.
Some residents may shrug and say, “Fine, let them build elsewhere.” But that thinking ignores the long-term cost. Without new development, Merrillville gets stuck with empty land and fewer revenue sources—making it harder to fund the very services people expect.
What TIF Has Made Possible
Our most recent bond issue-$33 million-is a perfect example of TIF at work:
- $15M for a new fire station in the southeast part of town
- $12M for major road improvements on Whitcomb St south of Route 30
- $6M for neighborhood road repairs and repaving
All of this funded by TIF dollars, not property tax hikes.
TIF also covers payments on the Dean and Barbara White Community Center, which cost $24M to build. With about $18M left on the loan, TIF revenues-not residents-are footing the bill.
And thanks to a recent law change, we’re even able to use TIF to support public safety:
- Four police officers are now funded through TIF, with four more coming next year.
- We’re exploring additional benefits for officers.
- Eight police vehicles have already been purchased with TIF dollars.
If you look back to the 90’s, one of Merrillville’s first TIF Districts was the Merrillville Road TIF – when Meijer’s came to town, the council wisely created the district which encompassed the empty land where the grocery giant would be built. So the taxes that Meijer paid over the years has funded the Merrillville Road expansion. It used to be just two lanes, a big curve at the end as it approached Crown Point. The ‘district’ allowed for the major improvements including widening, addition of street lights, sidewalks and better drainage and allow the town to change the large curve now aligning with Merrillville Road in Crown Point.
Stretching Every Dollar
Merrillville is both young and large—33.22 square miles, 165 miles of roads. That’s a lot of snow to plow, potholes to patch, and streets to sweep. Every dollar we stretch through TIF helps us maintain services without burdening homeowners.
Final Thoughts
So, thank you Mr. January for publicly acknowledging the role TIF plays in moving Merrillville forward. I hear your concerns about abatement length—most of ours are 10 years—and that’s a fair discussion. But as you noted, without TIF funding, these projects simply wouldn’t be possible.
And that’s the whole point: TIF isn’t perfect, but it’s practical. It’s the reason Merrillville can keep growing while keeping taxes steady.
And as I promised during the meeting after Mr. January’s comments; you may view Eric’s comments on the video post below.
—Rick Bella, Town Council President, Ward 5 Representative