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Brendan Clancy Gives 2014 State of the Township Address for Portage Township

By: Stefan Barkow Last Updated: February 13, 2014

State-of-the-Township-Portage-1On February 13th at the Bonner Senior Center in Portage, Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy held the annual State of the Township address to cover all the terrific accomplishments that have taken place in the township over the past year. At the end of the meeting, Clancy also officially announced his candidacy for re-election to the position.

Clancy began the meeting by leading everyone in the pledge of allegiance. Speaking to a large room packed full of community members, Clancy thanked his staff and the other officials present for their efforts. “I couldn’t do any of this alone; it’s a team effort, and I thank everyone involved for their hard work,” Clancy said.

From a podium surrounded by professional posters of the latest community projects, Clancy’s address covered six major topics:

1. Bonner Senior Center

The senior center saw a large number of improvements over the last year, including:

State-of-the-Township-Portage-2Clancy also reported on the grants and contracts awarded and won through 2013. Highlights include:

“Careful money management and the aggressive pursuit of grants have made it possible for us to add new programs at a time when many other local governments across the state are cutting theirs instead,” Clancy explained.

2. Cemeteries

Clancy briefly covered the numerous repairs and improvements to local cemeteries, such as the new, wider entrance at the Blake Cemetery and the memorial monument being installed at the McCool Cemetery.

3. South Haven Fire Department

A new parking lot, lighting, landscaping, training room upgrades, improved bunk rooms, and the renovation of overhead bay doors were the improvements to this hard-working department which answered 1,130 calls in 2013. The township also upgraded the department’s radio communication systems and purchased power-lift ambulance cots to prevent back injuries to emergency personnel. Clancy also mentioned that the department would be switching their umbrella policy to Porter Health System so rules across the area would be standardized, leading to more efficient and better service.

4. Parks

State-of-the-Township-Portage-3Clancy reported on the many successes and improvements to the local parks system.

Portage Township also received a R.O.S.E Award, given by Indiana Dunes Tourism in recognition of service excellence. “We went from worst to first. I can’t tell you how honored I am to have Portage Township Parks recognized as the destination parks in all of Porter County. I’m very proud of everyone involved,” Clancy said.

5. Township Assistance

Clancy said that the Portage Township assistance programs have been greatly enhanced, including the addition of free legal clinics (with Katrina Spence Law Firm) and a Jobs Network Program. In 2013, Portage Township provided $359,185.89 in township assistance, $311,038.81 in referral assistance, and $61,600.00 in non-traditional assistance. According to Clancy, Portage Township has one of the lowest cost-to-service ratios in the state, with every dollar of township assistance costing the taxpayer just 12.8 cents. Portage Township is also the first township in Indiana to go paperless, and a new Township website is now in the final design states.

6. Finances/Budget

Clancy reported on the 2013 budget for the township. The 2013 budget was $2,932,532.00. Excluding Fire, it was $2,039,188.00. The portion of that budget provided by property taxes was $1,310,579.00. “That is the lowest property tax figure in eight years. With that being said, miscellaneous revenue for the Township, which includes monies through grants, grant programming, and use fees, was $635,163.00, which is the highest generated revenue in the history of Portage Township outside of property taxes,” Clancy said.

Quoting Thomas Jefferson on the responsibilities of a government to its people, Clancy also reported that Portage Township’s debt inside the levy is now $0.

After the applause, Clancy thanked the Indiana Township Association for naming him the “State of Indiana Trustee of the Year” for 2013 as well as all of the community members in attendance.

“I want to thank you for your patience, I want to thank you for your support, and I want to thank you for the opportunity to allow me to be your trustee, it’s been a pleasure to work for you," he said. "I’m very proud of the work we’ve done. We have a lot more to accomplish, and I look forward to the future. So today, I announce my candidacy for re-election for Portage Township Trustee. Thank you very much, and God bless.”