Hammond Indiana

"The neighborhood's great," said Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. "The neighbors who own their homes and a lot of people want to stay here, and there's not a lot of upward mobility for homes or even downward mobility for homes. But this gives us new options."

"This is a signature real estate development tool we use in our city," Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. told the city council last week. "It's been successful. Thousands of kids have graduated from colleges all across our state under this program."

"Even though this is a challenging time, even though we're negotiating big contracts, I'm encouraged because it seems like our property taxes are picking up, our assessed value's picking up, and that's a healthy thing for our economy," Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. told council members.

Starting in 2026, residents will have to pay an annual tax of $25 per passenger vehicle and $40 per larger vehicle, under an ordinance adopted Tuesday by the city council.

"And that increment we get over there, we could use to beautify this area right next to City Hall, this area to the south of us right next to City Hall, so this is vital," Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. told the city council last week.

"The Hammond police have been sent on wild goose chases because of the internet news that's not right," Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. told the city council Monday.

"We've gotten to the point in Hammond now where the amount of maintenance we're doing on our roads is abysmal," Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. told the city council Monday.

"I'm a big believer in sidewalks," Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. said during Wednesday's Mayor's Night Out event. "I think everybody should have sidewalks. If we don't, we should prioritize it, but we do have financial constraints that we have to live with."

The city of Hammond is moving ahead with ShotSpotter technology.