The city is more than $250,000 behind in bills to Cargill, Inc., a snow salt company, for last winter's supply, the city's finance director has warned.

And Gary will not see a single granular of road salt this year from the company until they are paid in full, City Controller Angela Hayes said.

On Tuesday, the Gary’s Finance Department offered a solution by seeking council approval to move around more than $250,000 in the budget. That would pay down old bills owed to Cargill Inc.

“Cargill will not allow us to order more salt until we pay prior bills,” City Controller Angela Hayes said Tuesday night to the council’s Finance Committee.

The move ensures the city will have the necessary supply of road salt from Cargill and keep roads passable during snowstorms.

If approved, the city administration would shift $274,000 within the city’s General Services budget to pay down the old bills from the 2017-2018 winter season.

The ordinance, reviewed Tuesday night by the Gary City Council’s Finance Committee, transfers money from the capital budget to the streets and sewer materials line item, bringing the grand total to $734,000.


Hayes said the Gary Community Schools Corp. is negotiating a deal with the city’s Public Works Department to provide space where the salt supply would be housed. A few options are being explored, she said.

Council President Ronald Brewer said it's critical they find a location that will protect the city's supply before winter.
The tent city — located near the American Indian Center — has been called "The Wall of Forgotten Natives" because many of its residents are Native American.

"They came to an area, a geography that has long been identified as a part of the Native community. A lot of the camp residents feel at home, they feel safer," Robert Lilligren, vice chairman of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors, told NBC News.

In late September, the Minneapolis City Council approved a site in south Minneapolis for a temporary "navigation center" that will provide services environment for people living at the encampment.

City staff will work with community and government partners to establish the center at 2109 Cedar Avenue, a 1.25-acre site that includes parcels owned by the Red Lake Nation and the city. The goal is to open the center this fall.

Until the center opens, there are no plans to close the encampment.