From the Northwest Indiana Times:
The Hammond City Council on Monday overrode Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr.'s pocket veto of a resolution opposing the 1.5 percent option income tax recently adopted by Lake County.
The City Council voted 7-2 on June 24 to approve the resolution, sponsored by Councilman Bob Markovich, D-at large. McDermott pocket vetoed the resolution by refusing to sign it.
Council members again voted 7-2 on Monday to approve the resolution.
McDermott, who supported the new county tax, said the resolution is a "waste of time" because the tax was adopted by Lake County officials in May.
"This resolution is a joke, it's a political game played by Markovich and it's a waste of energy," McDermott said. "I choose not to play into it."
If a mayor vetoes an ordinance or resolution, the mayor writes a letter about why he or she did not agree with the council members. In a pocket veto, no formal statement is made by the mayor and he or she simply does not sign the document.
Markovich said many other local councils have officials spoken for or against the income tax even though it's already been adopted.
He said he felt obligated to propose the resolution after getting responses from constituents who oppose the tax. The mayor elected to take no action, and that is his prerogative, Markovich said.
"It's a tough decision in some cases to make," Markovich told fellow council members before the vote Monday. "But we all have to be our own person."
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/hammond/hammond-council-overrides-mayor-s-pocket-veto-of-anti-tax/article_4d16b18d-7d0a-5595-9c0d-360de8cda82e.html
