The Monday April 13th, 2026 Valparaiso City Council meeting went for just under thirty minutes and had three Ordinances on the agenda. The first two Ordinances, No. 1 & 4, 2026, were up for second reading and final vote. Both ordinances were passed by council earlier this year but were brought back to council to be in compliance with new state notification requirements. Previously appropriations of tax funds had to be advertised 10 days prior to the meeting in the newspaper. Now state law requires they be advertised on the Indiana Gateway website.
The third and final ordinance for the evening was Ordinance No. 9, 2026 which was up for second reading and final vote. This ordinance appropriates 10,000 dollars from the cigarette tax fund to the Human Relations Council (HRC) for their budget. The ordinance passed 5 to 2 with the 5 Democrat council members voting in favor of and the 2 Republican council members voting against.
There has been some lively and at times heated debate surrounding the Valparaiso HRC over the last year. It began in June of 2025 when the Mayor pulled funding for the HRC’s cultural grant program. One of the three grants was for LGBTQ Outreach of Porter County to hold a program at the Valparaiso Library hosting a transgender author and activist who was going to hold a training session for trans allies. Mayor Costas stated that city tax funds should not be
used to “promote cultural/social events organized by groups or private citizens.” He expressed that his role as mayor is to ensure all citizens are respected and not to elevate specific minority or lifestyle viewpoints.
The HRC was formed in 2008 by Mayor Costas to advise him on relations in the city but after he pulled their funding for the cultural grants the democratic majority council introduced Ordinance No. 8, in 2025 restructuring the HRC to shift control away from the Mayor and to the City Council. Mayor Costas vetoed the passing of this ordinance but due to the council being majority Democrat they were able to override his veto. All but one of the HRC members resigned after this. So now the Republican concern and why the two Republican councilmen voted against the HRC budget, when they traditionally did have a budget, is that the HRC is going to be used by the majority Democrat council to promote the cultural issues they usually advocate for, with Valparaiso tax dollars.
These concerns were heightened by video clips of the last HRC meeting circulating on social media where the newly appointed HRC chairman advocated for funding and organizing pride month events in June. After watching the entire meeting the context of these statements were a brainstorming session where each HRC member talked about what they would like to see done. Councilwoman Emilie Hunt who is a nonvoting HRC member gave some pushback to the HRC focusing too narrowly on one group saying. “If the council approves funding for this year and if the use of those funds turn out to be so narrow you risk not getting the funding the following year.”
The next City Council meeting is April 27th, 6:00 at city hall.
Valparaiso City Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month.
Meeting Time: The meetings begin at 6:00 PM.
Location: The meetings are held in the City Council chambers at City Hall.
Public Access: The meetings are open to the public, and citizens can attend in person.
Meetings are Recorded: Watch City Council Meetings Online here
Public Participation: Citizens can address the council during designated periods, often with time limits and specific protocols.
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Susie Young Baxter, CEO, has published PanoramaNOW Magazine for 31 years. Her hobbies are Camping, Boating, Hiking, Nature, Gardening and Outdoor Activities. She is an Artist, Graphic Designer, an Avid Seamstress, Dabbles in Homemade Crafts and Landscaping. Since her Father was a Health Teacher, she also likes homeopathic Health Solutions. Since blogging started over 10 years ago, PanoramaNow has been added to Newsbreak – a national news affiliate.
