Indiana Town Pushing Last Paycheck to 2022

Local government employees in an Indiana city will have to wait until next year to get their last paycheck for 2021.

Portage officials said they can’t cover payroll on Dec. 31. The money won’t be available until Jan. 3, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported.

Portage typically has 26 paydays a year but has 27 in 2021.

“The clerk’s shameful decision to delay payroll without adequate notice would be a total disappointment at any time of the year. But to do this right before the holidays shows a complete lack of respect and consideration for the city’s workers,” said Ed Maher, spokesman for International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.

Clerk-Treasurer Nina Rivas said letting employees know sooner would have disrupted work in her office, especially for the payroll clerk.

“Do you understand what happens when that kind of communication goes out? Her phone blows up and rings constantly,” Rivas said at a public meeting Tuesday.

Former Mayor John Cannon is offering interest-free loans to city workers until Jan. 4, especially if they need money for automatic deductions from their bank accounts.

“It’s like watching an elementary school trying to run a bake sale,” Cannon said of city government. “But that would be an insult to the elementary kids.”