The South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority Board of Directors approved a contract with a new consultant for the 2025 Gary Airshow — saving about $67,000.

“It’s one of the most important events in all of Northwest Indiana,” Phil Taillon, CEO of the SSCVA, said about the Gary Airshow. “We’ve got to figure out ways to be more efficient, so I think our team did a great job of going out and looking for new consultants that could help with this.”

The board approved hiring Air Snow and Show Inc., an Illinois-based consultant, to help with the airshow this year. Kristin Taylor, SSCVA chief of events and facilities, said the staff began considering a new consultant after receiving a quote from Air Show Consultants, whom they previously worked with.

For the past two years, the company had charged about $110,000 for services, but it was raised to $166,000 this year. Air Snow and Show Inc. will charge the SSCVA $97,000, Taylor said.

“They are fantastic to work with,” Taylor said. “They know everything about airshows. They’ve been doing this for decades.”

Board President Andy Qunell commended Taylor and other members of the SSCVA staff who worked on the deal.

“You guys did a great job,” Qunell said. “You pushed back really hard … and basically cut out the middle man.”

At the meeting, Taillon also spoke about the agency’s budget, which the Lake County Council passed in a 6-1 vote after questions about a lawsuit.

The county council on Nov. 12 approved the SSCVA’s budget, with Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer, R-Cedar Lake, voting against the budget. SSCVA’s proposed 2025 budget was $6,614,000, a $15,000 increase from the agency’s 2024 numbers, according to Post-Tribune archives.

“We’re kind of priding ourselves on having a very lean budget,” Taillon said Thursday. “We’re only $15,000 higher than last year, and that’s with inflation and staff raises for cost of living.”

Taillon spoke with Niemeyer after he voted against the budget, and he plans to continue meeting with the councilman to ensure he’s comfortable with the SSCVA’s budget.

After voting against the budget, Niemeyer said he did so because he needed more information. The councilman told Taillon he’d want a line item breakdown of the revenue sources and a historical look at the agency’s budget.

Lake County Councilman Charlie Brown, D-Gary, asked Taillon about lawsuits against the SSCVA, including one with former agency President and CEO Speros Batistatos. The agency has spent more than $237,000 between 2021 and now on its legal representatives, Barnes and Thornburg.

Batistatos sued the SSCVA one month after being fired, alleging the agency violated the law and mishandled contract renegotiations because of his age and misspent federal Payroll Protection Plan funds in violation of the CARES Act.

Taillon said the council didn’t have concerns about the legal expenses, and he explained the litigation costs to council members.

“Although, I do think there’s some light at the end of the tunnel,” Taillon said Wednesday.

“This could be completed by the end of 2025, so we’re looking forward to getting this litigation resolved and moving forward as an organization.”

The SSCVA allocated $150,000 for legal funds in 2025, Taillon said, but he doesn’t know how much the agency will spend.

“Sometimes you’re spending a little bit less because they’re doing behind the scenes stuff and don’t need as much time accrued by attorneys,” Taillon said. “We’ll see how it plays out, but we’re hoping (the funds) will get us through 2025.”

mwilkins@chicagotribune.com