"Mayor's Money in your Pocket" Campaign Gearing up for 2006

Mayor Graham Richard today announced the City of Fort Wayne is preparing for the 2006 “Mayor's Money in Your Pocket” Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program.

Mayor Richard has sent a letter to financial institutions in the community asking for their support and help with the program. The EITC program assists lower income working families apply for tax refunds.

In 2005, $1.6 million in tax refunds were received by working families. There has been an increase in participation and refunds each year since the program started in 2003. In 2003, $250,000 was returned to the local economy. In 2004, the total was just over $1 million.

“We look forward to continuing this campaign to better serve the members of our community who work hard and deserve a tax refund,” said Mayor Richard. “We can exceed our past efforts by working together to build a larger and stronger network of volunteers to assist with tax return preparation.”

Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Denise Porter-Ross, Mayor's Northeast Area Advocate. Porter-Ross can be reached at 427-2603 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Along with financial institutions, other partners include:

* Volunteer Center at RSVP

* Wayne Township Trustee's Office

* IRS

* Urban League

* CANI ' Lake Avenue

* CANI ' Salvation Army

* Benito Juarez Center

* East Wayne Street Center

* Purdue Extension Co-op

* Vincent House

* Neighborhood Health Clinics

* Indiana Business College

The program will kick off in January. A complete schedule of tax return locations and times will be announced in the coming weeks.