Subscribe Today!
Networked Blogs
Feb
12
Steve Dalton is covering the legislature from Indianapolis as they decide what to do with Indiana’s system of township governance.
Should we get rid of all those township trustees and consolidate government functions to reflect changes in transportation, communications and to just generally update the system for the 2000s from one that was set up during the days when people needed a government office that was a horse ride away from their farm?
Or, does the township system still provide basic services for constituents that are still needed today?
Personally, I think township government is a relic that can be safely abolished with its powers transferred to county government, thus reducing the number of government units and allowing for cost savings.
Let the debate begin!
Comments
4 Responses to “What Should We Do With Township Gov’t?”
thanks for the link Chris. I’m still not getting many people to interact on the subject. In the political world this is one giant hot potato. I talked to two current trustees this morning and they are totally against the change. Keep an eye on Joyce Webster of Portage Township though, she’s a rising star having bucked her entire association to testify on behalf of township elimination.
Daltonsbriefss last blog post..The 3rd Party Conundrum
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the pointer to keep an eye on Joyce Webster. I’m in favor of consolidating the township governments into the county system since the days when the need for multiple small government units that were accessible within a horse ride from the ranch are over. We can save some tax money by not having 8 or 9 entities duplicating services in a county.
In fact, I’d like to see some municipal consolidation as well to see some of the savings. NYC is made of five boroughs and Indy is the city-county, why can’t we do more of the same with our urban areas in Indiana to gain the economies of scale that come with greater purchasing power.
Of course, with consolidated government comes greater necessity to keep an eye on those in charge, lest we consolidate and end up with a Blagojevich in charge of the system.
Growing up in a tiny town outside of a college town I think I understand why some people are less than eager to let go of the township trutees.
I have very vivid memories as a child of my Daddy working on the local volunteer fire department. This also was, more or less, the township ‘seat’ for the trustee. I remember going with my Dad to my elementary school to vote for the ‘local’ election. I remember that our township trustee went to my tiny church and she was trustee for decades until she retired just a short few years ago.
People are attached to this idea because it is framiliar, the trustee themselves may be framiliar…and it is just the way it has always been in these small rural towns. In the big bad city of Indianapolis I don’t even know the NAME of our Perry Township trustee…although I’m sure I could find out if I googled it!… So I’m not against dumping an office that appears to be rather redundant in an era where we need to be more conservative of our states resources.
I do understand though how it must feel to the other guy, the one who feels like their last tangable tie to the polical circle has been severed. That they will never again feel like they ‘know’ someone who has their political interests at heart.
Traci Bests last blog post..Hot Breakfast vs. Poptarts
Hi Traci,
It’s going to be a battle to redesign Indiana’s government and the argument that consolidation makes the government something too large and too far away from the regular people.
However, a centralized system doesn’t need to mean that people are isolated from their government. There could be local offices within geographic areas where there is need for certain government services. Consolidating the offices will save money and as we’ve seen with the BMV, might even make the office provide better constituent service.
The key thing is to elect the right people for government office.