A move to reform Indiana’s township level of government might finally be gaining some momentum. House Bill 1355 would establish pilot programs for the merging of townships in Blackford, Crawford and Switzerland counties, and for joining not more than five townships in LaPorte County.
The measure, authored by Rep. Doug Miller, a Republican from Elkhart, has the support of the Indiana Township Association.
“I know everyone is afraid that township government is going to go away,” Miller told the House Local Government Committee at a recent hearing. “I don’t think it’s all going away because there’s … specific areas where township government is very effective. There’s also data to support areas across the state where we don’t need four, five, six townships.”
Fifteen years ago, an Indiana blue ribbon study commission called for eliminating townships entirely, a move we supported.
CNHI’s Indiana newspapers several years ago published a series of articles detailing problems with the township level of government.
Trustees are supposed to provide poor relief, fire protection and maintenance of pioneer cemeteries, but we found numerous townships hoarding tax dollars while providing little in the way of services.
Though supporters have touted townships as the level of government that is closest to the people, the CNHI series found the vast majority of Hoosiers could not name the township where they lived and had no idea what the trustee did or how to find the trustee’s office.
Miller suggested that when it came to townships, bigger might be better. “In a county with a small population,” he said, “they could all merge and actually provide a higher level of service specifically for police, fire and ambulance based on a broader tax base.”
Rep. Bruce Borders, a Republican from Jasonville, isn’t convinced. “What I found is that it didn’t seem to be basically reducing any facilities, and it didn’t seem to be reducing any equipment,” he said. “What it did seem to do, at least in several cases I’m familiar with, it did raise the taxes on the people out in the new territory.”
That bill is still pending in the House Local Government Committee. Another measure, House Bill 1035, would let Hoosiers vote on whether their local township assessor’s office should be eliminated.
Most of these offices are already gone. In 2008, the legislature eliminated most township assessors, but there are still 13 remaining in nine counties.
Rep. Karen Engleman, a Republican from Georgetown, is co-author of the measure.
“It’s duplicative, I think, to have township assessors,” she told the committee. “I think it’s better when we have a county assessor for uniformity. No duplication of duties.”
The bill passed the House last month by a vote of 61-37. It’s now pending in the Indiana Senate.
Neither of these measures is perfect. Ideally, lawmakers would move more quickly to scale back the number of townships, and why do we need a referendum to accomplish something most townships accomplished years ago?
Still, both measures represent a step in the right direction. Lawmakers should pass both bills, and Gov. Eric Holcomb should sign them.
The Herald Bulletin (Anderson)
