Township Attack
The last chapter of the most useless form of government in Indiana may be written this legislative session. Township government is getting it from both the left and the right and from both the Indiana House and Senate.
Several bills have been introduced that either eliminate township government altogether or put the question on the ballot.
SB 240 would move the functions of township government up to the County level. HB 1138 would allow townships to merge, thus reducing the number. HB 1181, introduced by long-time township supporter Bill Crawford, would eliminate township government by referendum. If that bill became law, I could probably be able to count in milliseconds the time it would take for township trustees to use government time, government money and people who get poor relief to start a campaign to save their own jobs. Legislation will also be introduced by Democrat Ed Delaney and Republican Jim Merritt to eliminate township government as well and transfer poor relief to the county level.
What I’ll be looking for is how township trustees and advisory board members try to justify their existence. A number of them called into an afternoon Indianapolis radio talk show to talk how important their jobs were. If their jobs were so important why were they on the phone talking about it instead of giving out poor relief? Frankly, their arguments sounded just like the former township assessors, and you remember how that turned out.
One line of defense they use is that if there should be consolidation then schools and excluded cities should be part of the equation. Frankly I have no problem consolidating the non teaching functions of schools (transportation, human resources, janitorial services) as well as the excluded cities as well. But knowing the traditional Hoosier mindset and it’s aberration when it comes to change, I’ll take whatever victory I can get.
