Trustees, Thy Days Are Numbered
As you folks know one of my big issues down at the Statehouse is government reform and consolidation. I think there is too much government in Indiana and it can be streamlined for more accountability, efficiency and savings.
The township assessors have already felt the bite of the consolidation and it looks like the Trustees are next. We all know the stories about township trustees who sit on tons of cash and property, rent office space out of their own homes, hire half their family tree, etc, etc. For example on December 10th, the Wayne Township Board in Marion County will vote on giving itself insurance, a pension and a raise. Township government has always had a lots of supporters in the Legislature, but I doubt if they will have many friends this time around.
Lawmakers are talking about getting rid 3,000-4,000 township advisory board members, transferring the budget functions of the township to the County, consolidating poor relief efforts into one trustee instead of several. When Mitch Daniels, Pat Bauer, David Long, Brian Bosma and Vi Simpson all think something needs to be done at the township level, something is definitely going to happen.
The question is what and when? I’m counting the days.
