Shrinking government
INDIANAPOLIS – A bill that would require every Indiana county to vote on whether it wants townships and township trustees is headed to the floor of the Indiana House of Representatives.
House Bill 1181 moved out of committee Monday on an 11-0 vote. If it is approved by both the House and Senate and signed by Gov. Daniels, it would call for a referendum in this autumn’s election on township governments. If a majority of the voters in a township vote to do away with township government, the duties of the township trustees – primarily poor relief, but in some cases fire departments and school corporations – will be transferred to the county government.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Bill Crawford, D-Indianapolis, said his measure will allow voters to decide township by township whether or not they want to keep the form of government that Crawford calls “closest to the people.”
Debbie Driskell, executive director of Indiana Township Association, testified that she believes that legislators need to allow the people to have a voice on this matter. Driskell believes that a lot of good comes out of townships and that they should be kept. However, Driskell said that if the General Assembly feels something must be done, giving the option to the people is the best way to decide what to do.
Morgan County Commissioner Don Adams also testified that if the people of Indiana are given the facts they will make a good decision. Adams said that the question proposed to voters might be better if it were based county wide instead of by each individual township.
