Former governor Kernan offers tax relief advice at Northwest Indiana Forum

BY KASS STONE, Times of Northwest Indiana
Correspondent

PORTAGE | Former governor Joe Kernan has suggestions for how to make Indiana's property tax relief legislation work best over the long haul.

He shared them during a Northwest Indiana Forum Analyzing House Enrolled Act 1001: Creative Solutions That Make Sense seminar Friday morning.

Kernan is the co-author with Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard of a report on streaming lining local government through the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform.

Their report makes a number of recommendations on how local governments can streamline operations to be more effective and cost efficient.

"I think if we are going to have property tax relief, there needs to be a system that supports that and the one we have now does not do that,' Kernan said, prior his presentation.

He discussed recommendations made in his and Shepard's report to reduce and consolidate local governments.

Kernan recommended greatly reducing the number of elected officials, especially at the county level of government. His plan would see the number of county commissioners reduce to one commissioner acting with executive power and working with an elected county council.

The report calls for making positions primarily involved with policy implementation, such as sheriffs, surveyors and clerks, appointed positions. The only elected positions would be those responsible for policy.

Kernan and Shepard report also support elimination of the state's township governments. HEA 1001 has removed townships' property assessing responsibilities. Kernan would like to see the responsibilities currently handled by townships taken on by the counties.

While the report does not call for the closing of any schools or libraries, it recommends consolidating local library systems so that they operate as one system. It also calls for the elimination of school districts that have fewer than 2,000 students.

While he said he could not provide specifics on the amount of money the recommendations might save the state, Kernan suggested it could be in the billions of dollars.

"We have a system not designed to work effectively,' Kernan said. "It is not designed to work effectively and cost efficiently.'

Kernan said it was his hope the recommendations made in the report will be approved by the Legislature by 2013.