Editor's note
John Krull, director of The Pulliam School of Journalism at Franklin College, brings his experience as a newsman, a defender of civil liberties, radio conversationalist, and mentor of future journalists to Who Gets What? this week. You’ll find this podcast wherever you pluck such offering from the ether as well as at mortonjohn.libsyn.com.
This is the final installment, for now, on Indiana townships. Today’s question is: Could Indiana organize existing township services differently to provide higher quality benefits for citizens and lower costs to taxpayers? Or should township governments be funded more generously with added expectations about the services they provide?

One thing townships do is store money. In 2019, Indiana townships reported $479.2 million in Actual Cash Balances from prior years. That equaled 71% of their $676.5 million budgeted 2019 expenditures. Don’t start denouncing such large amounts of money stashed in secure depositories; it’s not lying around on the township office floor. Remember, townships must have money to meet very uncertain expenses.

The largest portion of the 2019 budget (54%) was allocated to township fire-related equipment and services. Another 19% was ear-marked for the General Fund, and 16% for the Township Assistance Fund. If you noticed, that’s 89% of this aggregate budget absorbed by three functions.

Would we want to be without the resources to meet major fires? But it is fair to ask how many major fires Indiana rural areas have in any five-year period and would county-wide service be superior?

We would not want Hoosiers-in-need to be denied assistance. Yet what balances should be held? There is already a separate Rainy-Day fund No one could foretell 2020, but in an ordinary year what is the usual variance of requests for which reserves are needed?

When added up for the entire state, the 2019 Township Assistance Budgets totaled $107.4 million. The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance tells us 54,482 Indiana households benefited from $21.5 million of assistance provided by 909 townships. That’s an average of $395 per household.

In addition, the townships reported a $16.7 million value for “benefits provided through efforts of township staff from sources other than township funds.” This sum equals another $306 per household served.

If we’re reading this right, Indiana townships require $107.4 million to provide benefits valued at $38.2 million for assistance to those in need of financial relief.

Township assistance payments are made to public and private providers of utility bills, housing, food, clothing, health care, funerals, burials and cremations, emergency shelter for the homeless, and other necessary goods and services.

Don’t assume households in Indiana see actual dollars. Only 240 townships provided “Other Direct Relief”, which might be cash totaling $1.5 million. Townships reports contain careful wording: “Households received benefits valued at….” Who set those values? Are they verified by the State Board of Accounts?

Many readers of these columns are eager to eliminate townships which they believe harbor inefficiencies and unfair practices. Politically-savvy friends report townships are nothing but insignificant feeders for two out-of-date political parties.

Does any agency monitor or assess township functions objectively? Or must we rely on anecdotal evidence? Is someone ready to speak today, without sentimentality, for townships?
Morton J. Marcus is an economist formerly with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His column appears in Indiana newspapers, and his views can be followed his podcast.

© 2024 Morton J. Marcus

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