By Dan Carden, Times of Northwest Indiana
dan.carden@nwi.com
INDIANAPOLIS | Township boards would be eliminated and their powers transferred to county government under legislation approved Thursday by the Indiana Senate.
Starting Jan. 1, 2013, county councils would take over financial matters for each township in their county, including adopting a budget and levying taxes. The township trustee position would remain intact and would work with the County Council to administer township services.
Senate Bill 240 also imposes a nepotism restriction by prohibiting township employees from supervising someone they are related to.
The Senate approved the legislation 29-19.
Among Northwest Indiana senators, Republicans Ed Charbonneau, Valparaiso; Brandt Hershman, Wheatfield; and Sue Landske, Cedar Lake, voted yes on the measure. No votes came from Democratic Sens. Jim Arnold, LaPorte; Frank Mrvan, Hammond; Lonnie Randolph, East Chicago; Earline Rogers, Gary; and Karen Tallian, Ogden Dunes.
This proposal is just one of several township government measures being considered by the General Assembly this session. Critics of township government, such as Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, say it's outdated and expensive to maintain.
Earlier this month, the Indiana House approved legislation that would let voters in each township decide whether they want to keep their township government.
That plan calls for a referendum in each township asking whether township boards and the township trustee should be retained. If voters choose to eliminate those positions, their powers would be transferred to county government.
However, similar to the 2008 referendum on township assessors, voters in each township would decide whether to keep their township government. That could create a hodgepodge of local governments within a county, as some areas still could have township government while others would rely on the county for township services.
A referendum is not required to eliminate either township boards or township trustees.
The Senate legislation now advances to the House, while the House referendum proposal has gone to the Senate. Neither measure can take effect unless the other chamber consents.