BROWNSBURG — The Brownsburg Consolidation Committee wants residents to understand what they are all about. The committee is comprised of a group of nine volunteer citizens that was formed to examine the feasibility of merging Brown and Lincoln townships with the town of Brownsburg.
“Consolidation is not annexation,” said Joy Vrabec, a member of the committee. “It is a kinder, gentler process.”
Committee members hail from each of the three areas under consideration. The group is unpaid, and not tied to a government entity.
“Our goal is to determine if this makes sense,” Vrabec said.
For the past several months, the group has been reviewing the service and funding structures and primary functions of the governmental body of the town and the townships to determine the benefits, if any, of consolidation.
“We’re not looking to force anybody to do one thing or the other,” said sub-committee member Adam Harrison.
The committee has held a series of public meetings since April, inviting the public to attend and share their input. Members of the committee, as well as seven subcommittees have been taking information from their research, as well as the input from public meetings, and comprising a report they’ll present to the governing bodies of the Brown and Lincoln township and the town of Brownsburg.
The subcommittees have studied and reported findings in areas such as public safety, infrastructure, finance and taxes and governance. For example, members have met with Brownsburg Police Chief Michael Dove and Hendricks County Sheriff Dave Galloway to discuss jurisdiction and patrol issues.
The committee has looked at how to allow Brownsburg police to have a larger jurisdiction, without tax payers absorbing the costs of new officers.
“The process is not to affect taxpayers,” said Vrabec. “The process is to look to the future here.”
The committee will seek public input until the end of May. The group will then finalize their findings in a report to present to the three governing bodies by July 14. All three bodies must agree on the same document and then citizens would vote on consolidation in the November 2012 election.
“It’s a truly unique opportunity for us as citizens to actually be able to determine our future,” said Vrabec.