Thus far, township government is winning its battle for survival at the 2011 Indiana legislative session, and it appears to have nothing to do with the distraction of Democratic House members running off to Illinois. Instead, it was the Republican-controlled Indiana Senate — the one Hoosier legislative body still working — which dumbfounded supporters of local government reform by defeating a bill last week to take even the tepid step of eliminating township advisory boards. The Senate vote was 28-21 against ending the boards.
Similar measures have been passed by the Republican-controlled Senate in past sessions only to fail in the House, where before this year, Democrats were in control. Curiously enough, a similar bill has passed a House committee this year, but has not been called for a full House vote. (Of course, that would be hard to do right now, with the Democrats holding out in Urbana, Ill.)
Eliminating advisory board members, who are elected, is far down the scale from eliminating townships entirely, as recommended in 2007 by the Kernan-Shepard commission and endorsed by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. In addition, a group of Indiana newspapers, including the Courier & Press, are participating in a campaign this legislative session to end township government in Indiana.
Those newspapers and others who oppose the continued existence of township government believe it is no longer a needed arm of local government. Township assessors have been eliminated already. In Vanderburgh County, the city of Evansville has taken over fire coverage responsibilities of the Knight Township Volunteer Fire Department after financial difficulties caused that department to close down.
But as we said, the townships are winning.
And for what? All the legislation in question seeks to do is eliminate advisory boards, turning over their responsibilities to the county council in each county. Local government reformers believe the legislature should do more, but right now they can't even get the legislature to take this one minor step.
Granted, they hope the elimination of advisory boards would lead eventually to the elimination of township government.
An Associated Press dispatch on the defeat of the bill in the Senate last week said that legislators and township officials say the vote reflects a new understanding of the value of having local government close to the people, especially in rural areas.
Baloney.
This is not the 1800s in which every township requires an office where people in need of emergency assistance can saddle up and ride their horse to the township trustee's office. In the year 2011, most residents can find their county government office as easily as they can find a township trustee's office. In fact, it may be easier to find a county office at the Civic Center than to find a township office that might be located in a trustee's house.
We will tell you who knows exactly where the township trustee's office are located: The elected county officials or the lawmakers who count on the township trustee and his staff members to serve as election campaign allies. Too many of them are reluctant to shut down the offices of their political supporters.
The current legislative session has a long way to go, even after the Democrats return from their Illinois holiday. We hope they come to recognize the need for greater loyalty to taxpayers and voters than to their allies in township government. As it is now, townships are winning and taxpayers are losing.