At a glance

Reporting for this series of stories about township government in Indiana began nearly three months ago after reporters Michael Malik and Chris Fyall gathered electronic copies of the 2009 annual reports the state requires from 1,008 townships. A new state law made the reports accessible on a state website. The reporters used the reports to compile a database and then filtered and analyzed thousands of lines of information. That was followed by dozens of interviews conducted by Malik, Fyall and Laura Lane to provide explanation, context and various points of view for the stories.

Along with the print content is a page on HeraldTimesOnline.com that includes a searchable map for data on all townships in the state, and three other simple databases to search townships by specific information.
Chris Fyall, Laura Lane and Michael Malik, Herald-Times

Inefficiencies. Family patronage. Incomplete, inconsistent and inaccurate reporting. Money earmarked for the state’s poorest citizens sitting in bank accounts instead of being funneled to the people for whom it is intended.

Evidence of all of this can be seen in townships in every corner of Indiana, exposed now on a statewide basis for the first time, thanks to a new law that took effect in 2009 requiring township trustees to file their annual reports electronically.

Together, the reports seem to confirm widely held beliefs about a peculiar and troubled system that is under renewed assault. In his State of the State speech, Gov. Mitch Daniels said he hopes to eliminate Indiana’s most local form of government.

What is most clear from financial documents filed by the townships is that, as a group, trustees operate largely independent fiefdoms without comprehensive oversight. They use local tax dollars to provide fire service and poor relief, but often offer to the public confusing reports on their activities.

A new analysis by The Herald-Times of records required of the state’s 1,008 townships shows: