Truth Report
ELKHART -- Without township government, Concord Township Trustee Deb Stoffer worries what would become of the poor and needy.
"What's going to happen to their services?" she asked. "We're the voice of a lot of those people in the community."
Don Mansell, a Concord Township Fire Department firefighter and paramedic, wonders how a countywide fire department -- one of the alternatives to separate municipal and township entities -- would be funded. As is, townships typically rely heavily on volunteers, but paid firefighters might have to be recruited if there were just one unified department, incurring extra cost.
"Where's all this money going to come from?" Mansell asked.
A special commission tabbed by Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed 27 recommendations late last year to streamline local government, including the transfer of township responsibilities like poor relief and fire protection to county government. The overall aim would be eliminating duplicity and making government more efficient, if not cheaper.
Whatever the case, the township proposal would effectively eliminate the governmental unit, and that possibility has Stoffer, Mansell and their counterparts across Elkhart County and Indiana mobilizing. A proposal could emerge in the coming state legislative session to formalize what the special committee proposes, they fear, and they want to get the word out now about the importance of township government.
Stoffer, who's sponsoring a "Save Township Government" rally on Sunday, touts the role of township government in serving some of the most vulnerable people. "It's more about being fair to the people you serve and keeping government accessible to people who most need it," she said.
Debbie Driskell, executive director of the Indiana Township Association and trustee in Delaware Township in Hamilton County, cites the responsiveness of township government relative to governmental units up the chain. "The larger the unit, the more difficult it is to move quickly and efficiently (to) deliver services," she said.
1,008 township governments
Township government -- overseen by elected trustees, one in each township -- is perhaps the most prevalent governmental unit, at least in Indiana. While the state has 92 county, 117 city and 451 town governments along with 293 school corporations and 239 library districts, there are 1,008 township governments, according to the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform. That's the body calling for an end to townships.
Township operations typically fly below the radar screen. "If you don't have a fire and you don't need help with your (utility bill), there's a good chance you don't know who your trustee is," said Driskell.
Township responsibilities center on aid to the poor, including financial assistance for rent, medicine, food and utility bills. Many townships also provide fire protection, usually in unincorporated zones not covered by a municipal fire department.
Concord Township, the most populous township in Elkhart County, has an annual budget of around $2 million, according to Stoffer. All told, though, townships account for less than 2 percent of the property tax revenue required year to year by the county's varied taxing entities, spurring Stoffer's claim that townships are "the cheapest form of government."
By contrast, the commission report calling for the end of townships maintains that they "often are too small, in terms of land area and population, to provide cost-effective public services." It defends the notion of passing township responsibilities to county government.
"We believe that Indiana counties are large enough to allow economies of scale in services, but not so large that they preclude sufficient access and responsiveness for citizens," said the report.
Nonetheless, Stoffer and Driskell point out that there are no formal studies to back up such claims. In fact, maybe passing their responsibilities up the chain would create new costs, notably in managing fire protection. What's more, they insist they are most plugged in to the public, at least those who need the social services they provide.
"It really is just the level of government that's closest to the people," said Stoffer. "We know these people."