EDITORIAL: The time for township government has passed

The Chronicle-Tribune

Some in township government across the state are engaged in an effort save their jobs by way of a marketing campaign against the effort in the General Assembly that suggests bringing our government out of the 19th Century and into the 21st Century.

They've argued township government brings more women into public office because women are more likely to run for the local positions and, after all, small township government is closer to people than big county government.

Unfortunately for them, the purpose and need for township government is long past, and the number of local entities that have authority to tax people in Indiana - 2,730 - is absurd. There are more than 1,000 townships in Indiana.

Investing in township government is simply not a wise use of public money. Poor relief, the main function of those offices, needs to be standardized across the state and administered at a level no lower than the county.

As much of local government suffers to keep vital functions going in the face of a slow economy and after changes in tax funding, we can no longer remain attached to those parts of government that are wasteful by their very structure and function.

Cities and counties are looking at public safety operations for cuts. Yet 63 percent of townships in Indiana hold cash balances that exceed their annual budget.

In Grant County, at the end of 2007, townships carried $1.64 million in unused taxpayer money - with some trustees almost forced by state code to avoid reducing the tax burden their offices create to guarantee a continued flow of tax revenue from year to year.

Some townships oversee local fire protection. We also believe that such public safety could be better coordinated across the county than township by township.

We commend our township trustees for being committed public servants who have helped many people. But common sense dictates Indiana needs to change this facet of its government.

We support Indiana Senate Bill 512 to abolish township trustees and township advisory boards. Their function would move to the county executive - another part of government ripe for modernization.