By Dan Carden, Times of Northwest Indiana
dan.carden@nwi.com
INDIANAPOLIS | Indiana voters are one step closer to having the power to decide whether to eliminate township government.
The House approved legislation Thursday that puts a referendum question on the November ballot in each township, asking if the township trustee and board should be retained. If voters opt to eliminate township government, its powers and budget would be transferred to county government. The measure now heads to the Senate.
State Rep. Dan Stevenson, D-Highland, voted to order the referendum but said he hopes the Senate can improve the legislation.
"As is, it'll do little for the biggest area that's affected in Griffith," Stevenson said.
Republican Rick Ryfa, of the Griffith Town Council, has tried to get Griffith to secede from Calumet Township because Griffith residents pay about 100 times more in taxes than they receive in services, Ryfa said. Gary is also in Calumet Township.
"There is no justification for Griffith paying all these dollars to the township and getting so little in return," Ryfa said.
House Bill 1181 requires a separate referendum in each township, similar to the 2008 referendum on eliminating township assessors. That means some townships in a county likely will be retained, while others are eliminated.
Stevenson said he'd prefer a countywide referendum on eliminating all of the townships in a county.
Otherwise, "it makes it a hodgepodge of various governments throughout the county, and it wouldn't be uniform," he said. "I don't believe that's a benefit to taxpayers."
An amendment to require countywide township referendums failed Wednesday in the House.
Separate legislation pending in the Senate would eliminate township boards and transfer their powers to counties without holding a referendum. A referendum is not required to change the structure or existence of townships.
Senate Bill 240 would retain the township trustee who would work with county government to administer the township.