Published: October 22, 2008 05:54 pm         

FLASHPOINT: Voters have a chance to improve their

Back in the 1800s, when horse and buggy were the primary way to travel, it made sense for Indiana to establish lots of layers of government. Communication and travel were difficult then, so Hoosiers needed their government nearby.

But it makes no sense to maintain multiple layers of government today, with cell phones, fax, e-mail, cars, trucks and interstate highways. Yet local Indiana government remains mired in the 19th century, with 92 counties; 117 cities; 239 library districts; 293 school districts; 451 towns; 886 special districts; 1,008 townships; and 10,300 local officials.

Indeed, Indiana has more layers of government than all but two of the 11 states of similar size and more townships than all but eight other states in the nation.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The bipartisan Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform, commonly known as the Kernan Shepard Commission, studied the matter and issued a report in December 2007 that contained 27 specific recommendations that, if enacted, will make local Indiana government fairer and more efficient.

As its name suggests, the commission was led by former Gov. Joe Kernan and Chief Justice Randall Shepard, who accepted the task at the request of Gov. Mitch Daniels. Its work mirrored countless other blue-ribbon commissions and legislative committees that have studied local Indiana government almost since it was established. The Kernan-Shepard recommendations echoed those made by many of the other study groups: streamline government by eliminating burdensome bureaucracy.

Unfortunately, previous recommendations gathered dust on a bookshelf, resulting in no substantive changes in our system of government. The difference this time is that business, economic development and labor groups have united to form MySmartgov.org, a not-for-profit organization that advocates adoption of the Kernan-Shepard recommendations. MySmartgov.org has adopted as its tagline — and as its goal — a quote that Gov. Kernan spoke during the study process: “We’ve got to stop governing like this.”

The 2008 Indiana General Assembly adopted some of the recommendations. Among other things, it set qualifications for some county administrative officers; transferred the responsibility for funding of child welfare from counties to the state; and required that elected officials review any decision by non-elected officials to levy taxes. The legislature also chose to abolish township assessing duties in 965 of the state’s 1,008 townships.

But more needs to be done, starting with a question on the Nov. 4 ballot in the remaining 43 townships, spread across 22 counties. This includes Harrison Township in Vigo County. Lawmakers chose to let voters in those townships decide if they wanted to follow suit and shift assessing duties from their township assessors to their respective county assessor. We urge voters in Harrison Township to vote “yes” on Public Question No. 1 to continue the first serious effort to move Indiana into the 21st century.

Then we urge all residents of Vigo County to contact your state legislators and tell them to streamline local Indiana government by adopting Kernan-Shepard recommendations during the 2009 legislative session. We also encourage everyone to join MySmartgov.org by going to its Web site of the same name to stay up to date on the issues and learn about progress in the legislature.

The opportunity to make local government more efficient, to have fair and equitable property assessments, to reduce the burden on Hoosier taxpayers, and to remove the layers of government is now before us. Harrison Township voters, vote “yes” on Public Question No. 1 at the bottom of your ballot.

— G. Roderick Henry, president

Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce