TERRE HAUTE — The battle over making some big changes in Indiana local government moved into the Wabash Valley on Friday.
Republican Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and former Democratic state lawmaker Marilyn Schultz were at Ivy Tech Community College pushing for several bills now before the Indiana General Assembly that would make significant changes in the way Hoosier local governments operate.
Many of the proposals emerged from the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform, commonly known as the Kernan-Shepard report.
“We never said that making these changes would be easy,” Skillman told around 50 people inside the Oakley Auditorium at Ivy Tech. Many listening to the presentation were local government officials who opposed some of the Kernan-Shepard proposals.
Indiana local governments have too many layers, are wasteful and employ too many elected officials, Skillman and Schultz said.
Indiana has 2 percent of the U.S. population but 8 percent of the nation’s elected officials, they said.
The most contentious proposals put forward Friday would transfer poor relief responsibilities from township governments to county governments and replace county commissioners with a county executive.
Every other government in America has separate bodies for legislative, executive and judicial functions, Schultz said. Only Indiana county governments combine legislative and executive functions in the county commissioners’ jobs, she said. This “doesn’t provide those basic checks and balances,” she said.
Vigo County Commissioner Judy Anderson, who has testified before lawmakers in Indianapolis against eliminating the commissioners’ positions, disagreed that the current system does not provide checks and balances. Having three commissioners means at least two of them have to agree before something can be done, she noted.
“I just have a hard time sitting here swallowing the fact that they think county government is broken when you look at the state [government],” Anderson added.
Meanwhile, township governments are outdated and wasteful, Schultz said, adding that many township governments have large cash reserves and many serve just a handful of needy people each year. She also said the current system taxes the poorest townships at a higher rate than wealthier townships since the poorest townships have the largest poor relief budgets. “You’re charging poor people the most,” Schultz said. “We think it’s unfair.”
Meanwhile, Otter Creek Township Trustee Robert Salmon, who also attended Friday’s presentation, disagreed that the township governments are wasteful and have too much money sitting in reserves. Salmon said Schultz’s figures regarding township cash balances are based on data provided before townships are forced to spend down their budgets. “The townships have a lot of money at that point, [but] they won’t tell you [townships] have to operate six or seven months on that money,” he said.
Around 80 percent of township poor relief is provided by 2 percent of Indiana’s 1,008 townships, Schultz said. Most township trustees run unopposed for their offices and many hire family members for administrative positions, she added. “Nepotism is really rampant.”
The proposals put forward by Skillman and Schultz would move poor relief from trustee offices to county government. Other proposals advocated by Skillman and Schultz from the Kernan-Shepard report include moving city elections to even-numbered, non-presidential election years. They also favor consolidating library and school districts in counties where more than one library and school system exist and preventing government employees from serving in elected positions that can influence their own salaries.
The hardest part about trying to change local government is that most Indiana lawmakers have friends serving in local government positions, Schultz said, adding that trustee offices are often a solid part of both Democratic and Republican party county power structures. “They are the foundations of both parties.”
But Anderson, who serves as president of the Indiana Association of County Commissioners, said Indiana county government does not need changing. She also believes the proposals put forward Friday would cost voters a voice in their local governments and would not save much, if any, money.
“When [the people] lose one voice in government, they’re losing,” she said. “I’m not advocating any kind of change. We’re not broken.”
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
State has too many elected officials, official says
Lt. Gov. Skillman touts Kernan-Shepard changes during Valley stop
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Montford Point Marine
In 1943, 19-year-old Ezell Odom was on the sandy beach of a tiny South Pacific island about 7,000 miles from his parent’s home in Terre Haute.
-
K-9 officer Shadow honored as a hero
A Terre Haute K-9 officer injured in the line of duty has been honored as a hero by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
-
Freezin’ for a Reason
Hundreds lined up outside Hulman Center amid frigid air to participate in a warm-hearted cause.
-
Even as law, right-to-work dominates crackerbarrel
The flames of the right-to-work debate were gone, but the coals still seemed to smolder.
-
Vigo School Board to give OK on bonds for DeVaney project
The Vigo County School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the administration building, 686 Wabash Ave.
-
Bridging the gap to ‘forever’
They can be taken from their homes by strangers for reasons they may not understand, with no possessions other than the clothes they are wearing.
-
Students showcase keen problem-solving skills at Rose-Hulman
For the 16th straight year, Honey Creek Middle School students came out on top in the Wabash Valley MATHCOUNTS competition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
-
Ivy Tech to celebrate Black History Month
Ivy Tech Community College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of events at its campuses statewide.
-
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
-
Contract signed for new Y
Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
-
City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles
The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
-
Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver
Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
-
Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
“Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
-
Trial date set for former WTH police chief
A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
-
Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court
A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
-
July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect
A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
-
Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser
Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK — Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
-
Valley high school cooking competition under way today
Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
- UPDATE: Marshall, Ill., school bus driver involved in accident dies; cause appears to be cardiac-related
-
Terre Haute road name game
What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Latest Jason Wu Collection Shows Chinese Roots
ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Stars Show Support at AMFAR Charity Gala
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
The Muppets Are Oscars Bound!
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
BCBG Kicks Off NY Fashion Week
Lusetich: AT&T Rd. 3 recap
Whitney Houston's body is removed from hotel
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Absolute Lin-sanity
Madonna's Daughter Shaves Head
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
