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The Elkhart County Commissioners invited the ITA Executive Director to speak to a group of county office holders, including township trustees, who are meeting on a regular basis to discuss ways to improve and retain local government in Elkhart County. Following is a press report from the May 26, 2010 meeting. Officials want to offer ways to improve service ahead of moves to dissolve offices.Published: Thursday, May 27, 2010 — The Truth, By Tim Vandenack, Truth Staff
GOSHEN — It’s easy for township boosters to reel off the positives of the local governmental unit.
“The difficult part,” says Deborah Driskell, executive director of the Indiana Township Association, “is sitting down and taking a hard look at where we can do things better.”
Given talk in recent years about getting rid of the governmental unit, though, such an inventory needs to be done, and Driskell said a special township task force, formed by the association, already has pinpointed some general areas of concern. With proposals to eliminate or scale back township government likely to emerge once again during the 2011 legislative session, the aim is to have reform initiatives of their own that township officials can offer into the mix.
Specifics are on the way. In the meantime, Driskell, addressing a group of about 30 township leaders from Elkhart County on Wednesday, offered hints into the issues task force officials are investigating.
Nepotism: Critics have blasted the hiring of family members by township officials and Driskell didn’t deny that the practice takes place.
However, nepotism occurs at all levels of government and if lawmakers are going to crack down on it, restrictions ought to apply across the spectrum, all the way up to state government. Moreover, current family members of township officials ought to be grandfathered in and allowed to stay put.
Mergers: Where it makes sense, townships should voluntarily consider mergers or combining of forces, without the state having to impose its will. Sharing of caseworkers, who help investigate requests for poor relief, could be one possible area of cooperation.
Accountability: State officials audit township operations, but if townships don’t follow the proper guidelines, there’s limited recourse against them, Driskell said. That reflects badly on others and it’s incumbent on officials in the townships that follow the rules to “knock some sense” into their counterparts.
Standards: Though not proposing uniform rules governing their operations, Driskell said township officials ought to have general standards guiding their operations, notably with regard to provision of poor relief. That, along with provision of fire protection, is a key township service.
Some township officials put request forms for poor relief on their front porches — townships frequently operate out of officeholders’ homes — with instructions for applicants to leave completed paperwork in adjacent baskets, she ruefully noted. Though not commenting on specifics of their particular township offices, township officials here told Driskell that they have crafted uniform standards guiding eligibility for poor relief across most of Elkhart County.
Driskell, who serves as Delaware Township trustee in Hamilton County, also defended the cash reserves that townships frequently carry over from year to year. Though blasted by critics, she said such funds are accumulated over periods of years and help townships make large capital purchases, avoiding interest costs. In light of talk of doing away with township government, Elkhart County township officials have been meeting to discuss what they can do to defend the governmental unit. Wednesday’s meeting with Driskell was the latest of the gatherings. |
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