As you are no doubt aware, township government continues to find itself in the crosshairs of local government consolidation discussions taking place at the Statehouse. Though we have faced numerous efforts over the last several years to eliminate township government, the release of the Kernan-Shepard Commission report last fall has sparked a renewed interest to do away with local elected officials in favor of overly-centralized government within each county. One of the 27 recommendations contained in the report was the total elimination of township government.

A coalition has been formed to push for enactment of the recommendations outlined in the Commission report. MySmartGov.org, an alliance of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, and the Indiana Association of Realtors, has hired Marilyn Schultz to serve as Executive Director. Marilyn is a former State Representative and State Budget Director and maintains a strong relationship with business and opinion leaders throughout the state. In addition, this alliance has launched an extensive grassroots campaign complete with a blog at StopGoverningLikeThis.com being run by a Democrat and a Republican, both with substantial political pedigrees.

Most alarmingly, news reports have indicated that between $300,000 and $500,000 will be spent on this effort, which we believe will be used to hire one or more lobbying firms to push this agenda during the 2009 Legislative Session. We were told directly by a coalition member that they are in the process of reviewing lobbying firms throughout Indianapolis to determine who is currently conflicted on this issue. Make no mistake- with these resources at their disposal, the Chamber, Realtors, and CICP will be able to supplement their already sizable lobbying teams with strong government affairs professionals.

We believe that the recommendations of the Kernan-Shepard Commission read like the playbook of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, for many of these recommendations were touted by the Chamber for many years prior to the formation of the Commission. While the Commission has been promoted as independent, we see striking similarities to the Chamber’s “C.O.M.P.E.T.E.” study that the media and others have weilded as “proof” that township government is neither efficient nor relevant.

Moreover, believe that if the Commission’s recommendations are implemented by the General Assembly, democracy in Indiana will be severely diminshed. We believe that township’s efficiencies bear out in the fact that the overall impact on property taxes - our primary source of revenue - is less than 3% statewide and less than 1% in many areas of the state. That is less than 3% to care for Indiana’s needy and provide fire protection and many other services.

Furthermore, we believe that small units of government are more accessible and more accountable to the electorate which is the equivalent to democracy.

To demonstrate the broad support that exists in Indiana for smaller, more local government, and to give a voice in these discussions to ordinary citizens, we have launched a new website- www.HoosiersforDemocracy.org. Visitors to this website will be able to sign an online petition in support of maintaining access to their locally elected officials, and when Session convenes in January, will be able to contact their legislators directly from this site to ask them to support local government.

The website will also provide important real facts and figures about Indiana’s local governments the benefits they provide to Hoosiers everyday. Please take the time to visit the website and sign the online petition, and encourage your friends and family to do so as well!