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May 15, 2009

Support for the initiative is waning, not growing

By KEN de la BASTIDE The Kokomo Tribune Fri May 15, 2009, 11:08 PM EDT

TIPTON — Two members of the local government reform commission said recommendations were meant to be a starting point for discussions for future change.

Ian Rolland and John Stafford, members of the Kernan-Shephard Commission, met with about 20 residents Friday in a meeting sponsored by the Tipton Chamber of Commerce.

Rolland said the seven-members commission were unified in its belief that the 27 recommendations to transform local government were good.

Those recommendations included a single county executive instead of three commissioners, elimination of township trustees, consolidation of school and library districts, and elimination of some county elective offices.

Rolland said the goal was to make local government more efficient and effective at a reduced cost to taxpayers. He said two studies — done in 1935 and 1970 — brought no changes to the system that has been in place for 180 years.

“Local government is a complicated system that is difficult for taxpayers to navigate,” he said. “County government is a horizontal line, and it’s tough to determine who is responsible.”

Rolland said the most important was a single county executive instead of three county commissioners. He said the executive would appoint people to the administrative offices instead of having elections.

Stafford said the commission started with 12 guiding principles and didn’t expect the recommendations to make it through the legislative process.

“We wanted transparency, so people would know who is making decisions,” he said.

Stafford said commission members all agreed that appointed people should have the ability to determine taxes or debt. He said those decisions should be made by elected officials.

“We were looking for a balance between the number of elected officials and the voice of taxpayers,” he said.

Stafford said two recommendations have been implemented. One being the elimination of most township assessors, and the second requiring by 2014 that each county have no more than two public safety dispatch centers.

He said the commission would like to see authority over township budgets shifted from township advisory boards to county councils and the conducting of municipal elections in even election years with county, state and federal offices.

“The House decided this year not to give reform serious consideration,” Stafford said of no votes in the Democrat-controlled legislative chamber. “Change will come slowly, a lot of people want to maintain the status quo.”

He said a fair argument against reform is one size doesn’t fit all counties, but not the current local government system is also a one-size-fits-all.

Stafford said the commission viewed a county executive like a mayor, governor or president who would appoint qualified people to fill positions. He said professional standards should be put in place.

“Powerful forces are blocking this reform,” Rolland said. “We were told not to worry about the politics.”

He expressed regret with the lack of action by lawmakers on the recommendation during the 2009 legislative session.

“The energy for reform is waning, not growing,” Rolland said.

Ken de la Bastide is the Kokomo Tribune enterprise editor. He can be reached at (765) 454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com

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