A centerpiece of the sweeping proposal rolled out yesterday by the Commission on Local Government Reform involves consolidating
many county offices under one elected official.
A county chief executive would appoint the assessor, auditor, coroner, recorder, surveyor, treasurer and even the sheriff. The prosecutor still would be elected.
Officials who would be affected by the idea didnâ??t wait long to launch a barrage of criticism. Hamilton County council member at-large Brad Beaver told the Star that he likened a chief executiveâ??s authority to that of a king.
Most of us are used to working under a CEOâ??s authority, and governors and the U.S. president are empowered with a roughly similar structure.
The commission co-chairmen, former Gov. Joe Kernan and Chief Justice Randall Shepard, say the state needs major change to make local government operate well.
Are you comfortable with bringing nearly all of county government under one person?
A county chief executive would appoint the assessor, auditor, coroner, recorder, surveyor, treasurer and even the sheriff. The prosecutor still would be elected.
Officials who would be affected by the idea didnâ??t wait long to launch a barrage of criticism. Hamilton County council member at-large Brad Beaver told the Star that he likened a chief executiveâ??s authority to that of a king.
Most of us are used to working under a CEOâ??s authority, and governors and the U.S. president are empowered with a roughly similar structure.
The commission co-chairmen, former Gov. Joe Kernan and Chief Justice Randall Shepard, say the state needs major change to make local government operate well.
Are you comfortable with bringing nearly all of county government under one person?
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One other major issue. Indianapolis already has a County Executive. A Mayor. That person is already in charge of running city/county departments (streets, zoning, parks, Public Works).Now you're adding to that the powers of the countywide elected officials. AND townships. And additional appointments to boards and commissions currently handled by County Commissioners. That's more power than the Kernan/Shepard Commission would give Indiana's other 91 counties.
And would make the Indy mayor more powerful than the Governor and far more powerful than any Mayor in the country (including NYC). Is that really what Hoosiers want?
For the most part this is a good idea. Do you realize the Marion County Surveyor is a former nun who has no surveying knowledge or experience? Did you know that Marion County has a coroner who does not have the stomach to watch an autopsy? Did you know you can be a treasurer or auditor and not have a high school degree? Does this worry people? It should.