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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowI found Morton Marcus’ [Feb. 21 column], “Rethink government consolidation now” provocative and in alignment with my thinking.
Clearly, Indiana has too many politicians performing jobs for which they are not accountable. There are too many hands in the pie in most counties and the public doesn’t know who does what. Perhaps some cities and some counties can and should stand alone, perhaps not.
Marcus mentions his little “town” of Meridian Hills and wonders, what good is it? I concur. Meridian Hills is a very nice neighborhood in the city of Indianapolis or, as I prefer, the region of central Indiana, but is silly and wasteful to have its own “government.”
Many of the problems or situations that local government handles today are regional in scope, and governmental structure should reflect that. Unfortunately, remaking counties into regions is impossible to implement—for now. Politicians will fight harder than a Wisconsin teacher to maintain the status quo.
However, it is time for another Shepard-Kernan commission to think about a regional governmental structure. If something can be found that makes sense, then the implementation must be slow, timely and considerate—but begin the process now and don’t quit until the people win and the politicians lose.
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John Sorg
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