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The Indiana Senate has passed a bill that could spur counties to revamp their local governments.
The GOP-controlled Senate approved the proposal 30-19 yesterday, sending it to the Democrat-ruled House for consideration.
Supporters of the bill say streamlining local government would make the system more efficient and responsive, but opponents don’t see a need for the legislation. Lake County would be exempt from the bill, as would Marion County, which already has a unified city-county government.
Under the proposal, county commissioners in the rest of Indiana’s 92 counties could choose to:
– Eliminate the county commission and replace the three-member board with a single county executive who would run the county government as a mayor runs a city. County councils that now primarily handle budgeting would absorb the county commission duties of making other legislative decisions.
– Eliminate both the county commission and the county council, and replace them with a board of supervisors. The board of supervisors would hire a county manager to hire day-to-day operations. That option is similar to the structure of town government.
– Send the issue to voters. A referendum would allow voters to either keep current county government structure or change to the board-of-supervisors model. If voters decided to keep the structure as it is now, voters could file petitions later to get the issue on the ballot in the future.
Supporters said the new structures could improve Indiana’s current system of county government, which has county commissioners making most legislative decisions and county councils tackling fiscal issues.
“It does work, but can it work better?” asked Sen. Connie Lawson (R-Danville).
Opponents say changing county government wouldn’t necessarily make things better or save money, as some have suggested.
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has supported efforts to streamline local government, including county restructuring. But Democrats who control the House have not been eager to consider government-reorganization proposals, saying lawmakers should focus on more pressing priorities like the budget.
The bill and other proposals stem from a 2007 report by the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform, which was headed by former Democratic Gov. Joe Kernan and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard.
Daniels and Kernan answered questions about the proposal at a meeting of more than 200 people in Kokomo yesterday.
“By every measure, the public supports the change in the system,” Daniels said. “Last year in referendum votes, most township assessor positions were eliminated.”
He said most of the opposition is coming from the current officeholders.
“The public needs to make their position known,” he said. “We’re not sailing into the wind on this one.”
In terms of economic development, Daniels said a single county executive would simplify the process for companies interested in investing in the state.
“It would create clarity and less confusion,” he said.
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