Center Township trustee to list Mass Ave building
The township board in late May gave Trustee Eugene Akers permission to list the property, which has a five-story office building on 1-1/3 acres of land.
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Pike Township audit focuses on misused gas card
A former secretary in the Pike Township trustee’s office could face criminal charges after an internal investigation and state audit found that she used a township credit card to fill up her own gas tank.
Tough times didn’t spur spike in poor relief
Heading into the 2008 recession, Center Township sat on $10.5 million in cash, but sky-high unemployment and rising poverty over the next four years failed to drain those funds, and the disconnect persists in several area townships.
As city budget tightens, Center Township trustee has money to burn
IBJ SPECIAL REPORT: Center Township lowered its bank balance in 2012, to $6.7 million, but the biggest checks Trustee Eugene Akers wrote weren’t for emergency needs like food or shelter, the township’s main mission.
Lawmaker cries foul over Fishers vote endorsement
A state lawmaker is taking issue with a group that backs a new "hybrid city" government in an Indianapolis suburb and says she never endorsed the plan.
City or town? Confusing ballot to determine fate of Fishers
A group of Fishers residents is crying foul over questions on the November ballot that will determine whether Fishers remains a town, becomes a “reorganized” city with a council and city manager, or a traditional city with an elected mayor.
Airport touts generating more than $56M in tax revenue
Property tax isn’t part of the equation, which irritates some Decatur Township residents.
GOP brass opts not to battle townships
Republican leaders in the General Assembly who have backed local government reform will trade ambitious proposals they’ve pursued in years past for more moderate—and widely accepted—ideas in the next legislative session.
Township board OKs small claims court move
The Center Township Board on Wednesday approved a plan to move the township’s small claims court from the City-County Building to the Julia M. Carson Government Center on Fall Creek Parkway despite a judge’s objections.
EDITORIAL: Township reform must not fail again
With property tax caps putting the squeeze on budgets, it’s foolhardy for townships to be sitting on millions that could be funding needed services.
Aggressive bills aimed at consolidating township governments fail
With two weeks left in the legislative session, only two statewide local-government-reform bills remain. Both fail to accomplish reformers’ key aim: removing layers of township government they say have outlived their use.
Reports say Indiana townships inefficient
New investigations reported in Indiana newspapers say there are widespread patterns of inefficiency in the government of the state’s 1,008 townships.
Tax caps give township reform effort new life
A push to eliminate township government will return to the Statehouse next year—this time with a better shot at success. Township reforms, which have been vigorously debated but never passed, have been touted as a way to make government more cost-effective.
EDITORIAL: State can’t afford to keep townships
Indiana lawmakers are gearing up for another legislative session, and township government reform will return to the agenda. We hope proponents can finally hit a home run.
Local government a top issue for Indiana Farm Bureau
The state's largest farm organization says it will strongly support efforts to retain township trustees and township advisory boards. Several legislative proposals in recent years have sought to shrink local government and eliminate or consolidate such positions.
Indiana Senate approves plan to cut township boards
The bill now likely will go to a House-Senate conference committee to try to resolve the House-passed and Senate-approved
versions of the bill.
MAURER: It’s time to dump township government
In Indiana, one institution rife with nepotism and political favoritism stubbornly persists:
township government and, more particularly, its delivery of emergency poor relief.
Senate OKs bill to eliminate township boards
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 29-19 Thursday for a bill that would eliminate township boards and transfer their duties
to the county level starting in 2013. It now moves to the Democrat-led House for consideration.
House OKs bill on township government referendums
The proposal would allow voters to decide in November whether their township governments should be eliminated and their duties
transferred to the county level.
House bill lets voters weigh in on township government
Indiana House has cleared legislation that would allow voters to decide this year whether to eliminate their township trustees
and boards. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.