Township merger bill awaits governor’s decision after years of failed attempts
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By Tom Davies
Indiana Capital Chronicle
Perhaps hundreds of Indiana’s roughly 1,000 township governments could face consolidation under a bill on its way to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.
State senators voted 34-15 on Thursday in favor of the bill that supporters say is aimed at improving local government efficiency.
Braun has up to a week to sign the bill into law.
Provisions of Senate Bill 270, which the House approved on Tuesday, would require townships with poor performance scores to merge with other townships or some cities.
Bill author Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said while about 325 townships could face mergers, the legislation was meant to preserve township government.
“This isn’t an assault on township government,” he said during the Senate debate.
Indiana’s township officials have long argued for the importance of the services they provide. That work includes providing emergency aid for expenses such as utilities and housing to low-income residents, with some townships also operating fire departments or parks and maintaining old cemeteries.
Critics believe the township system, dating to the 1800s is inefficient and that those functions could be better operated by cities or counties. But numerous attempts over the past two decades in the Legislature for major reorganization of Indiana’s townships have failed.
The bill specifies that townships would accumulate points based upon factors such as whether it provides emergency aid, operates a fire department or emergency medical services agency, files financial reports on a timely basis and has had candidates in recent township trustee elections.
Some senators said they worried about the impact the merger process would have on services in rural areas, including volunteer fire departments.
“I think there’s too many unanswered questions,” said Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg. “We’re moving too fast, and I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t wait for another year to make sure that all those unanswered questions are resolved.”
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The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.
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