Everywhere you go these days, people are talking about local government reform. The township trustees are worried township government will be eliminated. So are the fire departments. And a group from Indianapolis called MySmartgov. org is worried township government will not be eliminated. To that end, the group is sponsoring a series of "Meet Up" road shows across the state to discuss with communities the necessity of reform as they see it.

Third House

Rep. Don Lehe called the group assembled at the Brandywine Complex in Monticello Saturday morning for the second of four "Third House" sessions a "huge crowd." Many audience members attended to hear how bills, both about local government reform and other topics, were faring in the general assembly this legislative session.

Lehe said 19 bills and resolutions were introduced about local government reform and in response to the recommendations included in the 2007 Kernan-Shepard Report. He said all bills were out of the House and Senate and lawmakers would return March 2 to review them.

Lehe said six House bills and 10 Senate bills about local government reform "all pretty much died." However, five other Senate bills were "still alive."

"A lot of stuff has been taken out of them," he said. "It just didn't happen."

Carroll County Rep. Rich Mc- Clain said Gov. Mitch Daniels stated recently the state should "manage a way, not tax a way" out of budgetary issues. McClain said thinking "outside of the box," he was a proponent for reduction of the school week from five to four days because the measure would provide significant savings. He also suggested property owners be responsible to assess their own property.

McClain said he would like to hear from constituents about these ideas and others they might have.

"We face serious times right now," State Senator Brandt Hershman told the crowd. "We may be half-way through the legislative session, but we are not half-way through the workload."

Hershman called the most recent federal stimulus package "the biggest pork-barrel piece of legislation." He said the state should remember that "the only place the State's money comes from is YOU."

Hershman said the State has talked about local government reform since 1901 to the present. He said every conclusion reached in the Kernan-Shepard Report was "worthy of discussion." Hershman stated the report provided a framework for that discussion.

"We are broke and getting broker," he said. "It's time to ask these questions."

Audience member Greg Nydegger said out of the 14 Carroll County townships, nine have approximately 300 percent surplus of their budgets.

"We shouldn't ask more of taxpayers than what the government needs," Hershman replied.

Meet Up session

MySmartgov.org presented former Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis and former State Reps. Sue Scholer and Joe Micon along with MySmartgov. org Executive Director Marilyn Schultz to the public Monday morning in Lafayette in an effort to rally support for local government reform. Hershman was in the audience along with many Tippecanoe County, Lafayette and West Lafayette government and community leaders.

Davis said the Kernan-Shepard Report theme was to "get all facets of local government working together to make it more simple."

She said it was "hard to bring this change forward" because it meant changing a system with good people.

"The important thing is to keep talking about it," she said. "We can perform better when we simplify."

"The system takes more time, effort and money than it needs to take," Scholer said.

Scholer said only Indiana splits the legislative and fiscal duties of government between the commissioners and the council duties.

"It's the only state that looks like it has checks and balances, but it doesn't," she said.

Micon said the state had 1,008 township trustees and approximately 3,000 advisory board members which totaled more than 4,000 elected officials who "basically administer poor relief, fire protection and summer recreation programs." He said the state provides poor relief with a three, five or seven percent overhead. Townships across the state provide poor relief for 50 percent or more overhead.

"How do we accept a system that allows that to happen?" he asked.

Schultz said 70 percent of township trustees run unopposed and township government cannot be considered to be closer to those they serve if there is no contest in the elections. She added that bills written "are not dead yet, despite what the media says." Schultz said interest in local government reform continues to gain interest among state voters and lawmakers.

The next "Third House" session will be March 21 at 9:30 a.m. at the Brandywine Complex in Monticello. MySmartgov.org lists public meetings across the state on its Web site. To contact Carroll County Lawmakers: Sen. Brandt Hershman: (800) 382-9467, (574) 581-2000 or S7@in.gov. Rep. Rich McClain: (800) 382-9841, (574) 652-2895 or R24@ai.org.