Report on Local Government Reform is Released

The Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform has released their much-anticipated final report. A few recommendations from the press release:

1. County governments should be led by a single, elected county executive and a stronger county council, to which professionally qualified administrators should report and be accountable.


2. The services performed by township personnel should be transferred to the county governments.


3. All local public safety services should be coordinated countywide, and regionally where appropriate. Emergency dispatch must be centralized, at least countywide, using the compatible 800 MHz system.


4. Only elected officials should have the power to levy taxes.


5. Indiana’s school districts should be large enough to gather sufficient resources to educate our children for 21st-century life.


6. All spending, including school spending, should be subject to more rigorous examination by elected officials.


7. A statewide office should be designated to provide technical assistance to help local governments make recommended changes.

I'll have more on this after I have a chance to read the final report but suffice to say that I'm encouraged by some of these findings. The best recommendation yet is #4 - I simply cannot believe that the state of Indiana allows un-elected individuals to raise our taxes without approval. Also, as I expected, the commission is recommending that township services be rolled up to the county level...

UPDATE: I've had a chance to read the full report and I must say that I'm very impressed as the commission went above and beyond my expectations. There's too much to discuss for a post right now but I'll have one up this evening giving my thoughts on the 27 recommendations...