PLEASE consider organizing a county / area meeting or a “Hoosiers for Democracy” rally!

This fall, the ITA has attended several county and area meetings in order to brief township officials on the Task Force activities, overview the recommended standards for township assistance and to inform the attendees on how they can be involved in preserving local government - namely townships. The attendance at these meetings has been at capacity, which tells us that people are hungry for information.

Last winter, the ITA held several rallies which were organized by local trustees. These rallies were made public and all local government officials were invited to attend. The rallies are being held in response to the Kernan-Shepard Report which is being touted by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. This report calls for the elimination of townships and most county offices.

Members have brought to our attention the passing of township officials:

September 14 – Janet Furness – Pine Township Trustee, Porter County 1979-1994 (Daughter is Nancy Kolasa, the current Pine Township Trustee)

September 17 – Joe Beard – Patoka Township Board member, Gibson County / former Patoka Township Assessor (44 yrs.)

October 13, 2009 – John Curley – Winfield Township Trustee, Lake County (28 years)/ Lake County GOP Chair

Corrections from past issue: Patricia Crick – Cedar Creek Township Trustee, Allen County

Cy Gerde - practiced township and local government law in Tippecanoe County for more than 30
years.

Our condolences to the families and best wishes to those that serve in their stead.

Mission:

To analyze the general operations of township government and determine recommended “best practices” for the same.

The time is at hand…we must move forward with self-reform and it will be done “to” us. The Board of Directors has established a task force (named above) for just that purpose. The task force will develop recommendations for “best practices” for township government. The members are looking at every aspect of township government.

Some areas of consideration would be recommendations for all levels of government – state and local. During the recent annual educational conference, round table discussions took place to discuss the following questions: