Indiana Township Association

The ONLY way township government will survive and thrive is if individual trustees, like you, join in the effort to educate the officials in Indianapolis. The ITA Legislative Conference will provide the tools you need to effectively lobby your legislators at the Statehouse. This will be the perfect opportunity to voice your comments and concerns to your lawmakers.

The agenda will include a reception to which all 150 state legislators will be invited and full day to lobby the Statehouse

Rallying the statehouse is an effective way to be noticed by lawmakers – IF WE HAVE ENOUGH PARTICIPANTS. Do your part in preserving township government: democracy and grassroots government.

Registration is required and details are available here.

Trustee's Compensation

You won’t find specific legislation, however, the State Board of Accounts has taken a consistent audit position that a township trustee cannot receive compensation, other than his/her salary or other compensation approved by the township board and listed on the Form 17 for performing any of the duties that are assigned to the trustee by virtue of holding office. Those duties include, but are not limited to:

DUTIES OF THE TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE

The trustee of the civil township has certain specific duties to perform. Space will not permit a listing of all of the specific duties of a township trustee. Some of the most important and most frequently performed duties are listed herein:

1. Keep a written record of official proceedings (Township Form 14, General Record);
2. Manage all township property interest;

When Civil Mergers Don't Save Money

By Conor Dougherty

Economists who have studied the issue say there are a number of reasons why several small governments can end up costing less than a single larger government. For starters, small governments tend to have fewer professional – and high-paid – employees, such as lawyers. Studies show small governments generally rely more on part-time workers, who receive fewer long-term benefits such as pensions and health-care coverage.

Another reason: When small governments merge, they often “harmonize” services and employee benefits to the highest level among the combining units. In other words, the consolidated city finds it politically expedient to take on the more-expensive version of everything. Employees at the city with lower wages get raises and residents of the city with fewer services get more.

ITA Presents Annual Awards

Trustee of the Year

The “Harold Gene Stoffer” Trustee of the Year award for 2011 was presented to Frank Mrvan, Trustee of North Township, Lake County.

The distinguished award was announced during the ITA’s annual educational conference, held in Indianapolis on September 28th and is “given to a trustee who demonstrates passion and ingenuity for the job of trustee,” according to Executive Director Debbie Driskell. “For that, Frank Mrvan certainly fits the bill” she said.

Trustee Mrvan was selected to receive this honor from his peers for having forged a partnership with the social network in his community to offer services to better prepare children for school, thereby ushering in a nationally accredited program that is accomplishing just that.
When there was a need for a summer recreational program to help low income families, the North Township office became a leader in developing a summer camp program for families who could not afford the higher priced alternatives.

When there was a need to reach out to seniors during the heat of summer and the cold isolation of winter, Trustee Mrvan took the lead in creating phone banks in their offices where volunteers could reach out to assure the wellbeing and safety of those who were isolated by age or temporary emergency.

The award was presented by Craig Beckley (Trustee, Sparta Township, Dearborn County), the 2010 winner. Trustee Beckley said in the presentation to Frank Mrvan, “I am convinced that we as trustees are one of the most important offices of the state because we have the potential to do the most good for the most people. It is the trustees that can best look after the conditions of their fellow Hoosiers and then implement the most grass root solutions to making their communities better and safer places to live.”

“It is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you a trustee who has proven that the motto “How can I?” is relevant, workable and has caused his township office to be one of the most sought after stakeholder in the projects in his community.”

The Truth About Townships’ Cash Balances

As you have undoubtedly read in your local newspapers, townships are often criticized for possessing seemingly high cash balances. However, what the newspapers will not report is that these apparent “surpluses” can actually be explained in one of three ways.

1) Townships historically are known for making cash payments for capital purchases in lieu of bonding. Many townships are currently saving cash over several years in order to purchase or repair a piece of fire apparatus or build a needed fire station. Just like with a typical family, this is the most fiscally prudent approach to take. Whereas many townships save up over time to make their purchase, other units typically bond for the purchase, forcing them to repay the principle plus interest. Saving revenue over a long period of time ultimately benefits the taxpayer.

The Truth About Townships “Failing to Report Punctually”

Townships are once again being criticized for apparently failing to file state-mandated reports on a timely basis. Though undoubtedly there are some trustees (along with other local elected officials) that have indeed failed to file these reports, we have found numerous occasions where these accusations have proven to be false.

Two township trustees were heavily criticized in local newspapers for filing their forms late, yet both could produce state-provided documentation showing that they had filed on time. The “late filing” resulted from technical problems with the state agency in question. This explanation, of course, never made it into the local newspaper.

Why should township boards be retained?

Township boards serve as the legislative body for townships, provide a check and balance on the actions of the trustee.

Statewide, township board members make on average $522 annually for serving their communities. According to studies conducted by the ITA, this amounts to as little as 7¢ on a homeowner’s property tax bill (not 7¢ per $100 of AV). To further demonstrate our commitment to serving the public in a cost effective manner, the ITA supports capping township board salaries at $5,000 per year.

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Indiana Township Association, Inc. presents the Legislative Conference & Convention, January 22-24, 2012, Hilton Hotel - Indianapolis

Trustee of the Year