Indiana commission releases local government reform report

by Kelli Cheatham (kcheatham@wsbt.com)

Tools

Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard, Gov. Mitch Daniels and former Gov. Joe Kernan

Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard, right, responds to a question during a news conference after announcing 27 recommendations by the Commission on Local Government Reform for making Indiana's local government more efficient at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007. Gov. Mitch Daniels, left, and former Gov. Joe Kernan, who co-chaired the commission with Shepard, listen to the comments. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

By WSBT News1

Story Created: Dec 11, 2007 at 11:12 AM EST

Story Updated: Dec 27, 2007 at 9:55 AM EST

(WSBT) Many across Indiana think property taxes would be lower if local government was run more efficiently. Former Governor Joe Kernan and Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard released a report on local government reform.

Multimedia

Watch The Video

It's based off an Indiana Commission studying the issue. Kernan and Shepard traveled around the state talking about that report Monday.

The report recommends steps to make Indiana's local government more efficient, effective, understandable and accountable. One issue a lot of people are questioning is property taxes.

The commission's report says it has recommended solutions. The first is that county governments should be led by one county executive and a stronger county council.

Another recommendation says the services performed by township personnel should be transferred to the county governments.

The commission also says only elected officials should have the power to levy taxes. Also, it says all state spending should be better examined by those elected officials.

Both former Governor Kernan and Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard say they know the proposed transformation will be "disruptive, even painful in the short run." They also anticipate lots of resistance to their recommendations.

View the full report here (.pdf)

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 63.2

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.