Northwest Indiana Discussion

http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/33813.htm

1. Establish a single-person elected county executive. - Recommended

Rationale: We do not elect three presidents or three mayors, and no business would hire three CEOs to direct its activities, yet Indiana's three-member county commissions are hamstrung by just such a structure. A single elected county executive would provide county government with a single point of leadership, contact and accountability. Even the Indiana Association of County Commissioners concedes the 'buck' never really stops in county government. It's time for that to change.



2. Establish a single, unified legislative body for county government. Expand legislative membership to ensure sufficient representation for included rural, suburban and urban populations. - Recommended

Rationale: Indiana is the only state that divides fiscal and other legislative decision making between its county commissions and councils. The council approves the county budget but the commission approves all other legislation. This is a recipe for confusion and passing the buck. The county council should serve as the county legislature, providing appropriate checks and balances on the single elected county executive and broad representation.



3. Transfer the responsibility for administering the duties of the county auditor, treasurer, recorder, assessor, surveyor, sheriff and coroner to the county executive. Transfer the varied duties of the clerk of the courts to the county election board and the county executive. Establish objective minimum professional qualifications and standards for certain county administrative functions. - Recommended with changes

Changes: The sheriff, clerk and auditor would remain elected. The county assessor, county treasurer, county recorder, county surveyor and county coroner would be appointed by the county executive. The elected county auditor would retain the duties associated with handling and distributing funds to units of government in the county.

Rationale: The sheriff, clerk and auditor should remain elected offices. As the chief county law enforcement official, the sheriff should remain accountable to voters. Similarly, because the clerk plays a crucial role in elections, that position should also answer directly to voters. The auditor should remain elected because this officer handles state and federal money on behalf of all the local government units in the county. All of the auditor's property tax billing duties, however, should be transferred to the county executive.



The duties of the other county officers are mainly administrative and could best be performed by appointed professionals, creating better accountability. For example, under the current structure, three separately elected officials (assessor, auditor, treasurer) each have significant roles to play in the property tax billing process-but none of them can require the other to carry out their responsibilities. This dispersion of responsibility frequently contributes to delayed property tax billing which results in cities, counties and schools paying millions in borrowing costs.



Only 16 states make provision for electing county officers in their constitution, and none of those elect more than Indiana. It makes little sense to put so many of these offices in Indiana's Constitution today, and even less when they are mostly administrative in nature.

Hopefully the legislation will support all of these recommendations. It's about time someone starts cleaning up the local government.

How is an appointed official better than one elected by vote. Is the appointment dependant of campaign contributions or qualification? Review a few of the appointed positions starting with the BMV and Welfare. The idea of centralizing falls on its face. BMV and Welfare ended in the additional hiring of staff where was the reduction? The only difference in that reform was the Appointee/Gov had a few more cheer-leaders for his campaign.

Gov. "My Man Mitch" Daniels is an idiot!

Are you suggesting a recall vote or just talking? Without a recall vote he has another four years. Now he has plans of creating the equivalent a cabinet at local level.