Tag Archives: reform

Township Reform: Senators Do Their Own Harm Before Heading Home

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Look up the definition of "currently under the radar screen," and you might find an image of the Indiana Senate. With House Democrats bolstering the Illinois economy, little to no attention is being paid to the other side of the third floor of the Statehouse.

But before wrapping up its first half of the session, senators managed to do their own harm by failing to pass two important local government reform measures. SB 405 (eliminating township boards) was defeated 28-21 and SB 303 (giving counties the option to go to a single county executive instead of three commissioners) went down 27-22.

What were they thinking? It’s been clearly demonstrated — over and over and over — that townships waste taxpayer dollars, fail to effectively provide basic services and are a relic of days gone by. Townships don’t work in Indianapolis, Evansville, Fort Wayne or the many less populous areas throughout the state.

Yet, some legislators in more rural districts made the case to their colleagues that, and I paraphrase, "our township folks are good people; it’s OK that they hire their relatives and so what if they break the rules every now and then and sit on money that could be used for schools, libraries and other local services."

As a colleague described it, politics and emotion won out over common sense. We expected more, much more, from our senators.

Lawmakers should have listened to two trustees (one former, one current) who had a clear message.

Making Education Dollars Go Farther

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Fifteen things you need to know as a policymaker — or someone who cares about education in your community and state.

1.End “last hired, first fired” practices.
2.Remove class-size mandates.
3.Eliminate mandatory salary schedules.
4.Eliminate state mandates regarding work rules and terms of employment.
5.Remove “seat time” requirements.
6.Merge categorical programs and ease onerous reporting requirements.
7.Create a rigorous teacher evaluation system.
8.Pool health-care benefits.
9.Tackle the fiscal viability of teacher pensions.
10.Move toward weighted student funding.
11.Eliminate excess spending on small schools and small districts.
12.Allocate spending for learning-disabled students as a percent of population.
13.Limit the length of time that students can be identified as English Language Learners.
14.Offer waivers of non-productive state requirements.
15.Create bankruptcy-like loan provisions.

These are Stretching the School Dollar recommendations contained in a brief released yesterday by the Fordham Institute. Sounds like a lot of common sense. Sounds like a lot of topics that are going to be discussed at the Indiana Statehouse in the coming months.

Read the full brief and stay tuned to see what happens.

Evansville Courier & Press: Township Reform is Needed

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Mentioning the Indiana Chamber’s support of the movement, this Evansville Courier & Press editorial argues that townships simply aren’t very convincing when it comes to demonstrating their usefulness for Indiana:

Although the case for downsizing or eliminating township government remains a hard sell to the Indiana Legislature, the case for local government reform remains ever more compelling.

Yes, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce came out this past week in support of either the elimination of township government or of at least the elimination of advisory boards in each of Indiana’s townships. But that is no surprise. The organization that lobbies for issues favorable to businesses has long supported the downsizing of local government, particularly of township government, as a way of reducing local government costs.

Of more interest, we found news reports this past week of two more issues involving specific townships elsewhere, as reported in other news media. They stand as further evidence that townships have too much time and tax money on their hands.

Also, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, whose legislative agenda includes local government reform, will come to the January session armed with what we would call compelling information in support of ending township government in Indiana.

Of course, locally we had the case of former Knight Township Trustee Linda Durham, who allegedly misappropriated $70,000 in township funds. She awaits trial, and if the charges prove true, it will be one more indication that township government is woefully lacking in oversight.

Also, Eric Bradner of the Courier & Press Capital Bureau reported about a year ago that township governments statewide were sitting on $215 million in surpluses, much of it intended for emergency poor relief.

More recently, according to the Associated Press, via the Indianapolis Star newspaper, the Wayne Township trustee in Marion County earlier this month was found planning to give $200,000 in poor relief funds to the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library to allow for longer hours at four library branches.

The trustee, David Baird, said his plan fit in with the township’s mission for poor relief in that the poor use the libraries’ computers and other resources to look for jobs.

This is not the intended purpose of poor relief. It should be utilized to address urgent needs, such as preventing electricity from being turned off, or for filling urgently needed prescriptions. But township trustees seem to take tremendous latitude in deciding how to spend tax-financed poor relief.

The Indianapolis Star reports on a State Board of Accounts audit of Jefferson Township in Sullivan County, which resulted in the trustee and his wife, working as the office clerk, having to give back $42,366 to the township for payments they should not have received.

If It’s for the Kids, Why Not Ask Their Opinions?

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When discussing education reform, it’s common to hear proclamations like, “We’ve got to do it for the students!”

To that end, many of the proposed education reforms center on the teacher, as a consensus is (finally) beginning to take hold that teacher effectiveness is paramount to student success. Ideas for reform include better training and education of teachers and rewarding teachers for the quality of their teaching, as opposed to the amount of time they spend at the front of the classroom.

All of the offered solutions and ideas go back to the sentiment that the whole point of education reform is to give students a better education and better chance in life. But if that’s truly the case, shouldn’t we be asking for their opinions?

An article in the New York Times reported that students actually have a pretty good handle on when they’re in the presence of an effective teacher. Results released from a report funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation show that students who learn the most during the year (as measured by standardized test results) described their teachers as ones who were able to focus their instruction, keep their classrooms under control and help students understand their mistakes.

The report is part of a much larger research project, which also ranks teachers using a method called value-added modeling. The method uses standardized test scores to calculate how much each teacher helped the students learn. Researchers are now using other methods – like student surveys – to corroborate those value-added scores. It seems the results show a correlation between what the students report and what the scores show.

The Times went on to report that out of thousands of students who filled out confidential questionnaires, classrooms where the majority of students said they agreed with the statements, “our class stays busy and doesn’t waste time,” and “in this class, we learn to correct our mistakes,” more often were taught by teachers with high value-added scores.

While college students all across America are asked to evaluate their courses and professors on an annual or semi-annual basis, it’s rare that schools do the same with their K-12 students – leaving teacher evaluations up to pre-arranged classroom observations by the principal or other school administrator.

Students – the ones that are meant to get the greatest benefit from education reform – therefore aren’t given the opportunity to confidentially share their experiences and opinions about the teachers they rely on for their future success.

Maybe it’s time that the adults stop proclaiming and start listening to what the students actually have to say.

Township Numbers Not Adding Up

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We revisit Al Hornaday, a Morgan County township trustee trying to inject some common sense into local government. In today’s brief video, Hornaday explains there are some major discrepancies between the small amount of poor relief provided in some townships and the high costs of simply running the township office. Visit www.MySmartGov.org for more.

Why Are Townships Still Here?

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Al Hornaday is a former township trustee in Morgan County. As you will see, he is a hard-working Hoosier doing what he could to help people in his community. But in this short video – and several to come on budget numbers, emergency services and more – Al, who served for 12 years, says the office is simply no longer needed.

For more information, be sure to visit MySmartGov.org.

Indy Star: Time is Now for Township Reform

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We’ve been on this train for quite a while, but now it looks like headway can finally be made for Hoosier taxpayers. The Indy Star asserts:

Daniels has supported the elimination of townships in the past, but he’s never had the votes needed to make it happen. Now, with outgoing House Speaker Pat Bauer reduced to irrelevancy, the governor needs to press hard to dissolve townships, a move that would save tax dollars, reduce corruption and improve the delivery of services.

However, on this issue, the governor can’t count on the Republican caucus to remain fully behind him. Some of the staunchest defenders of the status quo — state Sen. Dennis Kruse, for instance — hail from the GOP. Kruse, for one, contends that townships should be retained because they are a prime training ground for new politicians and political workers.

It’s a shaky argument, of course, given that a majority of states — 60 percent — operate just fine without townships. But it’s one advocates for change, including the governor, must address.

The need for reform became even more critical after Tuesday, when voters gave overwhelming approval to the constitutional amendment that caps property tax rates. Township officials have been serial hoarders of tax dollars; more than $200 million was tucked away in townships’ surplus accounts when last measured. Last month, a trustee in Johnson County acknowledged that White River Township had so much money in the bank that it didn’t need to collect any property tax dollars for at least the next year. That story could be repeated around the state if other trustees were as forthcoming.

Health Care Reform Still a Hot Topic

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If you’re still struggling to determine exactly how recent federal health care reforms will impact your business, you should probably join the Indiana Chamber for the Oct. 14 Health Care Reform Seminar, presented by Ice Miller.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) – also known as “health care reform” – sets forth a number of coverage reforms that apply to group health plans, beginning January 1, 2011, for calendar year plans. "Grandfathered" group health plans are exempt from many – but not all – of these coverage mandates. The regulatory agencies have now issued several significant pieces of guidance relating to these early coverage mandates, including what changes to a group health plan will result in loss of grandfathered status. Employers, therefore, have available to them most of the information they need to make plan design decisions for the upcoming plan year and to ensure timely compliance with the PPACA mandates.

Topics to be addressed include:

  • What plans are subject to PPACA coverage mandates
  • The significance of being "grandfathered"
  • What should employers be doing now to comply
  • Tips on handling open enrollment and employee communications
  • Penalties individuals and employers face in the future
  • Impact on health care providers

See conference details and register here.

Tennessee Battles for Top Billing in Internet Speeds

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Hearing a dial-up computer tone today is a little like listening to the crackling sound of a phonograph from the early 20th century. It’s out of place and just a little creepy.

In Indiana, we’ve come a long way from the days of waiting for our computers to connect to the Internet. Some of the most rural areas now have access to broadband capabilities and advanced mobile services.

Much of that is due to the Telecom and Video Reform Act (HEA 1279) that the Indiana General Assembly passed and Gov. Mitch Daniels signed in 2006. The act deregulated the telecommunications industry and put Indiana on the map as a leader in expanding broadband services. The capabilities have also attracted investments from a number of entities.

Now, it looks like another quasi-Midwestern state is gaining attention in the world of broadband. Chattanooga’s city-owned electrical utility has started offering an Internet service that is among the fastest in the world.

The Chattanooga Electric Power Board’s new Fiber Optics network will provide a 1 gigabit-per-second Internet service. The utility said the service is more than 200 times faster than the average national download speed today.

At a cost of $350 a month, it’s also much more expensive than the typical residential plan. Harold DePriest, the Chattanooga Electric Power Board’s president and CEO, said residential customers don’t really need that fast a service, but businesses might.

He said the high-speed service won’t be costly for EPB to operate, yet it should put the Chattanooga community at the forefront of attracting businesses – possibly Internet providers – that can benefit from having it.

“Chattanooga represents the next frontier in communications technology, with limitless potential for new applications for education, entertainment, health care, industrial development, and more,” DePriest said in a statement.

The article goes on to quote Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield saying the announcement has put the city “on the short list of progressive communities in the world.” A New York Times article says that only Hong Kong and a few other cities in the world offer such fast services and that Chattanooga will be the first in the United States to do so.

Fast, but not cheap. Would you pay $350 a month for this kind of capability?