Brantley resigns from Reorganization committee

Citing concerns with the committee’s mission statement, Jeff Brantley has resigned the Governance sub-committee

Centergroveinc.org received this e-mail Sunday evening from Mr. Jeff Brantley, it is published here without edits or comments.

March 1, 2009

Mr. Pat Sherman
609 Treybourne Drive
Greenwood, IN  46142

Dear Mr. Sherman:

As a volunteer member of the Governance subcommittee of the Greenwood-White River Township merger study committee, the purpose of my letter is to inform you that I am no longer interested in participating.  Your recently adopted “mission statement” represents a dramatic swerve off of the originally stated path for this study.

I apologize for not notifying you sooner, but I was never contacted or informed of the new mission statement you were developing and eventually adopted on Feb. 12th.  I was unable to attend that meeting and I only discovered what happened while doing some research in preparation for my work with the subcommittee I was appointed to serve on.  In fact, I was never even notified that I had been appointed to the subcommittee, but I had read it in the newspaper and was later contacted by Mr. Hanlin with a meeting date.

Based on what I have read from the newspaper, clearly your committee has decided to dismiss what I considered a critical first step in the study – whether it even makes sense to merge Greenwood and White River Township.  This is a real disappointment for our communities.

When this study committee was created, every public explanation I heard or read was that its purpose was to study whether or not it was in the best interests of Greenwood and White River Township to merge into a single unit of government.  It would analyze the impacts, the need for changes, and the opportunities to improve services, etc.  Further, if the study found that such a merger was practical and desired, that the study committee would help to develop strategies or a plan to implement a merger.  Such a mission would have enjoyed broader public support in both communities and helped ease a great deal of concerns about the very dramatic changes that would have been proposed.  Not all dramatic changes are bad or to be feared.

The citizens of Greenwood and White River Township alike deserve a fair, public and thorough review of the complex issues related to a merger.  They deserve a study of the merits, problems, and costs.  If the research were to show real merit in a merger (along with some expected challenges), then it would be time to research in earnest how exactly to do it.  I had hoped and expected a much broader scope of issues in your study committee considerations and reports.  Simply studying the issue from the perspective of how a merger would be done, not whether it was in the best interests of some or all of the citizens and thus might be a good policy decision, is to really miss an opportunity. It also seriously suggests the decision has already been made to pursue a merger, with the only real question being if it can be achieved.  That’s a very narrow and different mission than much of our communities had hoped for.

To be clear, as a resident of White River Township, I was not opposed to considering a merger with Greenwood.  I have had some serious questions about how such a huge area would be governed effectively, fiscal and tax concerns, political and representative government concerns, and the change in sense of community for both Greenwood and WRT.  Alternatively, for a host of reasons I was not and still am not a supporter of “Center Grove” attempting to incorporate independently.  If a merger is going to be attempted, then we deserve a more thorough study and consideration of the issues.  Your study committee’s decision on a new mission and recent behavior only fuels serious suspicions about motivations and whether this matter has already been decided.

If you would like to discuss any issues I raise or have questions, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Jeff Brantley
Bargersville, IN

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