Bargersville Council VP on litigation and governance

This letter by Cindy Jarvis, Vice President of the Bargersville Town Council, was published in today’s Daily Journal. Since she is a public official, we thought our readers would also be interested in what she has to say.

Litigation is a horrible substitute for government in a democratic society.

In my view, there is nothing we cannot accomplish as a community by working together and talking reasonably with one another. When government resorts to lawsuits, it is a signal that they are using litigation to accomplish something that they won’t get through honest discussion.

When the final outcome is to be permanent, it is a disservice to the public to omit an honest examination of all of the alternatives on a level playing field.

I am referring to the people of White River Township, who are at risk in the Greenwood merger proposal.

They are in need of better local government services. If the public discussion truly was designed to identify the best method for delivering those services, the residents of White River Township likely would see a positive merger outcome.

Unfortunately, the current discussion has been deliberately limited to only alternatives in which Greenwood provides services. That’s a shame.

The entire merger process has been dictated by a few people. Seven members of the Greenwood City Council and three members of the White River Township Board have acted with the Greenwood mayor to prevent a fair and honest discussion of all of the alternatives.

Residents approach me almost daily to share their suspicions about the purpose of all this.

The merger process has become a whirlwind of doubt on its validity. Greenwood originally offered to discuss everything and used ambiguous words like “reorganization” and “cooperation” to get merger resolutions approved.

After the resolutions were passed, however, Greenwood said that only alternatives beneficial to Greenwood would be considered because the city’s taxpayers are paying for the study.

But don’t believe me. Judge for yourself.

In September, Greenwood sued Bargersville in an attempt to force Bargersville to surrender major sections of White River Township to Greenwood. Not long afterward, people began to come to Bargersville asking for protection from Greenwood.

In recent weeks, Greenwood threatened to sue the town again.

We cannot surrender to such tactics. The people of White River Township deserve to be fairly and honestly consulted regarding local government services, and Bargersville will listen to those people and help if we can.

Lawsuits are not a proper form of government, but it appears to be the only method by which Greenwood can get what it demands.

This is not a battle between Greenwood and Bargersville. This is a battle between Greenwood and the future of White River Township. If Greenwood wins, Greenwood will permanently dictate the future of White River Township.

Litigation is a poor way to govern.

Cindy Jarvis
Vice president
Bargersville Town Council

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