“New” local government or just more Greenwood?
Governor Mitch Daniels said if an 1800′s era Indiana resident came back today all they would recognize about the state would be the form of its local government. When the reorganization effort began in White River Township and Greenwood I had hope that the study committee would actually study options for local government and take advantage of the latitude the state government provided in the Local Government Modernization act of 2006, Indiana Code 36-1.5 (link) to be creative and seek a better form of local government. Committee member and now governance subcommittee chair Don Hanlin once joked “What about a monarchy?” After attending tonight’s governance subcommittee meeting not only is monarchy not an option but no other option is an option either.
After a presentation by Mr. Hanlin Indiana city government options (view it here) I asked if the law really gave us the option to not follow the current statute for a class 2 city, which is Greenwood’s current status, and create the form of government that the study committee deems best. “Would a city council with a hired city manager, instead of a mayor, be an option?” I asked. The answer “it could be” but the study committee has no intention of studying any option other than extending the current Greenwood government to all of White River Township. Despite an unprecedented opportunity for change it appears that if I should return to Johnson County in 2109 the only thing I would recognize is the form of its local government.
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