The Case for Incorporation
It’s time for the citizens of White River Township to work together and take control of their own future. This afternoon’s meeting of the White River Township Board, and the dissent demonstrated among the Board members and between the Board and those attending, is only the latest example of the disconnect between the citizens and the merger effort.
There seem to be two issues at the center of the discontent. First, the scope of the study has been defined as including all of unincorporated White River Township. This has raised concerns among residents of the largely rural southern portion of the township. Second, not all the options are on the table. By law, neither the WRT Board, nor any other governmental body can initiate a study of incorporating all or part of White River Township as an independent town. Under the leadership of Ryan Rhoten, incorporation is now an option that can be considered, if the citizens are ready to step up to the plate and take ownership of their own future they should visit CenterGroveTown.org.
Why should White River Township consider incorporation? Are we dissatisfied with the service of the County Sheriff’s department? Are we dissatisfied with coverage by a fire department? No, of course not. I have not heard any complaints about either of these organizations as I have talked with citizens of the township. So is it the schools? Certainly not. We are all proud of our sports teams that win state competitions, our academic students who win regional competitions and our music program that is competitive at the national level. So, why would we want to consider incorporation? Because we also like our independence.
It’s not only the farmers in the south that want to be “left alone,” this is a common theme among WRT residents. Some of us own a few acres and want to keep horses or other larger animals for recreation or personal enjoyment. Others appreciate the freedom to choose who will provide trash pick-up or snow removal service without the interference, and automatic taxation, of a city. Some move to neighborhoods with restrictive covenants that ensure a similar look and tree-lined streets. Other prefer the diversity of a neighborhood with a variety of construction and decorating styles. Regardless of our personal preferences, we have all found a satisfying life in White River Township and see little reason for it to change.
However, change is inevitable. The lure of State Road 37, “soon” to be I-69, is far too enticing for Greenwood and Bargersville to ignore. This corridor and the major roads leading to it, will will be valuable locations for commercial development and the higher taxes that businesses pay. Reasonably, these towns will inevitably move to take as much of this area as possible and in the process consume portions of White River Township. For those who are annexed, they will fall under the rules of the annexing body. They will have to live by, for example, Greenwood’s zoning laws. Like it or not. For those who may be outside of any annexed area, they will be cut-off from the County services on which they have come to rely and there will be fewer and fewer private business, such as trash removal companies, who will be willing to provide services to these isolated areas.
This is not speculation, it is an easy to predict natural progression of events. Even the merger study committee is deciding “where the rules and regulations of Greenwood will apply and where those of the County will apply.” Merging with Greenwood will mean abiding by Greenwood’s law. There is no evidence that the merger committee is looking at ways to ensure that these laws and ordinances are appropriate for White River Township. It is only through self-incorporation that we can avoid this future and remain in control of our own destiny. But unless we step up and sign-up at sites such as CenterGroveTown.org, we will loose this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
If we cooperate with both Greenwood and Bargersville we can define mutually agreeable boundaries. We can work together to form a government that truly is cost effective and makes a minimal impact on our individual lifestyles. We don’t need to follow the path of Greenwood, Carmel, Plainfield or any other city. We can set our own, minimalistic, laws. And in turn keep our taxes low and our freedom high. We can be an example for others to follow, rather than being a follower with “bragging rights” that we are the “sixth largest” city in Indiana. Who cares? I’d rather have freedom and low taxes to brag about!
I can’t overstate the importance of standing up now if we want this vision to come true, if we want to keep the freedom and diversity we enjoy today. Everyone has something they can offer and the best way to move forward is to contribute to the conversation on this site, but more importantly, register and volunteer on CenterGroveTown.org.
Dann Veldkamp
Co-Editor, CenterGroveInc. org
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6 Responses to “The Case for Incorporation”
I am just as in favor of self-incorporation as the next guy. Self determination is a founding principle of this nation. I would love to be actively involved in the process and the Center Grove administration. But, I have yet to hear anyone provide a solution to a seemingly insurmountable road block:
Indiana Code 36-5-1-7
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(b) The county executive must obtain the consent by ordinance of the legislative body of a second or third class city before incorporating a town if any part of the proposed town is within three (3) miles of the corporate boundaries of the city.
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As I read it, the County Commission cannot approve a petition for incorporation without first obtaining the consent of the Greenwood City Council. The City of Greenwood essentially has veto power over incorporation. Why would the Greenwood City Council adopt a resolution allowing incorporation of the Town of Center Grove? Such an action would block Greenwood’s obvious efforts to annex areas contiguous to SR37 and to add to thier tax base. It simply doesn’t add up. Please give me a rational argument why Greenwood wouldn’t simply exercise thier veto power? Ryan Rhoten, do you have an answer to that?
I agree that change is inevitable. But, self-incorporation simply does not seem to be a plausible option. It seems to me that the merger process is the only option that gives WRT residents some say in the process. If it fails, we will have more involuntary annexations and more litigation as Greenwood and Bargersville carve up the township.
Unfortunately, the merger process has not been conducted very well so far. Perhaps the committee forgets that they have to sell this plan to the public and win a popular vote in Greenwood and WRT? Thus far, the committee has done a very poor job of presenting itself to the public and may have already short-fused the process.
The committee should be conducting a strategic planning process that incorporates public hearings and other methods of gathering input from key stakeholders, such as contacting neighborhood assciations or other community organizations. This should be a consensus building process, since after all the final plan has to be approved by the voters. Anyone can claim to encourage public participation from a distance. The question is what is the committee doing to go get public participation? Take the show on the road and gather input before you start plotting the future of the community in small conference rooms. Who is going to buy into a plan that they had no involvment in making?
Instead, this committee appears rigid and closed to criticism. In the media, the entire process seems to already be cast into doubt, because the committee has not met challenges head on. The committee appears to have dismissed the concerns of some residents rather than actively seek to resolve them.
I believe the public perception is that the committee is stuck on a path of consolidating WRT into the City of Greenwood, rather than considering a true merger with a new entity being formed with careful consideration of the needs of the larger community. There is a lot of mis-information out there regarding what entities will survive the merger and what services can be provided to whom and by whom. The Committee appears to be doing little to help resolve any confusion or frame the discussion with the general public.
This committee has a serious PR problem at best and at worst it is completely sabotaging the process. I fear the only way to turn this around now would be a significant change in the leadership of the committee and an exhaustive effort by the new leader to communicate with the public.
While I too like to dream about self incorporation, I realize that this merger process may be the only possible option for a true public debate over the future of the Center Grove/Greenwood community as well as those rural areas in the southern portion of the township. Unfortunatley, if this committee doesn’t turn things around, I fear we are doomed to competing annexations and litigation for the next decade.
Comment made on May 7th, 2009 at 4:15 pmGreenwood can only effect within the three mile range. Remember, all Henderson wants is a clear path to the future I69. With that outside of the three mile range, it plays in our favor and becomes a bargaining tool to reach an agreement on the East boundry if he knows he won’t get it.
Comment made on May 8th, 2009 at 7:52 pmMr, Klinger, you raise a number of important points. I am in strong agreement with your assessment of the conduct of the Reorganization Committee as a whole. Knowing a number of the members personally and having talked with some at length, I don’t have any doubt as to their good intention and their conviction to do the best job possible under the constraints that have been put on them by either the enabling resolutions or statements of the leadership. In particular I agree when you say “This should be a consensus building process, since after all the final plan has to be approved by the voters. Anyone can claim to encourage public participation from a distance. The question is what is the committee doing to go get public participation? “
But the primary question you asked is how could any group hoping to incorporate the area possibly be successful considering that they must obtain approval from the Greenwood Common Council? This is a challenge, but it is not necessarily an insurmountable one. Already Mayor Charles Henderson has made a public statement saying he is not opposed to a citizen organized initiative. But, it is not the Mayor who votes, it is the Council. History shows that in most instances when asked the Common Council has given consent to other entities moving within the three mile “buffer zone.”
Personally I think it will be very important for the organizers of this effort to engage the Greenwood Common Council members early in the process in order to exchange views, discuss possibilities, and determine if there is a chance of a vote that would be favorable to those who support self-incorporation.
Remember, should the merger effort fail, the only way for Greenwood to reach the desired areas along SR 37 will be be through annexation, and the law provides some protection for citizens being involuntarily annexed. It is my understanding that it could cost Greenwood millions of dollars over a number of years to annex just the corridors needed to access the potential revenue generating area.
Any change of this magnitude is not easy. The Reorganization Committee is facing challenges and the effort to incorporate will also be an uphill battle. But, I’ve not been in a significant meeting where someone has not expressed a desire for incorporation or “complained” that “all the options were not on the table.” With the effort being led by Mr. Rhoten (http://centergrovetown.org/) citizens of White River Township finally have a chance to demonstrate their true level of support for incorporation.
Comment made on May 9th, 2009 at 10:12 amMr. Klinger,
I apologize for not getting back to this sooner. I have been very busy keeping up with my site: http://www.centergrovetown.org. It seems that there are many of our fellow WRT citizens interested in becoming Center Grove, Indiana. By getting involved, they are turning their “dreams” for our area into actions.
You pose an interesting question, “Why would the Greenwood City Council adopt a resolution allowing incorporation of the Town of Center Grove?” The truth of the matter is that I cannot speak for the Greenwood City Council. Why they would or would not allow self incorporation to happen is something that must be asked of them not me. But let me ask this question. If you were a member of the Greenwood City Council and a group of citizens approached the council with the signatures of 20,000 citizens who wanted to form their own city next to yours, what would you do? I think if there were only 100, 500, 1,000 or even 2,000 signatures, you might not be swayed, but 20,000?
Self-incorporation is a movement that must be enacted by the citizens. Without our support and willingness to get involved, we can go no where. Many have surmised that we should have done this “years ago”, or have given up because they feel “it’s too late”. Remember that nothing has been decided. Should the re-organization effort fail by vote, we need to be ready the very next day (preferably sooner) to file a petition to incorporate. If we do not get involved and act now, then I am afraid that you are correct and we will be “doomed to competing annexations and litigation for the next decade”.
Yes, there are many obstacles on the path to incorporation. You have noted one. But I will maintain that the more support we have the easier those obstacles will be to overcome. Of course, we’ll never know if we don’t try.
Comment made on May 10th, 2009 at 2:34 pmThanks, I appreciate the responses. I generally prefer the self-incorporation concept, but have had concerns about whether it is realistic, as I expressed in my earlier comment. I still believe that there is a long road to haul, but I must admit that you have presented a convincing argument on the possibility of success.
It is tied to the level of support within the community. I agree that if enough residents of the unincorporated township signed onto an incorporation petition, then the Greenwood City Council would be hard pressed to reject the consensus opinion of the citizens. If the Council still rejected a petition in spite of wide spread support, then a very strong argument could be made to the General Assembly that the outcome was unjust and the law needs to be changed. An entity, over which the people have no electoral authority, should not be able to subvert the obvious will of the people. So, I will admit that a possibility for incorporation does exist and it is dependent upon the level of support within the community.
I think that Mr. Veldkamp is right. It will be very important to engage the Greenwood Common Council members early in the process in order to exchange views and discuss possibilities. But, more importantly, the GCC will have a role in deciding what measure of support is necessary to be successful. How many signatures or what other efforts are necessary to be successful?
My real concern is that there is no real consensus within the community at this point. This is true regardless of whether we are talking about incorporation or merger. As I suggested with the Reorganization Committee, what this community needs is a consensus building process. The community is at a crossroads. The development of the township combined with outside forces has put us in a position where we must choose one of several directions for the future of the community. A choice must be made or the outcome may be thrust upon us from outside sources. If the incorporation movement is to succeed, it will be because it focused its efforts on reaching out and building consensus.
I believe a fundamental step to attaining consensus is first achieving awareness of the changes that the community is facing and arming people with information. Some of this has already occurred through this website and past open forums, but it seems the process has been largely passive. It needs to become an active process. Efforts to reach out to the community need to be made. You have to go where the people are. Go to neighborhood associations, go to community groups, go to churches, and anywhere that the residents of WRT gather. Give them good, balanced information about who we are as a community (back it up with data), where we stand at the crossroads, what the options are for the future, and what the consequences of those different directions may be.
The options, as I see it, are annexation, merger, incorporation, or the status quo. Yes, I included the status quo option. I may have dismissed the incorporation option too easily. I will not make the same mistake with the status quo option and would strongly encourage everyone to leave it on the table as well. Many residents still cling to the “just leave us alone” mantra.
However, what many of those people don’t understand is that, just like the other options, the status quo won’t just happen on its own. Annexation efforts have already been pursued by Greenwood and Bargersville. It is possible that an annexation attempt could be successfully fended off by WRT residents, but only if someone actively pursues it and pays the cost of litigation. In other words, the status quo will have to be defended with resources and a centralized effort, not unlike the reorganization or incorporation efforts. Maintaining the status quo is an option, but no one should be disillusioned into thinking that they can sit back and things will simply remain the same.
When all options have been presented, then simply ask the question: how do you want the governing structure of this community to take shape? I think if it is presented under these circumstances the incorporation option will be the preferred selection. I doubt much effort would need to be put into selling it. And a consensus will begin to build.
I would love to see the incorporation movement take this direction and fill this much needed role of building consensus. People are much more likely to support a plan that they have had input in creating. From the looks of the website, the hard work has begun. As I indicated before, I would love to participate in the process.
Comment made on May 15th, 2009 at 5:16 pmI think any level of participation that you are willing to take would be welcome. I know you are already providing some advice, when requested to the Reorganization Committee. I certainly appreciate your participation in the discussion here and, as I have offered others, if you care to write a feature article, we will be more than happy to feature it, regardless of the position you may take.
I also know that Ryan is looking for volunteers over on http://centergrovetown.org. He is looking for help in gathering signature for incorporation, for people willing to help by hosting their neighbors in awareness sessions and of course he is open to whatever professional services might be offered as well.
I am in total agreement that there needs to be a proactive awareness campaign. I’ve asked Larry Hilkene if White River Citizens United might be willing to provide some funding for such a campaign, but he said right now they would like to learn more about the options before taking any action. My brother an I have have spent some money advertising our web site on 95.9 WFDM in Franklin (http://www.freedom959.com/), but it’s hard to come up with significant funds directly out of our own pocket.
I like your idea of taking the message to where the people are. I don’t think it would be a huge effort to put something together, given all the work that has been done so far, the harder question is what are the venues? Do you have any more thoughts on that? You can respond either in the comments or via e-mail to centergroveinc@gmail.com.
Dann
Comment made on May 17th, 2009 at 7:50 pmLeave a Comment