“What’s in it for me” and being naïve

My recent article on “What’s in it for me?” seems to have struck a cord. I have heard everything from “you really stirred it up this time” (it was a compliment) to you are selfish, and you don’t understand the reality of the situation. First, the “me” in the commentary was a broad “me” as in White River Township residents from rural areas to subdivision residents who continue to ask, “Why should I support the merger?” It is not a question of if the most populace unincorporated area in Indiana needs some new form of governance but a question of when and what form.

Some have indicated I may be naïve by not recognizing the need for change. I believe they misunderstood the point of my article. Naïve was believing George Bush “one” was not going to raise taxes, naïve is believing President Obama is going to govern from the center and naïve is believing that the reorganization committee is currently looking at all the options to “create an efficient, effective, accountable and representative government.” When governance chair Don Hanlin discussed the options for city government under the 2006 reorganization law I asked him if they were going to consider the city council and professional city manager option that would eliminate the mayor he said they could but they were not going to consider that option. The only real creativity I have seen is Dale Tumey’s subcommittee working to find a creative option to protect the township’s rural areas. I will also acknowledge that Eric Kapke’s Parks and Recreation subcommittee is considering various ways to fund new parks in White River Township; then again how important are parks in a county whose unemployment rate is somewhere north of 8%.

If the committee continues on the current path of simply expanding the current Greenwood system to cover a larger area we will not get “efficient, effective” and improved government. Whose fault is that? Yours and mine for not attending the meeting, writing the committee members (find contact info here) and getting involved now (interested in incorporation of the town of Center Grove go here). The committee will listen if we continue to insist that the reorganization committee “live and die” as Pat Sherman stated, by its mission statement. There has to be a better option. Either the reorganization committee needs to study the true options or the residents of White River Township need to stand up, pay attention, and fight for their own future.

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