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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF GREATER LAFAYTETTE

Tippecanoe County

Township Government Study Committee Report

Jean Andres, Study Committee Chair

KD Benson Kathy Dale Peg Dunkle

Joanne Evers Sherry McLauchlan

Susan Schechter Sue Scholer

October 2010

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Table of Contents Page

Executive Summary ………………………………………………………………………… 3 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………… 7 Township Structure …………………………………………………………………………. 9 Financial Review…………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Fire Protection and Emergency Services……………………………………………………. 14 General Assistance …………………………………………………………………………. 16 Cemetery Oversight …………………………………………………………………………. 19 Parks and Recreation ……………………………………………………………………….. 20 Noxious Weeds ……………………………………………………………………………… 20 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….................. 20 Recommendations ………………………………………………………………………….. 23

Appendix Contents

A. Contacts, resources and websites B. Countywide Township Financial Comparison C. Township history D. League history related to township government E. Selected Indiana Code related to township government F. Example of Township Budget Form (DLGF) and Annual Report Form (SBOA) G. Cover letter and interview questions for trustees H. Interview questions for community service agencies I. Township staffing as reported by township trustees J. Fire protection and medical emergencies as reported by township trustees K. County map with location of fire stations L. Township general assistance guidelines

1. Fairfield, Wabash and Wea 2. Remaining ten townships

M. Indiana Township Association Brochures: 1. ‘Township Trustees-Exactly What Do They Do?’ 2. ‘Your Township Trustee’s Office – Here to Assist You’ 3. ‘Care of Cemeteries by Indiana Townships’ 4. Fairfield Township Trustee’s Informational Brochure

N. Number and responsibilities of cemetery care as reported by township trustees O. Parks and recreation charts

1. Recreational activities as reported by township trustees 2. History of park buildings from County Parks and Recreation Department

P. Improving Township Government – Insights from Township Trustees

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Executive Summary Why This Study? In spring of 2009 a number of events prompted the League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette (LWVGL) to establish a committee to study Tippecanoe County government including:

o Credible discussion by elected officials of possible changes relating to township government that were to be introduced in the coming state legislative session

o Widespread comments in the media and by citizens about provisions in Streamlining Local Government, the report from the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel on Local Government Reform popularly referred to as the Kernan-Shepard Report (http://indianalocalgovreform.iu.edu/change/index.html)

o Revision of the League of Women Voters of Indiana position on local government which emphasizes principles rather than structure, and is the basis for this report

This report's focus is solely on township government. Based on the LWVIN's position, the essential components for local government include that it be representative and participatory; efficient and effective; transparent, accessible and accountable; flexible and fair and equitable. The committee's major interest was that township government be transparent, accessible and accountable. The committee began their study in May 2009. Most essential to the committee's understanding was getting input from the Township Trustees about their day-to-day operations and the functions of township government. To that end the committee developed an 18 point survey and sent it with a cover letter to the 13 township trustees. Members of the committee met personally with 9 of the trustees and the 4 others provided written responses to the survey. The recommendations in this report are in large measure based upon the information provided by the trustees, a thorough review of the 2008 township financial records, as well as meetings with emergency management personnel, four local community service organizations and conversations with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and information from the Indiana Trustees Association. (See the Appendix A for a complete list of sources consulted.) Township Government Basics Townships were established even before Indiana became a state. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, trustees were responsible for a wide range of duties from operating schools and maintaining roads and bridges to collecting the dog tax and burying Civil War veterans. Over the years the responsibilities of township trustees and advisory boards have changed. Today all townships have statutory responsibility in 15 different areas including fire protection, general assistance, and cemetery maintenance. Currently there are 1,008 townships in Indiana, 13 of them in Tippecanoe County. Locally they range in size from 27 square miles to 54 square miles, with populations ranging from under 1,200 to almost 55,000. Each has an elected trustee and a three member advisory board. Trustees and advisory boards are required to hold four public

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meetings per year. At the end of 2010, trustees in our county will have served anywhere from four years (1 term) to 32 years (8 terms). Financial Summary In 2008, the total budget for all 13 Tippecanoe County townships was about $4.5 million. By comparison the county's budget is more than ten times that amount. A portion of all property taxes goes to support township government. The tax rate is estimated at $50 - $60 annually for a typical homeowner. The amount of revenue derived from 2008 property taxes was about 50% of total township revenue, with the remainder coming from other taxes; the greatest amount was from the County Option Income Tax (COIT). The amount actually spent varies from budget proposals, and in 2008 townships spent a total of $3.5 million, with a median of $140,000 per township. Most townships have enough cash on hand and investments at the end of the year to fund a full year of operations, not including capital projects. The total "reserves" for all townships county wide is $4.5 million. Each township's budget is controlled, with the requirement of approval from the township's elected advisory board, publication of the proposed budget, review and certification by the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), and periodic audits conducted by the State Board of Accounts (SBOA). However, it is not easy for a citizen to access this information since township budgets, expenditure reports, and audits are rarely discussed in the media and are difficult to track and understand. Not all townships provide the same services and the SBOA forms do not list expenses by services provided. Some generalizations about township budgets can be made based on a special report in 2007 by the county auditor. Budgeted expenses could be divided into four major categories: general administration, fire protection, direct general assistance, and other services. Other services include cemetery care, recreation and community services. Across all townships fire protection and related emergency services was the largest budgeted cost, accounting for over 70% of total budgets. Cities and towns with their own fire departments do not pay this cost. General administrative costs average 15%. Direct poor relief or general assistance is 7% and all other services 8%. An analysis of expenditures resulted in similar percentages. See the full report for more details including a per capita breakdown of services per township. Fire Protection and Emergency Management Services Trustees provide fire protection to unincorporated areas of their townships in different ways. Some contract for all services, some directly control all fire protection services and the majority contract for fire fighter services but the township owns the fire station and the fire equipment. Four townships recently formed a fire territory to improve coverage and reduce costs. A trustee expressed concerns about future recruitment of volunteer fire fighters due to state mandated increased fire fighter training requirements. Between 75% and 80% of all fire runs are for medical or other emergencies, not fires. The Tippecanoe Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) works to support other public safety departments and is responsible for the regional hazardous materials team. Many emergency services are provided by teams made up of personnel from multiple area public safety providers

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or are available as needed. Tippecanoe County has the Project Hoosier Safe-T statewide 800MHz communication system as a backup to its own 800 megahertz trunked multi-site radio system and all first responders have 888MHz radios. Direct General Assistance (formerly known as poor relief) Every applicant who applies for general assistant must complete a 10 page form supplied by the SBOA. Townships are allowed to prepare their own guidelines for granting poor relief. The 10 trustees from the more rural townships meet regularly for discussion, and annually review and revise general guidelines for their townships to use. Trustees from the 3 more populous townships each draft their own guidelines. The Indiana Township Association also provides a guidebook for the trustees. Guidelines for general assistance are available from many sources yet township trustees in Tippecanoe County vary in how they apply the guidelines. The most striking examples include the amount of time it takes to process the application and how carefully the request is investigated. When general assistance is granted, payment is always made by a voucher and each voucher requires 3 signatures - the trustee, the vendor and the client. A citizen denied general assistance may appeal this decision to the county commissioners. As part of their annual report submitted to the SBOA, trustees are required to provide extensive data on general assistance. In 2008, 40% of the general assistance requests totaling 1,691 were granted. Four of the smaller townships had only 2 requests each and granted them all while Wabash Township granted 12% of the 381 requests it received. Over half the townships provided assistance for fewer than 12 households. The total value of all direct assistance was about $260,000, and approximately 60% of that was in Fairfield Township. Actual total dollars spent by township trustees on direct assistance ranged from close to $1,200 to $156,000, with a median of $7,700. Committee members interviewed 4 local community service agencies in regards to both their interaction and communication with township trustees and township services to the needy. All reported that they referred clients to trustees and in return received referrals from some trustees, most often from Fairfield. The agencies felt that clients would be better served if all trustees had regular office hours, had consistent guidelines and eligibility requirements, and shared the guidelines with social service providers. Cemeteries In Tippecanoe County 11 townships trustees are responsible for the care and maintenance of 55 cemeteries. This includes mowing, monument care/restoration and tracking and maintaining records. At least 7 townships have active cemeteries with available grave sites. All of the trustees contract for mowing with costs ranging from $2,000 - $12,000 annually. One trustee reported $10,000 spent on restoration efforts. The level of care and restoration seems to be based on trustee and advisory board interest and priorities. There is significant legislation pertaining to cemeteries that is not understood without effort, nor is there accountability for compliance.

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Parks and Recreation There are 7 township recreational centers, most of which are the result of Tippecanoe School Corporation abandoning buildings during a consolidation process. The level of care and management of these centers by trustees and boards appears to be a matter of interest and priorities. The 4-H program is the responsibility of the County Extension Youth Development Director who is in charge of all recruiting, training and supervision of the leaders. Some township trustees pay 4-H leaders. Extension has no say in or oversight of any contract for payment that may exist between the township and the 4-H leader. It is difficult to identify the actual costs for recreational services within the SBOA report. These costs are scattered throughout different budget categories and without knowing the names of the actual payees contracted for services, recreational costs are hidden within the report. Improving Township Government Services - Insights from the Trustees Trustees provided ideas for improving services to clients and streamlining their work. These ideas included simplification of required SBOA and DLGF forms, greater use of computers and electronic communication for preparing and submitting required reports, better communication with county and state officials, more training for trustees and advisory board members, and expanding services for general assistance clients. (See Appendix P for a more complete list.) Committee Recommendations At the end of our study, the committee developed a number of specific ideas to improve the transparency, accountability and accessibility of township government. These changes involve all levels of Indiana government; township, county and state. (See pages 23 and 24 in the complete report for these recommendations.)

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Introduction For more than seventy years, the League of Women Voters of Indiana (LWVIN) has been interested in the relationship between local government entities and how the citizens are served by each unit. (See Appendix D for a brief history.) During this same time period others studied township government for its cost effectiveness, tax collection rates, service to residents, political viability, etc. The Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform (http://indianalocalgovreform.iu.edu/research/statewide.html), provides links to complete reports dating back to 1935 through 2006 for review. In most cases recommendations centered on reducing, reorganizing or eliminating township government. The greatest change to date in reforming township government came in 2008 when the property tax assessment role was moved to the county level. In January 2009, the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research released a study entitled “Local Government Reform in Indiana”. It can be found at: http://mysmartgov.org/resources/BSU%20LocalGovReform%20Study%202009.pdf In 2007, Governor Mitch Daniels appointed a Blue Ribbon Panel on Local Government Reform "to develop recommendation to reform and restructure local government in Indiana in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its operation and reduce its costs to Hoosier taxpayers." In 2007 the Commission's report, "Streamlining Local Government" (http://indianalocalgovreform.iu.edu/assets/docs/Report_12-10-07.pdf) also known as the Kernan-Shepard Report was the basis for proposed legislation in both the 2009 and 2010 General Assemblies. To date no reforms have been passed. In response to media attention, citizen interest and proposed reforms in the General Assembly, League members at the 2009 State Convention of the League of Women Voters of Indiana approved a state wide study focused on three recommendations of the Kernan-Shepard Report:

5. Create a countywide body to oversee all public safety services.

9. Transfer the responsibilities for administering the duties of township government to assessment, poor relief (township assistance), fire protection, emergency medical services (EMS), cemeteries and any other remaining responsibilities to the county executive. Establish a countywide poor relief levy.

18. Reorganize library systems by county and provide permanent library service for all citizens, including a countywide levy for library services.

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Local Leagues are using the LWVIN's current local government position which focuses on principles rather than structure as a basis for their current study.

Local Government LWVIN supports the following principles of local government: Representative and participatory: LWVIN supports strategies that promote diversity of representation and civic participation, information that is complete, clearly presented and accessible; services that are accessible; and citizen input and review of all policy making. Efficient and effective: LWVIN supports local government organization and processes that direct dollars to the improvement of services instead of excess administration. Intergovernmental cooperation should be an essential element of governmental processes. Transparent, accessible and accountable: LWVIN supports local government that is transparent and with elected and appointed officials accessible to the public. Officials who make policy and levy taxes should be accountable to the voters. Officials who administer policy are accountable to the elected officials who appoint them. Flexible: LWVIN supports choices for counties, cities, and towns in the ways they organize and administer their structures and functions within guidelines set by the state. Fair and equitable: LWVIN supports fair and equitable processes and services. Continuous improvement: LWVIN supports provisions for the continuous improvement of governmental processes including, but not limited to: technical assistance, qualifications for and training of personnel, standards, evaluation, reporting, data collection, and research. The League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette (LWVGL) at their April 2009 annual meeting approved a study of Tippecanoe County governance and subsequently agreed to participate in the statewide study. The goal of LWVGL is to understand the operations of local government and share this information with the local community. The Tippecanoe County Township Government Study Committee formed at the LWVGL annual meeting began its work in May 2009. Township Government is the sole focus of this report. The committee began by gathering information about township government in Tippecanoe County. This included reviewing the 2008 Township Reports submitted to the State Board of Accounts (SBOA); obtaining data from the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF); learning about the role and services provided to individual townships by the Indiana Township Association (ITA); obtaining information related to township government from county government offices; discussing the view point of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce related to township government reform; and searching the web for data on each township. The committee met with the director of the Tippecanoe County Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) to learn about services this agency provides and coordinates and how townships are involved. A public meeting was held with representatives of police and fire departments, Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service (TEAS), the Tippecanoe Board of Health and the

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local chapter of the American Red Cross to discuss the integration of these services. Representatives from four community agencies were interviewed concerning their interaction with township trustees. These agencies included Area IV Agency on Aging and Community Action Programs, Riggs Community Health Clinic, Salvation Army and Lafayette Urban Ministry. No study on township government would be complete without hearing directly from the township trustees so the committee sent a cover letter and an 18 point questionnaire (Appendix G) to each of our 13 township trustees of Tippecanoe County. Members of the committee met personally with 9 of the trustees and the other 4 trustees provided written replies to the questionnaire. In addition, the committee collected published information from a variety of sources. Some documents from the Indiana Township Association (ITA) are included in Appendix M such as: ‘Township Trustees - What Exactly Do They Do?’, ‘Your Township Trustees Office – Here to Assist You’ and ‘Care of Cemeteries by Indiana Townships’. Fairfield Township also has a brochure included in this appendix. After gathering, reviewing, and discussing the data, the committee prepared this report. Township structure Tippecanoe County has 13 townships, each with an elected Trustee and a 3 member Township Board responsible for approval of budgets and policy. The median length of all trustee service is 12 years. In Tippecanoe County at the end of 2010, two trustees have served 4 years, and one has served 32. All but one township has at least one part time staff member, but only three have more than 2. In 2009, all but one trustee (Fairfield) employed a family member. Trustee salaries ranged from about $8000 to $55,000, with a median of $13,000. Trustees consider the job part time, except the Fairfield trustee. Public meetings are held as required by law (such as for budget approval) in most townships but are not monthly and are rarely attended by the public. Township board members receive a salary: the median is $2100 and the highest is $6825. (See Appendix I for township staffing as reported by trustees) Geographically, Union and Washington are the smallest townships, covering 27 square miles, while Shelby and Lauramie are largest, with 54 square miles. The smallest estimated population is 1,185 (Jackson), and the largest is 54,865 (Wabash). Wabash includes virtually all of West Lafayette, while Lafayette residents are split mainly between Fairfield and Wea Townships.

Estimated Population of each Township

Fairfield - 51,988 Tippecanoe – 7,192 Jackson – 1,185 Union – 1,759 Lauramie – 3,297 Wabash – 54,865 Perry – 6,185 Washington – 2,997 Randolph – 1,392 Wayne – 1,872 Sheffield – 3,760 Wea – 23,909 Shelby – 2,963

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Financial Review The budget total of all 13 townships in Tippecanoe County in 2008 was about $4.5 million. In comparison, Tippecanoe County’s budget is more than ten times that amount. In terms of real dollars, the total expenditures of all the townships in 2008 were $3.5 million. This is less than budgeted amount because of the difficulty of predicting expenses, the need to maintain reserves, and the accumulation of funds for major future expenses to avoid the costs of borrowing. All funds must be budgeted even if there is no intention to actually expend them in a given year. Budgets are sometimes adjusted during the year to meet changing needs, so initial published budgets may not reflect actual expenditures. (See Appendix B for a Countywide Township Financial Comparison) All non-exempt property owners, including businesses, pay tax to support township government, as well as other units of local government, such as cities, libraries, schools, and so forth. The published tax rate for an area includes the sum of all these rates and differs according to the exact mix of taxing districts a property is located in. The township rate is generally less than 5% of the total property tax rate. The median township rate is about 5 cents per $100 of assessed value, or about $58 annually to a typical homeowner whose home is assessed at $117,000. The State imposed caps and other regulations on property taxes making it difficult to raise funds even if needs increase; therefore, townships are reluctant to lower rates. The only time a taxpayer sees the township rate is on the actual tax bill, and then it is shown as a total. It is not apparent what this includes, so most taxpayers would not know that the township rate is lower for residents of areas that pay taxes for fire protection to another unit of government. Taxpayers in Lafayette, West Lafayette, Dayton, and Clarks Hill do not pay township taxes for fire protection. In the chart below, the rates are shown separately for taxpayers in those areas. There is no difference in the rate for Shadeland, which has the same boundaries as Union Township, nor Battle Ground, which pays the Tippecanoe Township fire protection tax rate. Otterbein is split with Benton County and is not separated out in our analysis, nor are the smallest taxing areas. Since properties within the city limits of Lafayette and West Lafayette, and the town of Dayton do not pay township fire protection taxes, their taxes support the other township budget categories of general assistance, other services, and administration. The bulk of the assessed value in these townships is in these areas, 87% in Fairfield and about 60-65% in Wabash, Wea, and Sheffield, which means city properties cover most of the costs for these other services and administration. The amount of revenue from property taxes was about 50% of the township budgets in 2008, with the rest coming from the township share of the County Option Income Tax (COIT), miscellaneous taxes such as financial institutions, auto and aircraft excise, and interest on investments and budget balances. COIT is allocated by population and the others by various special formulas. In 2008 property tax was about 42% of actual revenue received. This percentage is considerably lower than in other years because of the late collection of taxes, but taxpayers should realize that townships receive a portion of revenue from everyone in the County, not just property owners in that geographic area.

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0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16

West LafayetteWea outside city

WayneWashington

Wabash outside cityTippecanoe/Battle Ground

ShelbySheffield outside town

Shadeland/UnionRandolph

PerryLauramie

Lafayette (Wea)Lafayette (Fairfield)

JacksonFairfield outside city

DaytonClarks Hill

$0 $200,000 $400,000 $600,000 $800,000 $1,000,000

West LafayetteWea outside city

WayneWashington

Wabash outside cityTippecanoe/Battle Ground

ShelbySheffield outside town

Shadeland/UnionRandolph

PerryLauramie

Lafayette (Wea)Lafayette (Fairfield)

JacksonFairfield outside city

DaytonClarks Hill

2008 PROPERTY TAX RATES BY TOWNSHIP TAXING AREA

Expenditures for each township are shown in the chart below, with the median at about $140,000:

2008 EXPENDITURES BY TOWNSHIP TAXING AREA

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The list of township services is lengthy and varies from township to township. Since expenditures are not broken down by program on the reporting form, a special budget analysis prepared by the county auditor in 2007 was used to prepare the pie chart shown below. Fire protection and related emergency services require about 70% of the aggregated township budgets (somewhat less if you are looking at actual expenditures). In a few cases, these services involve direct salary costs, but most firefighters are volunteers and are paid only a stipend or clothing or mileage allowance. About 20% of the amounts budgeted for firefighting goes to administration and supplies, but another 28% is budgeted for contractual services, which includes salaries. (This includes about $45,500 of contract services expenditures which are double counted because they are paid to another township in Tippecanoe County.) The other half of the budgeted amount goes for capital expenses – buildings, equipment, debt service, and reserve funds. The amount actually expended for fire can vary significantly, as it did for Wea Township in 2008 to account for the completion of a major renovation and Wabash to pay for the construction of a new fire station.

ALLOCATION OF 2007 BUDGETED EXPENSES

Direct township assistance (poor relief) in the form of payment to providers of services to low income people (utility companies, landlords, etc) accounts for about 7% of budgeted amounts - about $260,000 in actual dollars spent. Fairfield Township accounts for 60% of the total for all townships. This does not include the cost of administration, since in most townships that cost cannot be broken out. Other services including parks and recreation, community services and cemetery care are 8% of budgeted amounts but account for 12% of the total expenditures. The cost of these services is scattered in various budget categories and is difficult if not impossible to identify from the list of payees. For our study, these costs were measured in two ways – from a budget breakdown available only for 1970, and as the remainder of 2008 total expenditures minus fire protection, township assistance, and “administration.” Administration is defined as the sum of the line items for personal services (personnel) and supplies in each budget category. These “other”

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expenditures range from $5000 in Wayne Township to about $89,000 in Wea Township, which manages a community center and several ball fields. The median for these “other expenditures” is $27,000. Calculated in this way for 2008, the total for all these services is about $400,000. Calculated from 2007 budget numbers, the total for all these “other services” is about $350,000, with half budgeted for cemetery care and the rest for recreation and community service. The amounts budgeted for administration of poor relief and general administration (but not fire protection) adds up to 15% of the total. This includes 8% for salaries and benefits (township trustees, any clerical staff, and advisory board members), 4% for expenses such as legal fees, insurance, office costs and supplies, and 3% identified as poor relief administration. The same percentage resulted when analyzing expenditures instead of budgets. Costs identified as “personal services” or “supplies” in all program categories except fire were considered “administration.” This means that the delivery of all other services excluding fire protection and emergency services costs about the same amount of money as the direct cost of those services. In other words, one dollar of all services other than emergency services costs one dollar to administer. This overhead ratio is less if some of the general administrative costs can be allocated to fire protection, which depends on how involved the trustee is in that service. That is not the case in the cities and towns that pay taxes for administrative costs but not fire protection. The state uses a per capita figure in an attempt to come up with a method to compare expenditures of townships of various sizes, and publishes an annual per capita expenditure report for various units of local government. The state median in 2008 (but using 2000 population figures) was $32.65. The chart below shows our calculation of per capita expenditures for various services by township taxing district using more recent population estimates and some adjustments to avoid double counting of some expenditures. The population for fire protection is also adjusted for the area served but still does not reflect any adjustment for contracted services to other townships. So this chart should be used as just one indicator of relative cost of service.

2008 EXPENDITURES PER CAPITA

Fire* Direct Poor

Relief Other

Services Administration Total Clarks Hill n/a $2.72 $15.99 $10.59 $29.30 Dayton n/a $1.01 $8.81 $4.90 $14.72 Fairfield outside city $8.60 $3.00 $1.00 $3.58 $16.17 Jackson $13.71 $1.00 $14.06 $11.63 $40.40 Lafayette (Fairfield) n/a $3.00 $1.06 $3.52 $7.58 Lafayette (Wea) n/a $1.31 $3.72 $3.51 $8.54 Lauramie $18.07 $2.72 $15.99 $10.59 $47.38 Perry $7.20 $1.25 $4.04 $3.03 $15.52 Randolph $32.31 $1.58 $19.48 $10.10 $63.47 Shadeland/Union n/a $8.87 $10.19 $10.87 $29.93 Sheffield outside town $36.48 $1.01 $8.81 $4.90 $51.19 Shelby $58.20 $0.88 $2.28 $4.99 $66.35 Tippecanoe/Battle Ground $32.28 $2.45 $2.08 $4.07 $40.88 Wabash outside city $31.07 $0.19 $0.58 $1.12 $32.96 Washington $24.73 $0.41 $10.84 $10.25 $46.23 Wayne $45.91 $0.88 $2.67 $7.78 $57.24 Wea outside city $116.40 $1.31 $3.72 $3.51 $124.94 West Lafayette n/a $0.19 $0.58 $1.12 $1.89

*per capita number adjusted for population covered by township fire taxing district; fire includes related emergency services

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The large dollar reserves held by some townships in some counties in Indiana is a concern for taxpayers. In Tippecanoe County the aggregate beginning cash balance for all townships was about $4 million, not including any investments, which are not reported in the beginning balance of the SBOA annual report form. The ending balance in operating funds was about $2.3 million, but the ending balance including investments was double that at $4.7 million. This is adequate to cover an entire year of expenditures at the same level as 2008 with no additional income except in 4 townships (Shelby, Tippecanoe, Wabash, and Wea). Five townships have enough to cover two years (Lauramie, Randolph, Sheffield, Union, and Wayne), and Perry Township has an extra $1,000,000. Of course, some of this accumulation may be intended for major projects, not annual expenditures. Tippecanoe, Wabash, and Wayne have indebtedness for major projects done in the past. Fire Protection and Emergency Services Provision of fire protection and emergency services is the largest component of township budgets, and like a life insurance policy, citizens want it available even if they never use it. The cost of fire protection and emergency services in our figures include both personnel and capital costs such as firefighting equipment and buildings. Although these are listed as separate budget categories on state forms, trade-offs occur such as buying a piece of firefighting equipment for another department that provides contractual service in lieu of paying operating costs. Since capital costs are sometimes a major expense in a single year, figures can be distorted, such as for Wea Township, which paid about $800,000 for a major renovation to the existing fire station in 2008, and Wabash Township, which is paying for a new 2.5 million dollar fire station with a six-year bond issued in 2006. In 2008 both of these townships had total fire protection expenses of three quarters of a million dollars. Three townships that contract for fire protection - Jackson, Perry and Randolph- each paid less than $50,000 for fire protection. The average total expenditure was about $194,000. The median expense better reflects the cost of fire protection since it removes the effects of unusually high or low expenses, and that was about $ $80,000. Property owners that pay cities or towns for fire protection do not pay for township fire protection. No one is taxed twice for this service. Township trustees' involvement in fire protection services varies. Some trustees oversee all aspects of fire protection including the volunteer firefighters. Most trustees contract for services of firefighters but maintain control over fire stations and fire fighting/emergency equipment while others may contract for the provision of all fire protection services and take a "hands off" attitude. Union Township provides no fire protection. (The boundaries of Union Township and the town of Shadeland are identical and an agreement was reached that the town would provide fire protection.) Townships with fire departments have mutual aid agreements with nearby departments. Most fire chiefs in Tippecanoe County meet together six times a year to discuss matters of interest and mutual concern. In 2009, four townships (Tippecanoe, Perry, Sheffield and Washington) formed a Fire Territory for cost savings although it was not effective until 2010. By law this means that each township continues to own their buildings and equipment, and all four townships pay a uniform fire protection rate. Administrative duties are given to one township; in this case it is Tippecanoe Township. A high degree of trust must be in place among the townships that enter into a fire

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territory agreement. The selection of one township trustee overseeing all administrative authority needs to be acceptable to all the involved trustees and township boards. For many years Shelby Township has had a cooperative agreement with four entities in three other counties for fire protection. The fire station is in Otterbein and the Otterbein Area Volunteer Fire and Rescue provides service. Taxes for each entity are apportioned on the basis of assessed property values in those areas. Indiana gathers information on the number of runs made by fire departments at www.in.gov/dhs.2713.htm. The numbers are a measure of how often the service is used, but the number of runs double counts incidents when more than one department responds and does not differentiate between major incidents involving all personnel and those involving a single responder nor between actual fires and first responder services. Also, the number of runs may include incidents in other townships where contractual services are provided. With all those qualifications, it appears the number of fire department runs in 2009 varied from 68 in Randolph Township to 709 in Wabash Township, with the average of 304. The state has increased the amount of training necessary for volunteer firefighters. Part of the training can be done via the web, but volunteers must physically attend some training that can last 2-5 days. This means that volunteer firefighters must use vacation time or, if their employers approve, take unpaid leave. One trustee was concerned that these increased training requirements might hamper recruitment of volunteers. In rural townships there is a problem of staffing the fire station Monday through Friday during typical working hours. Wabash has solved the problem by hiring a firefighter /first responder who lives at each of their fire stations and can move a fire truck to a scene of a fire ASAP and Wea also hired a full time firefighter/first responder on duty at the station from 8am-5pm Monday through Friday. Between 70% and 80% of all fire runs are medical. Response times from fire departments are more rapid than ambulance response times, and having firefighters who are trained as first responders or as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) means that an injured/ailing patient can be stabilized until the ambulance arrives. (The responses we gathered did not always make clear how many first responders there are in each department, whether there is at least one first responder on every run and if their department had any firefighters who were also EMTs. Training to become an EMT generally takes 3 months and costs about $800.) While the county pays for new ambulances, it is Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service (TEAS) based at St. Elizabeth Regional Health that staffs and operates the county's ambulance service. There is an ambulance stationed at St. Elizabeth Central, Home Hospital, Wabash Township Volunteer Fire Department, Wea Township Volunteer Fire Department and the West Lafayette Police Department. Wayne Township owns two ambulances that can be dispatched by the Tippecanoe 911 operator to provide back-up for TEAS. The Otterbein Fire Department owns 1 ambulance, Stockwell operates an ambulance for their area, and Purdue University ambulances also have a mutual aid agreement with TEAS.

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Tippecanoe County has the Project Hoosier Safe-T statewide 800MHz communication system as a backup to its own 800 megahertz trunked multi-site radio system and all first responders have 888MHz radios. See Appendix J for specific data on trustee responses regarding Tippecanoe County emergency medical services and fire protection and Appendix K for a map with the location of fire stations. General Assistance (Poor Relief) The annual report submitted to the state by the townships includes extensive data on poor relief. The total number of requests for assistance in all townships in 2008 was 1691 with roughly 40% granted. The percentage of requests granted ranged from 100% in four townships (all with only two requests each) to 12% in Wabash Township, which had 381 requests. The number of households assisted was 680; almost two thirds of these lived in Fairfield Township. The median number of requests was 64 with over half of the townships assisting 11 or less households. The total dollar value of all direct assistance was about $260,000, and about 60% of that was in Fairfield Township. Actual total dollars spent on direct assistance ranged from approximately $1200 in a couple of townships to about $156,000 in Fairfield, with a median of $7700. The overall average assistance per household was $382, and the median was about $475. The figures in Fairfield do not reflect households or persons receiving assistance from other agencies that are partially funded by township contributions; the Lafayette Adult Resource Academy (bus tokens to get to job interviews), Riggs Community Health Clinic (medications) or the elementary schools (career choice programs for at risk children). It is difficult to determine the cost for the administration of general assistance because staff time spent is not reported separately except in townships that hire additional staff solely for this purpose. In Fairfield Township, the cost of administration was reported to be about 40% of the 2008 total expenditures for township assistance. This includes the cost of client education seminars, case management, home inspection, and fraud investigation as well as processing of requests and preparation of reports. It does not include administrative costs of the agencies providing indirect assistance. It should also be noted that general assistance is the major direct service provided to residents of township taxing districts that do not include fire protection. Consequently, for these taxpayers, virtually all of the taxes expended for overhead such as the salary of the township trustee, etc. could be allocated to general assistance. According to the trustees, the primary requests for assistance are rent and utilities. To a lesser degree requests are made for food, medication, fuel for transportation, burial expenses, clothing and school supplies in that order. Although many rent and utility requests are for past due bills, only the current month’s bills can be paid with township funds. The Indiana Township Trustee Association provides a brochure explaining the Township General Assistance program for citizens. (See Appendix M 2- ‘Your Township Trustee Office - Here to Assist You’)

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The application to request general assistance from a township is provided by the State Board of Accounts (SBOA) at http:/www.in.gov/sboa. Each township uses this ten page application form. Trustees explained that townships may prepare their own guidelines to follow in carrying out their duties as administrator of township assistance. The smaller more rural townships which include Sheffield, Lauramie, Randolph, Jackson, Wayne, Shelby, Perry, Washington, Union and Tippecanoe meet on a regular basis for discussion and also draft general assistance guidelines. The more urban townships, Fairfield, Wabash and Wea, with greater populations draft individual guidelines. (See Appendix L 1 & 2 for these guidelines.). The intent of the application provided by the SBOA is to gather consistent data on an individual or family applying for general assistance across the state. How that information is investigated, and used to grant or deny assistance varies across townships. One township requires those receiving assistance to search for work and apply at least in ten different places which is verified by the township trustee before granting assistance. Another township requires able bodied recipients to complete a workfare program (assisting in a non-profit organization arranged by the trustee) to receive assistance. Yet another trustee will grant assistance immediately without investigation. However, if the same individual applies repeatedly, this trustee will then investigate. Most townships do not use the workfare program because the required liability insurance is too expensive related to the number of general assistance recipients. If the amount of assistance requested is too great for the township to provide on its own, the trustee may contact an appropriate social service agency to assist. The State requires that assistance is granted through vouchers which must be signed by three people; the trustee, the vendor and the client. If a housing payment is requested, the trustee contacts the landlord or bank to be sure a voucher is acceptable and then the recipient will receive a voucher for the exact amount. The landlord or bank will return the voucher for payment by the trustee. This is true for utility payments and food purchases (unless there are extenuating circumstances food vouchers are not granted if the applicant receives food stamps.). However, applicants are required to apply for food stamps at the Family Social Services Administration Office in Lafayette before a food voucher is issued. Payments are not made for back rent or utility bills or deposits but only for the current month’s responsibility. Indiana Code (IC 12-20) provides specific criteria related to eligible or ineligible situations for an applicant of general assistance and trustees use their own guidelines and individual situations to make decisions in granting or denying general assistance. The Indiana Trustee Association (ITA) prints a handbook to provide the trustees with guidance related to the process and investigation of an application for general assistance. According to the trustees, many more individuals inquire about assistance than actually apply for it. Several trustees observed that 2008 brought more inquires for general assistance than in 2007. It is thought that some individuals do not want to complete the application form, do not want to perform workfare or look for a job if this criterion is enforced in their township. The trustees assume that these individuals did not need the assistance badly enough or found assistance elsewhere. It is possible that barriers such as an inability to read or write, poor eyesight, developmental delays, no telephone, etc. may contribute to a failure to apply. Records are not necessarily kept on those who inquire about general assistance but do not file an application.

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Some trustees keep track of this for their own records but they are not required to do so or report it. The main reasons for denying an application that has been submitted includes: applicant does not reside in the township (IC 12-20-9 provides conditions for nonresident aid); has excess income; fails to complete the workfare responsibility; has wasted resources such as having a cell phone or large credit card debt; provides inaccurate information on the application form; caught in the commission of fraud related to the general assistance request. Applicants who are denied may appeal this decision to the county commissioners. (IC 12-20-15-2) A few trustees discussed their concern with fraud in the general assistance area. Incidents have occurred. Township trustees may investigate to verify information on the general assistance application. Township trustees state that they are available 24 hrs a day for emergencies, meet individuals in their offices to discuss the application and criteria for eligibility for general assistance and will often drop off applications at homes for those who cannot get to their offices. Most trustees make an effort to investigate the information on the application to verify its accuracy and validity before granting assistance. By law (IC 12-2-6-7) a decision on a nonemergency application must be made in 72 hours not including Saturday, Sunday or holidays. The decision in this time period could be to grant assistance, deny or partially deny assistance, or leave the decision pending for an additional 72 hours. An emergency request must be acted on immediately following the receipt of a completed application. It should be noted however that IC 12-20-7-2 allows the County Office 14 calendar days to respond to a request from the township trustee for needed information to verify pertinent data on the general assistance application. Some trustees did comment on their concern for their own safety at times when interviewing applicants for general assistance. The women trustees mentioned they request that their deputy (often their husband) be present in the office at night or accompany them if a home visit is necessary. In regards to general assistance on the township level, the Indiana Code as written describes who is ineligible and how to verify ineligibility instead of who is eligible. Enforcement of 28 chapters of Indiana Code varies from township to township in regards to access to the application, investigation of the application, and the speed at which the application is processed. Four social service agencies were interviewed in regards to their interaction and communication with township trustees and their services to the needy. The four agencies were: Area IV Agency on Aging and Community Action Programs, Salvation Army, Lafayette Urban Ministry, and Riggs Community Health Clinic. (See Appendix H for questions posed to these community agencies) All agencies stated that they referred clients to township trustees for assistance and they in turn received referrals from trustees. Concerns were raised that some trustees were difficult to reach and the processing of general assistance applications seemed to take more time than the required 72 hours. Barriers described in the relationship between townships and these agencies included the use of different guidelines for general assistance by different townships. It would be helpful for the

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agencies to have a copy of the guidelines that would serve all the townships to assist them in proper referrals. In addition there seems to be limited communication with most of the township trustees. Indiana code requires that applicants apply in person for general assistance which places burdens on the disabled and those who do not have transportation to get to the office or home of the trustee. Public transportation is not available in many outlying areas. The community service agencies suggested having trustee offices open for regular hours and rapid response time to callers; have consistent guidelines and eligibility requirements and share this information with social service agencies. It appears that Fairfield Township has more contact with these four agencies due to this township's higher population and proximity to services. The agencies expressed a desire to have greater communication with township trustees. Cemetery Oversight Indiana Code (IC 23-14-68 & 69) provides regulation for cemetery oversight by the township. It also allows commissioners of a county to appoint a county cemetery commission consisting of five (5) residents of the county (IC 23-14-67). Cemetery care most frequently is contracted out for routine maintenance and cemetery restoration. As a result the cost of these services is scattered in various budget categories and often cannot be identified from the list of payees. The trustees reported that 17 of the cemeteries across the county for which they are responsible are active with available gravesites. This means that there are times that the trustee becomes involved with a family to select, sell and prepare a gravesite for burial. It is difficult to determine expenditures and income for this service on the SBOA reporting forms. In Tippecanoe County the Area Plan Commission (APC) keeps a map and a record of all cemeteries in the county. (http://www.tippecanoe.in.gov/apc/division.asp?fDD=28-232) The list includes the location, owner and caretaker. Of the 133 cemeteries listed by name, 55 are either owned or cared for by a township trustee; 52 have trustee listed as caretaker; while 18 listed the trustee as owner or partial owner. Appendix N lists the number of cemeteries and cemetery care responsibilities in Tippecanoe County as reported by township trustees. The level of care, restoration and management seems based on the level of interest and priorities of the trustees and township boards. The Indiana Township Association prints a brochure on cemetery responsibilities of townships which is available in Appendix M 3 – ‘Care of Cemeteries’. There is significant legislation pertaining to cemeteries that is not easily understood without effort, nor is there accountability for compliance. The push for restoration appears to be from “The Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project” created in October 1997 as an effort to generate public awareness about the neglected pioneer cemeteries of Indiana”. (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inpcrp/)

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Parks and Recreation Expenditures for recreational services are scattered in various budget categories and it is difficult if not impossible to identify these expenditures from the list of payees. The County Extension Youth Development Director (IC 21-46-5-3) is responsible for all 4-H volunteers including recruitment, training, and supervision. Some trustees pay 4-H leaders in their townships. Extension has neither authority nor oversight regarding any contract for payment that may exist between the 4-H leader and the township. There is no measure of the number of beneficiaries for these services. While all but two townships reported supporting the 4-H program, the County Extension Youth Development Director is only aware of five townships that contract for payment ranging from $125 - $800 with no correlation to size of club or membership. The townships are: Perry (1 club), Shelby (1 club), Union (1 club), Sheffield (2 clubs) and Wea (3 clubs). Recreation and community services seem to revolve around buildings and parks that have ended up as a township responsibility in various ways. These services frequently involve relationships with booster sports organizations, and payments for care and maintenance. In appendix O 1 a chart highlights recreational activities in each of the townships as reported by the trustees and appendix O 2 provides some history of park buildings. Noxious Weeds Noxious weeds do exist and at times township trustees may be called upon to assist in their removal according to IC 15-16-8. However, there was little if no discussion by the rural township trustees regarding this responsibility. There is no way to determine from the reporting form the cost of this service if performed. It falls under the “Other” category on the reporting form. Townships overlapping incorporated areas in most cases are duplicating these services. Conclusion The League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette Study Committee on Tippecanoe County Township Government researched to understand how township policy based on Indiana Code is implemented in 13 townships in the county. The committee’s focus was on how well the township governance met the criteria of being transparent, accessible, and accountable. We also attempted to determine whether concerns about equitable and efficient delivery of services raised elsewhere in the State were applicable in this county. Transparency into the processes of township government in Tippecanoe County is lacking in many cases. Often trustees appeared to be skeptical of outside inquires. While some trustees were open and willing to talk with committee members, it was difficult to obtain a dialogue with others. Most were willing to discuss the operations of their township and share information on their policies and services provided. When asked how trustees would like to improve township government, a few did offer ideas to make the execution of their duties more streamlined and to

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improve services to citizens. Some felt they were too new on the job to make suggestions, while others thought township government was fine the way it is. Accessibility for everyday citizens to the township trustee appears to be limited. In the first place, it is difficult for residents to identify the township in which they live. Often, it is difficult to locate the township trustee’s office. Only two of the nine trustees our committee met with have separate well marked offices in a public place (Fairfield and Lauramie). Some trustees work out of fire stations, but not all of these are well marked. Some trustees have offices in their homes, and some list only a post office box. Hours of operation vary, and are not easy to determine. Phone numbers are listed in different places in the phone book, and some are not listed at all. Accountability of any elected official is given to the voters. Although the State has oversight of all local units of government through the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) and State Board of Accounts (SBOA), the State does not have the power to take corrective action to remove or replace an elected official. Voters do. However, this requires that voters understand the duties and responsibilities of the elected official and have easy access to information which allows them to make a judgment about how well the duties are being carried out. State agencies require budgets and reports and conduct reviews and audits and publish and/or post on websites some of the information. However, the reports are not always completed correctly nor filed on time. Devoting more State resources to oversight to correct these problems simply increases the cost of maintaining township government. Even if forms are filled out correctly and filed on time, they are difficult to find and understand for the average citizen. Nevertheless, there are cases when voters do not return incumbent trustees to office. The committee’s main concern about the services provided by townships was consistency. While variation in delivery of services by geographic area has historically been important and continues to be important for larger areas (such as states), the committee feels the reasons for local differences when townships were created no longer exist. One main responsibility of township government is fire protection and emergency services. Although we have no specific concerns about the coverage of fire protection in the county, we learned that this coverage has a variety of organizational models and funded by a complicated network of tax rates. Some townships are in a fire district sharing responsibilities and expenses, while others contract for services; some belong to a cooperative endeavor to provide services; some townships own fire trucks and emergency trucks while others own none. Stations are staffed by either volunteer or professional firefighters with response times varying depending on the time of day and location of the emergency. The 911 Emergency Service in Tippecanoe County coordinates calls but the question remains if fire and emergency service could be improved if the current network of fire stations and emergency responses could be streamlined for efficiency and cost. Through the research process the committee learned that general assistance, although scripted by Indiana Code, is processed in different manners based on the township trustee, staff availability, and number of requests, costs of liability insurance, and other factors. Interaction with community service agencies varies, and dialogue between trustees and other agencies is often

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non-existent. The study committee feels that all citizens in the county should be held to the same established guidelines and procedures receiving equal opportunity for services. Inconsistencies also arise in the operations of parks and recreation services as well as with cemetery care. Some trustees work to provide and support the recreational needs in there townships with community centers, ball fields, 4-H programs and more, while others do little. In some cases there is a high interest in maintaining and restoring cemeteries while other trustees use their resources only for basic maintenance. It would seem to the committee that these services and the preservation of the past could be better managed by county wide oversight. Noxious weeds are already covered by ordinance in cities and towns, and although mentioned by several trustees, did not appear to be a major issue even in rural areas. Trustees have no unique expertise in noxious weeds. The county might be a better governmental unit to take over the responsibility of noxious weeds in unincorporated areas. Based on our research, our committee has formulated the following recommendations to improve the functions of township government.

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Recommendations to Improve Transparency, Accessibility, and Accountability in Township Government

Trustees

o Trustee office phone numbers must be listed in the telephone directory under the name of the township (IC 12-20-5.5-3). This information as well as the address of the space used as the township trustee's office should be included in the Government section of the telephone directory. (no P.O. boxes used as addresses)

o Trustee offices must be designated by a clearly visible sign that lists the trustee's name, office hours, and office telephone number (IC 12-20-5.5-3). Similar signage should also be posted on a trustee's property when a trustee's office is in their home.

o Written records of all township proceeding need to be kept at the trustee's office available for public inspection. (IC 36-6-6-8 & IC 36-6-4-3)

o Township trustees should provide a brochure for wide distribution to the public detailing their services, the trustee and board, staff, address of the office, telephone number, hours of operation, guidelines for receiving general assistance, map of the township with boundaries clearly indicated etc. This same information needs to be given to the county webmaster to have it posted on the Tippecanoe County web site and updated as needed.

o Townships should explore the following existing options for coordination and consolidations of services: Contract for services, particularly general assistance, with either another

township or a community service agency. Form fire protection territories or districts. Utilize the Government Modernization Act (IC 36-1.5) to redraw

boundaries, merge selected functions in order to help townships better reflect resident needs. (Rural, suburban and urban areas have different needs.)

County

o The county should host space on their web site to post information about townships.

o The county should have staff trained to answer questions from the public about township services and to provide referral services.

o The county should create a County Cemetery Board (IC-23-14-67-2) using existing statutes.

o The county should assume responsibility for noxious weed control through contracts with township trustees.

o The County Council should provide a careful and thorough review of township budget requests

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State o The state should simplify forms and procedures for townships:

DLGF and SBOA forms should be coordinated and simplified. Procedures for general assistance vouchers should be streamlined. The general assistance application form should be streamlined and on-line

filing of the form allowed. Training in the use of electronic reporting forms should be provided for

trustees and their staffs with workshops offered throughout the year and on-line training available.

o Provide follow-up inspections for audit inconsistencies prior to the next scheduled audit.

State Legislative action needed to continue township government reform:

o Change non-binding township budget oversight by County Council to binding oversight.

o Remove noxious weed responsibility from the township trustee and require county ordinances to provide for noxious weed control.

o Provide guidelines to townships in their role of caretakers of parks and recreation in order to provide consistent service across the county.

o Encourage the creation of fire protection territories or districts and increased cooperation between townships in training, purchasing supplies and equipment, insurance, etc. Strengthen county oversight of fire protection services.

o Incentives should be offered to encourage townships to merge. o Transferring all township duties to their respective counties needs to be further

considered with a comprehensive plan.

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League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette Tippecanoe County Township Government

Study Committee Report

Appendix

2

APPENDIX CONTENTS

Page

A. Contacts, resources and websites ………………………………………………… 3 B. Countywide Township Financial Comparison …………………………………… 6 C. Township history …………………………………………………………………. 8 D. League history related to township government …………………………………. 10 E. Selected Indiana Code related to township government ………………………….. 11 F. Example of Township Budget Form (DLGF) and Annual Report Form (SBOA)… 12 G. Cover letter and interview questions for trustees …………………………………. 18 H. Interview questions for community service agencies …………………………….. 20 I. Township staffing as reported by township trustees ……………………………… 21 J. Fire protection and medical emergencies as reported by township trustees ……… 22 K. County map with location of fire stations ……………………………………..….. 25 L. Township general assistance guidelines …………………………………..……… 26

1. Fairfield, Wabash and Wea 2. Remaining ten townships

M. Indiana Township Association Brochures: ………………………………………… 50 1. ‘Township Trustees-Exactly What Do They Do?’ 2. ‘Your Township Trustee’s Office – Here to Assist You’ 3. ‘Care of Cemeteries by Indiana Townships’ 4. Fairfield Township Trustee’s Informational Brochure

N. Number and responsibilities of cemetery care as reported by township trustees …… 59 O. Parks and recreation charts ………………………………………………………….. 60

1. Recreational activities as reported by township trustees 2. History of park buildings from County Parks and Recreation Department

P. Improving Township Government – Insights form Township Trustees ……………. 62

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APPENDIX A

Contacts, resources, and websites Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform (Kernan-Shepard Report) “Streamlining Local Government” http://indianalocalgovreform.iu.edu/assets/docs/Report_12-10-07.pdf January 2009 study by Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research entitled “Local Government Reform in Indiana” http://mysmartgov.org/resources/BSU%20LocalGovReform%20Study%202009.pdf State Board of Accounts 302 W Washington Street, Room E418 Indianapolis, IN 46204 (317) 232-4711 http://www.in.gov/sboa/ (general information) http://www.in.gov/sboa/files/twp2009_toc.pdf (Accounting and Uniform Compliance Guidelines Manual for Townships; reporting forms and general assistance application are listed in the Appendix) Department of Local Government Finance 100 North Senate Ave. N 1058 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317-232-3777 http://www.in.gov/dlgf/ (home page) http://www.in.gov/dlgf/7176.htm (general information) http://www.in.gov/dlgf/4952.htm (Townships Manual and budget forms) Indiana Township Association (ITA) P.O. Box 611 Fishers, IN 46038 317-813-3240 www.indianatownshipassoc.org (home page) http://indianatownshipassoc.org/content/view/47/48/ (publications) ITA’s response to the Kernan-Shepherd Report: “Government Consolidation: Separating Rhetoric from Reality” www.indianatownshipassoc.org/content/view/84/46/ National Association of Towns and Townships http://www.natat.org My Smart Gov http://mysmartgov.org LWV Montgomery County, Deanna Durrett

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Tippecanoe County Resources Mark Lawrence, Senior Vice President Foundations and Operations Indiana Chamber of Commerce 115 W Washington St, Ste 850S Indianapolis, IN 46244 317-264-3110 www.indianachamber.com Lafayette Urban Ministry Patti O’Callaghan, Director Social Justice Ministries Mary Anderson, Director Emergency Financial Assistance Tippecanoe Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Mark Kirby, Director Tippecanoe County, Jennifer Weston, Auditor Former County Commissioner, Nola Gentry Area IV, Kathryn Went, Emergency Assistance Director Salvation Army, Dawn Whitus, Emergency Service Director Riggs Community Health Center, Veronique LeBlanc, President and CEO LWV Montgomery County, Deanna Durrett Area Planning Commission Tippecanoe County Office Building Basement Floor 20 North 3rd Street Lafayette, IN 47901 http://www.tippecanoe.in.gov/apc/division.asp?fDD=28-232 (Cemetery Records) Allen Nail, Director Tippecanoe County Parks and Recreation Tippecanoe County Cemeteries Database http://www.tippecanoe.in.gov/egov/docs/1126713330_814361.pdf Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inpcrp/ Roberta Crabtree, Extension Educator 4-H Youth Development http://www.ces.purdue.edu/Tippecanoe/youth/Info.htm

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Emergency Services in Tippecanoe County Panel - Public Meeting, December 8, 2009 Christine Brady - Emergency Services Director, Tippecanoe Chapter American Red Cross Michael Bohlin, M.D. - Tippecanoe County Health Officer Tracy Brown – Sheriff, Tippecanoe County Richard Doyle - Assistant Chief, Lafayette Fire Department Jeff Houston - Supervisor, Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service Mark Kirby - Director, Tippecanoe Emergency Management Agency Kevin Ply - Chief, Purdue University Fire Department Tippecanoe County Township Trustees Fairfield Township, Julie Roush, Trustee, Margaret McCabe, Advisory Board, Sue - Case Manager, Teresa - Administrative Assistant www.fairfieldtownship.us Jackson Township, Sharon Lee Corwin, Trustee Lauramie Township, Bill Easterbrook, Trustee Perry Township, Phyllis McKinley, Trustee Randolph Township, Marcella K. Maynard Sheffield Township, Pam Crum, Trustee Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Arvin (Mr. Arvin is on the Advisory Board) Shelby Township, Jerry Rooze, Trustee Carol Rooze, Clerk Tippecanoe Township, Bill Jones, Trustee Union Township, Bob McKee, Trustee Bob Brown, Jill Plantenga, Paul Sietsma, Advisory Board Wabash Township, Patricia Mason, Trustee Joyce Lange, Advisory Board Washington Township, Kelly McKinley, Trustee Wayne Township, Norman Hayman, Trustee Wea Township, Matt Koehler, Trustee

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APPENDIX B

COUNTYWIDE TOWNSHIP FINANCIAL COMPARISON

Cash Balance Information

beg cash balance (no investments)

end cash balance

change in balance

ending cash +

investments

operating funds ending

balance

operating balance as pct of expenditures

YE balance as % of

expenditures Fairfield $74,765 $386,527 $311,762 $686,527 $386,527 87% 154%

Jackson $64,802 $84,145 $19,344 $84,145 $84,145 176% 176% Lauramie $391,054 $363,304 ($27,750) $363,304 $267,534 184% 267% Perry $101,219 $73,108 ($28,111) $1,117,608 $43,088 45% 1164% Randolph $157,997 $119,511 ($38,485) $199,353 $20,592 23% 226% Sheffield $748,683 $756,691 $8,008 $787,961 $575,249 385% 527% Shelby $262,322 $113,975 ($148,347) $113,975 $74,184 41% 63% Tippecanoe $500,859 $187,845 ($313,014) $187,845 $43,331 15% 64% Union $42,484 $38,325 ($4,159) $118,325 $38,325 73% 225% Wabash $707,417 $388,243 ($319,174) $388,243 $342,515 40% 46% Washington $203,774 $184,842 ($18,932) $184,842 $168,362 122% 133% Wayne $195,404 $156,980 ($38,424) $242,980 $71,339 67% 227% Wea $557,441 $193,550 ($363,891) $193,550 $184,874 20% 21% TOTAL $4,008,221 $3,047,048 ($961,173) $4,668,660 $2,300,066 65% 132%

Expenditure Information

Direct Service - Poor

Relief Total Fire Protection

Other Expenditures (Total - rest)

Personnel & Supplies (Admin)

Total Expenditures

% Admin of Total

2007 pay 2008 Tax

Rate Assessed Value 2007

Fairfield $155,923 $51,889 $52,038 $186,170 $446,019 42% 0.0578 2,597,785,260 Lafayette/Fairfield

$394,131 47% 0.0057 2,256,659,390

Jackson $1,181 $16,250 $16,661 $13,785 $47,877 29% 0.0712 51,539,470 Lauramie $8,957 $48,529 $52,720 $34,931 $145,137 24% 0.0726 117,186,665 Clarks Hill/Lauramie

$96,608 36% 0.0173 11,631,240

Perry $7,701 $44,560 $24,973 $18,747 $95,981 20% 0.0434 308,247,995 Randolph $2,204 $44,975 $27,120 $14,053 $88,351 16% 0.1141 59,025,570 Sheffield $3,796 $94,143 $33,141 $18,408 $149,487 12% 0.0504 337,167,505 Dayton/Sheffield

$55,345 33% 0.0060 214,158,190

Shelby $2,621 $156,619 $6,750 $14,780 $180,770 8% 0.0359 149,239,600

Tippecanoe/Battleground $17,640 $232,144 $14,937 $29,307 $294,027 10% 0.0714 338,628,550

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Union/Shadeland $15,607 n/a $17,921 $19,114 $52,642 36% 0.0123 234,248,170 Wabash $10,366 $743,266 $31,792 $61,427 $846,851 7% 0.0568 1,805,845,125 West Lafayette/Wabash

$103,585 59% 0.0022 1,050,204,880

Washington $1,222 $74,129 $32,486 $30,704 $138,541 22% 0.1517 116,334,715 Wayne $1,649 $85,944 $4,999 $14,568 $107,159 14% 0.0922 73,923,495 Wea $31,332 $734,142 $88,901 $83,900 $938,275 9% 0.0713 1,123,738,105 Lafayette/Wea

$204,133 41% 0.0130 754,865,495

TOTAL $260,199 $2,326,588 $404,437 $539,895

7% 66% 11% 15% $3,531,119

0.0651% $7,312,910,225

Township Assistance Demographics

Total Township Assistance Requests

Total Township Assistance Households

Average Assistance

per Household

% Households

Assisted

Total Est. Population

Square Miles

Est. Population of Twp Fire Area

Fairfield 818 431 $361.77 53%

51,988 28 6,037 Jackson 7 2 $590.35 29%

1,185 41 1,185

Lauramie 36 34 $263.45 94%

3,297 54 2,685 Perry 21 11 $700.09 52%

6,185 36 6,185

Randolph 10 5 $440.87 50%

1,392 30 1,392 Sheffield 2 2 $1,897.92 100%

3,760 36 2,581

Shelby 2 2 $1,310.57 100%

2,963 54 2,691 Tippecanoe 64 37 $476.75 58%

7,192 49 7,192

Union 112 25 $624.27 22%

1,759 27 1,759 Wabash 381 45 $230.35 12%

54,865 49 23,921

Washington 2 2 $610.83 100%

2,997 27 2,997 Wayne 2 2 $824.50 100%

1,872 35 1,872

Wea 234 82 $382.10 35%

23,909 36 6,307 TOTAL 1,691 680 $382.64 40%

163,364 503 66,804

8

APPENDIX C

Township History Administration of poor relief assistance was the primary reason for the creation of the township system in the US. Township poor relief was modeled after England’s Poor Relief Laws of 1572. Provisions for township government and the procedures for laying out township boundaries were established in 1790 in the Act of the Northwest Territory. Township trustees and poor relief existed in Indiana before the state was admitted to the union in 1816.1 Tippecanoe County was organized with the original name of Tippecanoe River and Battle Ground in 1826.2

Article 6 (administrative branch of government) of the Indiana Constitution, 1851, refers to townships with limited unspecified duties and officers similar to other administrative entities in the state such as counties or cities. The article neither directs nor provides for the creation of townships or expresses the limits of township authority. There are 1,008 townships in the State of Indiana with 13 of them in Tippecanoe County. 3

In 1993, Indiana townships were given home rule – the right to govern themselves without legal restrictions and the ability to establish park and recreation boards. This means that a township may exercise any power neither expressly denied to it or nor granted to another government entity. However, unless authorized by statute, a township may not require a license or license fee, impose a service charge or user fee, impose a penalty, adopt an ordinance or impose township rent control.4

Townships may join national, state and county associations of a civic, educational or governmental nature and may appropriate funds to enable township representatives to take part in association activities.5

According to the Indiana Township Association, Inc. website, over 750 of the 1,008 townships in the state are members.

Tippecanoe County Townships and date of creation:6

• The three original townships created by the Board of Justices on July 8, 1826 include Fairfield, Randolph, and Wabash.

• Wayne Township was created by the County Commissioners on March 4, 1828. • Tippecanoe Township was created by the County Commissioners July 6, 1829. • Jackson, Perry, Sheffield, and Shelby Townships were created by the County Commissioners on

September 7, 1829. • Cole Township was created by the County Commissioners on January 4, 1830 and later renamed

Lauramie on November 7, 1831. • Washington Township was created by the County Commissioners on March 5, 1832. • Wea Township was created by the County Commissioners on June 3, 1857.

1 Here is your Indiana Government, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Chapter 5, page 128 2 Here is your Indiana Government, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, page 238 3 Here is your Indiana Government, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Chapter 5, page 127 4 Here is your Indiana Government, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Chapter 5, page 128 5 Here is your Indiana Government, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Chapter 5, page 128 6 A Township-by-Township Look at Tippecanoe County, Area Planning Commission

9

• Union Township was created by the County Commissioners on March 10, 1871. In 1984 the entire township was incorporated as the Town of Shadeland.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, trustees were responsible for operating public schools; maintaining roads and bridges; cutting noxious weeds; overseeing and assisting the poor; supervising elections and enumerating voters (males over the age of 21); collecting the dog tax and paying claims for livestock kills and rabies treatment; burying civil war veterans and maintaining abandoned cemeteries; maintain and erecting partition fences between properties; serving as fire chief in unincorporated areas; maintaining libraries; and operating the Justice of the Peace Courts.7

Some remnants of these responsibilities still remain but most have faded away due to life style changes and the creation of other government and organizational entities.

7 Washington Township, Marion County website http://www.washtwp.org/history.html

10

APPENDIX D

League of Women Voters history related to township government The League of Women Voters of Indiana (LWVIN) initially approved a position on Local Government in 1975 which was revised in 1979, 1988 and again in 2009. The League has a long history of concern over local government dating back to the 1930’s. The minutes of the LWVIN Convention of 1933 written by President Mrs. Charles N. Teetor reports that Professor Thomas H. Reed presented to the convention on the “need for reorganizing local government.” In addition, it is reported that LWVIN had “local county survey groups” which made the following recommendations to the convention which were all adopted. They were: 1. Abolishment of township government, transferring its functions to County government. 2. Elimination of fees to individual officials. 3. More business-like methods of financial administration for the County. 4. Wider distribution of the gasoline tax and automobile license fund to the counties. 5. Centralization of administrative responsibility in the-county, by eliminating the present board of county commissioners and county council and providing instead for a strong executive type of government with an elected council and a county administrator. 6. Appointment of a committee of trained persons to make an intensive survey of county and state government to determine how costs could be lowered, efficiency increased and government made more responsive to the will of the people. Throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s the LWVIN monitored the Local Government Study Commission appointed by the General Assembly with a League member on the Commission. In 1980 and 1981, the League successfully lobbied for enabling legislation in the Indiana Code and strengthened ‘home rule’ powers for local governments. However, legislation which would grant increased fiscal home rule to local governments or governmental structures was not passed. The League worked unsuccessfully in both the 1984 and 1985 sessions toward passage of a council-manager option of government for cities to enable them to hire city managers. Finally based on the LWVIN local government position and a local position favoring increased government consolidation, in 2005 the State Board authorized testimony by the Indianapolis League before a state legislative committee in support of consolidation of police and fire services in Marion County.

11

Appendix E Selected Indiana Code related to township government General

36 - 6 - 4 Township Executive 36 - 6 - 4 - 3 Duties; (3) Keep township records open for public inspection 36 - 6 - 6 – 8 Record of proceedings 12 – 20 - 5.5 – 3 Adequate access ensured; telephone number; office 12 – 20 – 5.5 – 4 Scheduled hours of township trustee 36 – 1.5 Government Modernization Act

Fire Protection and Emergency Services

36-8-13 details provision of emergency services to be supplied by townships 36-8-13-2 Authorization to supply fire protection 36-8-13-3 Powers of executives in providing fire protection 36-8-13-4 Township firefighting fund - Establishment - Uses - Tax levies - Donations – Service

charges - False alarms 36-8-13-4.5 Payment of expenses for fire protection and emergency services at township 36-8-13-4.6 Adjustment of municipality's maximum permissible tax levy 36-8-13-4.7 Adjustment for township providing fire protection and emergency services 36-8-13-5 Purchase of firefighting apparatus and equipment - Installments 36-8-13-6 Borrowing authorized for purchases of apparatus and equipment - Repayment of loan 36-8-13-6.5 Objection petition - Hearing - Notice 36-8-13-7 Manner of purchases - Bids - Terms 36-8-13-8 Insurance coverage for firefighters 36-8-13-9 Injuries and expenses covered 36-8-14 Cumulative firefighting building and equipment and police radio funds 36-8-14-2 Establishment authorized - Uses of fund - Approval required 36-8-14-4 Tax levy and rates - Deposit - Limitation on use - Expenditure upon appropriation

General Assistance

12 - 20 -1 thru 28 Township Assistance 12 - 30 – 4 Placement in County Homes and payment of Indigent Expenses

Cemetery Care 23-14-67-2 The board of commissioners of a county may appoint a county cemetery commission

consisting of five (5) residents of the county 23-14-68 Care of Cemeteries by Townships 23-14-69 Establishment of Public Cemeteries by Townships

Parks and Recreation

21-46-5-3 State cooperative extension service; duties Sec. 3. Each county cooperative extension service educator under the supervision of the state cooperative extension service of Purdue University shall do the following: (3) Conduct 4-H club and other work with youth.

Noxious Weeds

15-16-8 Destroy detrimental plants, noxious weeds, and rank vegetation

12

Appendix F PRESCRIBED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE APPROVED BY STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS

Township Trustee’s Budget Estimate

For the calendar Year Ending December 31, ____________

____________________________ Township, ______________________ County, Indiana

TOTAL 0101 TOWNSHIP FUND ITEMS ESTIMATE APPROVED 410 GENERAL GOVERNMENT

1. Personal Services

A. Salaries and Wages

a. Salary of Trustee

b. Salary of Clerical Help

c. Pay of Township Board

d. _________________________________

e. _________________________________

f. _________________________________

B. Employee Benefits

a. Social Security-Civil Township's Share

b. Unemployment Compensation

c. PERF

d. Insurance

e. _________________________________

C. Other Personal Services

$ -

2. Supplies

A. Office Supplies

a. Record Books

b. Stationery and Office Supplies

c. Printing

B. Operating Supplies

C. Repair and Maintenance Supplies

D. Other Supplies

$ -

3. Other Services and Charges

A. Professional Services (Legal Services)

B. Communication and Transportation

a. Travel Expense

b. Telephone

C. Printing and Advertising (Other Than

Office Supplies)

D. Insurance

a. Official Bonds

b. Other Insurance

E. Utility Services

F. Repairs and Maintenance

G. Rentals

13

a. Office Rent

b. Other Rentals

H. Debt Service - Interest on

Temporary Loans

I. Care of Cemeteries

J. Dues and Subscriptions

a. ________________________________

b. ________________________________

K. Training (Other Than Assessing)

L. Community Services (IC 36-6-4-8(a))

$ -

4. Capital Outlays

A. Land

B. Buildings

C. Machinery and Equipment

Total General Government

$ -

Total Estimate Township Fund

$ -

TOWNSHIP BOND (DEBT SERVICE) FUND

3. Other Services and Charges

A. Principal

B. Interest

Total Estimate Township Bond

$ -

(Debt Service) Fund

(See Reverse

Side)

1111 FIRE FIGHTING FUND

PUBLIC SAFETY (Fire Protection - Area Outside corporate limits of Cities and Towns or

Outside Boundaries of Fire Protection District)

1. Personal Services

A. Salaries and Wages

B. Employee Benefits

C. Other Personal Services

$ -

2. Supplies

A. Operating Supplies

B. Repair and Maintenance Supplies

$ -

14

3. Other Services and Charges

A. Contractual Payments

B. Automobile Expenses

C. Clothing Allowances

D. Insurance

E. Rentals

F. Other Expenses

$ -

4. Capital Outlays

Total Estimate Fire Fighting Fund

$ -

1190 CUMULATIVE FIRE FIGHTING

3 Other Services and Charges

A. Contractual Payments

4. Capital Outlays

A. Buildings

B. Firefighting Equipment

C. Land

Total Cumulative Fire Fighting

$ -

1312 RECREATION FUND

CULTURE - RECREATION

1. Personal Services

2. Supplies

3. Other Services and Charges

4. Capital Outlays

Total Estimate Recreation Fund

$ -

TOTAL 840 TOWNSHIP ASSISTANCE ITEMS ESTIMATE APPROVED 0840 Welfare

I. 1. 441 Administration

1. Personal Services

A. Salaries and Wages

Number of

Employees Class or Title Annual Salary

a.

15

b.

c.

B. Employee Benefits

a. Social Security - Employer's Share

b. Unemployment Compensation

c. PERF

d. Insurance

e. ________________________

$ -

2. Supplies

A.

Office Supplies

a. Record Books

b. Stationery and Office Supplies

c. Printing and Postage

B.

Operating Supplies

C.

Repair and Maintenance Supplies

D.

Other Supplies

$ -

3. Other Services and Charges

A.

Legal Services

B.

Traveling Expense - Investigators

C.

Insurance

D.

Utility Services

E.

Repairs and Maintenance

F.

Rentals

a. Office Rent

b. Other Rentals

G. Other

$ -

4. Capital Outlays

A.

Office Equipment

B.

$ -

II 442 DIRECT ASSISTANCE

Medical, Hospital and Burial

A.

Services of Physicians, Dentists and Opticians

B.

Service of

16

Surgeons

C.

Prescriptions

D.

Hospital Expense (Not Including Surgeons)

E.

Burials and Ambulance Service

F.

Expense of Inmates in County Home

G.

$ -

2. Other Direct Relief

A.

Food and Household Supplies

B.

Clothing and Shoes

C.

Shelter

D.

Fuel

E.

Public Utility Services

F.

School Books

G.

Transportation and Moving

H.

I.

$ -

III 443 Other Assistance

$ -

Total Estimate - Township Assistance Fund

$ -

Respectfully submitted to the Township Board this ____________day of _____________, 20____________.

__________________________

Township Trustee

Township Trustee

17

APPENDIX F, continued Cover Sheet Annual Reporting Form

http://www.in.gov/sboa/3393.htm (download to complete report) * FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER STATE OF INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 46204-2765 TOWNSHIP: TELEPHONE: (317) 232-2513 COUNTY:

TOWNSHIP FORM 15 (REVISED 2009)

PRESCRIBED BY

THE STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS

ID:

(State Board of Accounts USE ONLY)

CONTENTS:

PART 1 - STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS, DISBURSEMENTS, CASH BALANCES AND INVESTMENT BALANCES

TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT TO:

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 2009 (ADVERTISE)

PART 2 - RECEIPTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 2009 (ADVERTISE)

THE TOWNSHIP BOARD

PART 3A - DISBURSEMENTS

PART 3B - DETAIL OF DISBURSEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 2009 (ADVERTISE)

THE COUNTY AUDITOR

PART 4 - CASH AND INVESTMENTS AT DECEMBER 31, 2009

PART 5 - INDEBTEDNESS (ADVERTISE)

THE STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS

PART 6 - INTERGOVERNMENTAL EXPENDITURES

PART 7 - STATEMENT OF FEDERAL GRANT RECEIPTS, DISBURSEMENTS, AND BALANCES

PART 8 - STATEMENT OF STATE GRANT RECEIPTS, DISBURSEMENTS, AND BALANCES

PART 9 - CERTIFICATION (ADVERTISE)

PART 10 - ADVERTISEMENT AND NOTE TO PUBLISHERS TOWNSHIP:

PART 11- TOWNHSHIP ASSISTANCE STATISTICAL REPORT

PART 12 - FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO NONGOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES COUNTY:

TRUSTEE'S NAME: FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009

TRUSTEE'S ADDRESS:

FILED IN THE COUNTY AUDITOR'S OFFICE

(street)

(email)

IN

(city/town)

(state)

(zip)

TELEPHONE (BETWEEN THE HOURS OF ____ AM and ___ PM

18

APPENDIX G LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS® OF GREATER LAFAYETTE PO Box 2085 West Lafayette, IN 47996-2085

(765) 497-4144; http://leaguelafayette.org

League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette Board of Directors Betty

Doversberger, President

Winnie Adler Jo Brooks Jean Andres Peg Dunkle Sue Scholer Donna Giroux Mida Grover Melanie Lucroy

September 28, 2009 Township Trustee Address City Dear, As you know local government has recently become an issue of interest to Indiana state legislators and the general public. In response to this interest, the League of Women Voters of Indiana voted at our state convention in May 2009 to study local government functions and structures. The League is a non-partisan organization which works for good government on all levels which includes the principles of accessibility, transparency and accountability. This study focuses on three areas including: 1. Public safety 2. Township government and 3. Libraries. Locally, the League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette has begun this study process in Tippecanoe County. We hope to better understand all local services provided and the financial impact. The Local Government Study committee knows that data reports do not adequately describe all that is done when public services and real lives are affected. Therefore, we would like to request an opportunity to speak with you to learn specifically about your responsibilities as township trustee and the day to day work you experience, the decisions you are faced with and the choices that need to be made as trustee. If available, we would like to include your advisory board in this discussion as well.

Enclosed you will find a list of questions to begin our conversation with you and your board. We anticipate the conversation lasting no more than one hour. We are looking forward to talking with you and learning about local government in Tippecanoe County. Your assistance with this study is important to provide the general public with a clear picture of the responsibilities of township trustees and advisory boards. A member of our committee will follow – up with a phone call soon to schedule a meeting.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Jean Andres, Chair Local Government Study Committee

Enclosure: Trustee Township Information Survey

19

APPENDIX G, continued

Tippecanoe County Township Trustee Information Survey

Designed by the League of Women Voters of Greater Lafayette September 2009

It is anticipated that the League of Women Votes of Greater Lafayette (LWVGL) and the

Tippecanoe County Township Trustees will work together to learn about and share the current processes of township government within the county. The League of Women Voters primary focus is good government. It was realized after the increased attention to township government in the 2009 General Assembly that the members of the LWVGL and the general public do not know much about township government.

In order for the members of the LWVGL and the general public to become more knowledgeable

about township government, it was decided to ask the township trustees who would know best how to explain the day to day operations of township government including the budgeting and taxing processes, services provided, expenditures and more.

It is hoped through a direct dialogue between the LWVGL and the township trustees’

information can be obtained and shared with the public about their township government in action. These questions surfaced as the LWVGL reviewed available reports and published information. It is one way to begin a dialogue for understanding.

Survey Questions:

1. What prompted you to run for trustee and when? 2. How did you learn the responsibilities of a trustee? 3. Please tell us all the services you provide. 4. What kinds of requests for assistance do you receive? 5. What are the guidelines you use for poor relief assistance? Are these the same guidelines used by

other trustees? If no, can you share the differences if known? 6. Is there a primary reason people are denied services? 7. How many staff do you have? 8. How do you determine what contract services are used and who to contract to? 9. Do you have major capital expenses? 10. Does the township own property?

20

11. Describe your public meetings. 12. Does your township financially support cultural and/or recreational services? 13. How do you provide fire protection to your township – by contract services or other

arrangement? 14. Do you provide Emergency Medical Services? 15. How many cemeteries are you responsible for? 16. What other government units are in your township? In what way do you work with them or any

other government/not-for- profit agencies? 17. What changes would you make in the township system to improve services for your

constituents? What are the existing barriers that prevent these changes? 18. What else would you like to share about township government?

APPENDIX H

Interview Questions Presented to Social Service Agencies 1. Do you have the opportunity to interact with the Township Trustees? If so, which townships and

for what reasons? 2. Have you experienced any barriers in referring clients to the townships for assistance? 3. What changes would you make in the township system to improve services for your

constituents?

21

APPENDIX I

Staffing for Tippecanoe County Townships as reported by the Township Trustees

Township

Trustee tenure (through 2010)

Staff Other Government units

Fairfield 4 years 3 FT, 1 PT Lafayette Jackson 12 years 1 PT deputy Lauramie 16 years 1 PT clerk Clarks Hill Perry 11 years 2 PT clerks Randolph 12 years 1 deputy Sheffield 12 years 1 deputy Dayton Shelby 24 years 1 deputy Part of Otterbein Tippecanoe 8 years 1 clerk Battle Ground Union 20 years 0 Shadeland Wabash 32 years 4 pt, includes fire

chief West Lafayette

Washington 4 years 1 clerk Wayne 8 years 1 clerk Wea 16 years 3 pt, 1 deputy, 1

fireman Lafayette

All trustees list state training (both state government and township association) as part of learning trustee duties, and the more rural townships formed the Tippecanoe County Trustee Association as a forum to learn from each other. Only the Fairfield trustee is full time, all others consider themselves part-time, although may rely substantially on other staff. All townships have statutory responsibility for fire protection, poor relief, and cemetery maintenance; the ownership/lease of recreation facilities and parks vary from none to a large center in Wea (Wea Park) with a part-time staff member. Union Township has the same boundaries as the town of Shadeland, the town provides fire protection, and the township deeded all its property to the town when Shadeland incorporated in 1984. Public meetings are noticed as required by law, but rarely have any public attend, and usually only when a volatile issue will be discussed (sewers in Stockwell or community ball fields in Perry as examples). Most trustees list fire equipment as property owned, and land ownership is sometimes cemeteries, and some have community centers (old schools or township school lots, fire depts., other donated property). Union has none (all transferred to town). Fairfield, Lauramie, Wabash, and Wea have office space outside the trustee’s own home. Many townships have public meetings at the fire departments.

22

APPENDIX J

Fire protection as reported by trustees

Township Own equipment and/or Fire house

Contract? Comments

Fairfield No Yes with Lafayette

Jackson No Yes with 3 volunteer depts

Coal Creek, West Point, Randolph Townships

Lauramie Yes - all but 1 truck

Yes with 2 departments

Clarks Hill & Lauramie Volunteer Fire Departments & Lauramie EMS: no payment for "chief"

Perry No Yes with 2 departments

Part of Fire Territory. Purchased fire truck for $300,000. Purchased 2 trucks for each district- Washington Volunteer Fire & Randolph Township Volunteer Fire Department

Randolph Manages all fiscal matters of Fire Department

Yes with 2 departments

Randolph Township Volunteer Fire Department & Sheffield Volunteer Fire Department $200 stipend per volunteer annually. Received $150,000 from Build Indiana Fund to purchase fire truck.

Sheffield Yes Yes - Sheffield Volunteer Fire Fighters

Sheffield Township Volunteer Fire Fighters Part of Fire Territory: Tippecanoe, Sheffield, Perry, Washington Townships Dayton contracts with Sheffield to provide fire protection

Shelby 55% of station & equipment

Yes 5 areas cooperate. Trustee from each sits on fire board (Medina (Warren), Boliver, Pine Twp (Benton) Round Grove (White) Otterbein Area Volunteer Fire & Rescue provides fire fighters IN Lottery funds paid for part of the construction of the current fire station. Re-roofed station earlier than planned because of concerns about elimination of townships.

Tippecanoe Yes Yes - Tippecanoe Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Part of Fire Territory. Fire fighter allowance is $350 per year per fire fighter. Has 2 trucks one for medical response and one for rescue. All townships donated a total of $25,000 to purchase & install GPS equipment in all county ambulances.

Union No No Town of Shadeland provides and pays for fire protection

Wabash Yes No Has 2 fire stations. 1 paid firefighter posted at each station during working hours. Firefighters have social organization. Hires fire assistant during AM who does vehicle maintenance, etc. - hours are irregular. New fire station built in 2006 cost 2.5 million; 1.5 million bond being paid off in 6 yrs. Also purchased new tanker truck.

23

Washington Fire Station (equipment?)

Yes - Washington Township/Buck Creek Fire Dept.

Part of new Fire Territory. Provides protection to half of Perry Twp. Volunteer firefighters paid $350 annually, chief & officers $600-700 annually

Wayne Yes –Fire station & fire and ambulance vehicle and equipment

Yes with West Point Volunteer Fire Department for firefighters

Provides mutual aid for several other depts. Owns 2 ambulances- dispatched by Tippecanoe County Dispatch. Provides backup for Tippecanoe County Ambulance Service.

Wea Yes No 1 paid full time firefighter on hand 5 days a week. All fire fighter volunteers are trained as first responders. Just completed a major $800,000 renovation to the fire house.

24

Appendix J, continued

Medical emergencies as reported by trustees

Township # &Type of Responders

Ambulance at Fire Station?

Comments

Fairfield None No station Contract with Lafayette Jackson West Pont has EMTs No station Contract w/ West Point, Coal

Creek, Randolph

Lauramie Clarks Hill has some EMTs

Owns an ambulance – located in Stockwell

Contracts with Clarks Hill & Lauramie Township Fire Departments

Perry Sheffield Twp. provides fire protection; has first responders & EMTs

No station Contracts w/Sheffield & Washington Twp.

Randolph Has rescue truck Contract with Randolph Township Vol. Fire Dept. dispatched by county EMS

Sheffield 7 first responder, 13 EMTs w/ 2 in training

No Does not provide transport

Shelby All are first responders, some are EMTs

Yes - 1

Tippecanoe First responders Has rescue truck Uses county EMS Union Shadeland has 9-10 of

17 with some medical training

No Provided by Shadeland

Wabash Some EMTs Yes - 1 at Klondike Station Owns rescue vehicle

1 firefighter at each station in AM to move trucks to fire scene; one also does vehicle maintenance; both are paid employees

Washington All First responders, 2 or 3 are EMTs

No 1 volunteer is a nurse

Wayne Contracts with West Point Vol. Fire Dept. for personnel

2 ambulances which the township owns

Provides back-up for Tippecanoe County Ambulance Service

Wea Some firefighters trained as first responders

1 county ambulance stationed at fire station. Wea does not provide EMS services

Full time paid firefighter on hand 5 days a week; able to handle most emergency calls by himself

25

Fire stations Boundaries of cities and towns Cities: Lafayette, West Lafayette Incorporated towns: Shadeland, Battleground, Dayton, Clarks Hill, Otterbein Unincorporated towns: Stockwell, Romney, Odell, West Point, Monitor, Buck Creek, Granville, Americus, Montmorenci

APPENDIX K

Tippecanoe County Township boundaries and location of fire stations

26

Appendix L 1

General Assistance Guideline’s for Fairfield Township are located on the website at www.fairfieldtownship.us , Wabash and Wea Townships’ General Assistance Guidelines are below.

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

Appendix L 2

General Assistance Guidelines for Shelby, Tippecanoe, Washington, Perry, Wayne, Union, Sheffield, Jackson, Randolph and Lauramie Townships Follows

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

APPENDEX M 1

Indiana Township Association Brochures

51

52

APPENDEX M 2

53

54

APPENDIX M 3 Care of Cemeteries by Indiana Townships

55

56

APPENDIX M 4 Fairfield Township Trustee Informational Brochure

57

58

59

APPENDIX N

Number and Responsibilities of Cemetery Care in Tippecanoe County as reported by Township Trustees

How many cemeteries are you responsible for?

Acreage (Approximates)

Contract (All amounts are approx)

Fairfield 0 Jackson 2 Contract for mowing;

always use same one Lauramie 9 of 13 in the

township; 5 of the 9 are active

2-3 acres Contract for mowing annually

Perry 4 Contract for mowing Randolph 2 Small – 2 acres Contract mowing and

trimming $15/hr; $2000/year

Sheffield 7 Contract for mowing Shelby 2; both active Small - bigger Contract for mowing Tippecanoe 2 Small and 2 acres Contract mowing and

trimming $15/hr; $2000/year total

Union 5.5 (share one with Wea)

3 acres total Contract for mowing; restoration of all but 1 completed

Wabash 4 - 1 active Contract for mowing $12,000/ $10,000 past yr for restoration

Washington 5- 3 active “quite large in total” Contract for mowing/ two inactive sites in need of restoration

Wayne 3 are maintained by other organizations

Wea 10 of 14; 2 of 10 active

6 – 200 graves Contract for mowing/ 7 of 10 have been restored

60

APPENDIX O 1

Recreational activities as reported by township trustees

Does your township

financially support cultural and/or recreation

4-H As listed on the

Purdue Extension Web site

Owned property

Fairfield no no Jackson Community center; 4-

H; may fund other if funds available

1 club Community center

Lauramie Booster club for summer rec; 4-H

3 clubs; $400 each

Ball fields

Perry 4-H; stopped baseball effort due to limited funds

2 clubs; $800

Randolph 4-H; summer rec 1 club

Sheffield Summer rec; 4-H 2 clubs Shelby 4-H 1 club; $700/ $800 for

2010

Tippecanoe 4-H; summer rec 2 clubs Union 4-H 1 club paid Rec center went to town

when Shadeland incorporated

Wabash 4-H; stopped funding summer rec due to limited to county kids only

3 clubs $220 budgeted for 6 clubs

Washington Maintains park; electic bill for ball diamond; community center

1 club Community center and ball parks

Wayne 4-H 1 club Wea Summer rec (approx

500 kids); 4-H ( approx 200 kids)

3 clubs Community Center (old Wea school); Wea Park equipment and improvements (in cooperation with TSC, land owner)

61

APPENDIX O 2

History of Park Buildings from Tippecanoe County Park Department

The Tippecanoe County Park Board received the deed to several schools abandoned by the Tippecanoe School Corporation as listed in the table. The County Park Department maintained these buildings, while the townships were responsible for usage scheduling. In 2002, due to financial constraints, the Park board deeded the buildings back to the township, ending their responsibility for the care and maintenance of the buildings and grounds, except for Shadeland which had been deeded to Union Township in 1985 and Romney in 1997. Since that time, there has been no communication between the Park Department and the townships about these properties, their maintenance, or their condition. Not knowing the current condition of these facilities would be a concern for the Park Department in the event that these responsibilities would return to the County. The Park Department would also need appropriate funding for increased equipment usage, increased mileage and fuel needs, personnel time, and the issue of coordinating the scheduling.

History of Tippecanoe County Park Department

and Township Community Centers

Community Centers

Date Deeded to County Park Board

Expenses excluding staff time; dominated by utility cost (provided by County Park Director)

All went back to Township in 2002

1996 1997 1998

Jackson Jackson Twp

1967 from TSC $3,919 $3,606 $4,684

Pleasant Grove Grange

Tippecanoe Twp

1985 from Grange $ 804 $2,686 $1,053

Fairview (east on SR 26)

Perry Twp

1969 from Church of Brethren

$1,745 $1,478 $ 920

Shadeland Union Twp

1975 from TSC (Back to Union in 1985)

Buck Creek Washington

Twp

1970 from TSC $5,912 $3,650 $ 2,939

Romney Randolph Twp

1967 from TSC $9,131 (Deeded to Trustee)

Westpoint Wayne Twp

From TSC (School closed in 1986)

(building was destroyed)

62

Appendix P

Improving Township Government - Insights from Township Trustees

Question #17 on the survey we sent to township trustees asked "What changes would you make in the township system to improve services to your constituents? What are the barriers that prevent these changes?" Most of the trustees did not offer ideas; some because they were too new on the job and others felt that the system was fine as it exists. A few did offer suggestions and they included:

• Increase communication with state and county government • Open a dialog regarding the consolidation of townships • Legislative action to eliminate the responsibility of weed control • Legislative action to allow for the electronic transfer of funds to replace vouchers • Simplify the General Assistance application • Identify job qualifications for township trustees and advisory board members and an

evaluation process • Trustees and advisory board members should be required to complete ongoing training • Personnel from SBOA should visit each trustee a minimum of twice a year • Computerize reporting to the SBOA • Provide computers for citizens to apply for general assistance and employment • Provide bus service for clients to reach needed locations (job interviews, school, doctor or

dentist offices, etc.) • Townships should provide basic life skills classes and have more community events • Drug test clients • Allow trustees to count people who come for help even when they to not complete needed

paperwork • Trustees salaries should be consistent with salary of other government officials • More flexibility in transferring funds between accounts • Consolidation of smaller townships as well as smaller counties