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Greenwood, White River Township Merger Not Likely

Last updated on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

(GREENWOOD) - It could have been one of the ten largest cities in Indiana had it gone through, but a proposed merger of the city of Greenwood and White River Township in Johnson County will likely not take place.

The Johnson County Election Board declined to place the merger question on the November general election ballot because no one spoke in favor of it at the board's meeting Tuesday.

The White River Township Board had worked on the merger since 2009, but an entirely new board was elected in November 2010 on a platform opposing the merger.

Township Board Chairman Greg Rainbolt says his board voted against the plan as it's first official act in January 2011, and says he was the only person to address the election commission at its meeting. Rainbolt says he opposed the merger because he didn't think White River Township residents would get their money's worth in services from Greenwood for the additional taxes they would have paid.

Had it been approved, the merged town would have had roughly 80,000 residents, which would have made it the eighth largest city in Indiana according to the 2010 Census.

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