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Last updated on Tuesday, January 9, 2018
(INDIANAPOLIS) - This year, Indiana House Republicans will target townships - a form of government that operates with high overhead and little oversight.
The House's majority party announced Thursday it would make cutting nearly a third of the township governments in Indiana a key part of their 2018 agenda.
The proposal would consolidate about 300 of the state's 1,005 townships within the next five years. The move would eliminate nearly 1,200 elected positions.
Townships are governed by one elected trustee with some oversight by a three-person board. Townships provide financial assistance to residents to pay bills and other expenses, fire protection and emergency medical services. Some townships fund libraries, oversee parks and maintain cemeteries.
Under the current proposal, southwest Indiana would see ten of 38 township offices consolidated.
Those townships are (township, county, population): Union, Vanderburgh, 292; Point, Posey, 497; Lynn, Posey, 945; Bethel, Posey, 327; Wabash, Gibson, 30; Washington, Gibson, 785; Campbell, Warrick, 906; Pigeon, Warrick, 979; Lane, Warrick, 281; and Owen, Warrick, 611.
There are 11 other townships in the four-county area with populations between 1,200 and 2,000.
The Indiana Township Association, which provides support and lobbies on behalf of townships, backs the proposal.
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