Commission Recommends Big Changes to Local Gov't

Indiana’s Commission on Local Government Reform recommended big changes yesterday. One of the biggest of the 27 changes would be to replace county commissioners with a single, elected county executive. "You wouldn't run General Motors with three CEO's," said former Governor Joe Kernan, who co-chaired the commission. "You wouldn't run your local Dairy Queen with three CEO's. One person makes sense from an administrative standpoint." The commission also recommends that the county executive appoint county sheriffs, auditors, treasurers and other officials, rather than voters electing them. Another recommendation is to reorganize school districts so no system has fewer than two thousand students. Governor Daniels says if the legislature agrees to implement the suggestions, doing so will take a few years at least. House Speaker Patrick Bauer says some of the recommendations should be put before voters in referendums. You can read the commission's full report for yourself by visiting the commission's Web site.