LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Congratulations to State Senator David Long for having the courage and wisdom to withdraw Senate Bill 225 from consideration in this session of the General Assembly. His charter government bill (which would have mandated Allen County to study local government, propose a structure and conduct a referendum) needed more time for comments and revisions than was available during this year’s short session.
The passage of S.B. 223, another bill sponsored by Senator Long, ensures that the structure of local government will be examined by a statewide study commission. This study should provide useful information for Allen County residents as we continue to consider the issue at the county level.
The withdrawal of S.B. 225 will allow discussions about the structure and services of the governments in Allen County to move forward in an open, non-threatening fashion that involves people from all segments of the Allen County community. Besides Fort Wayne and Allen County, the smaller cities, towns, school corporations, townships and unincorporated rural areas, plus non-governmental entities such as businesses and social-service agencies, all have a stake in the outcome.
Charter government proponents should begin the discussion by better articulating the problems that are motivating their concerns about the county’s current government structure. They should share their vision for the future of the community and explain how government is involved. A clear explanation of what the community hopes to accomplish is essential in order to be able to evaluate whether proposed solutions would be effective and viable. Without this specific problem statement, the community will be floundering through an expensive government study with no direction.
I’m looking forward to continuing constructive community dialogue on this very important issue.
Margaret M. Ankenbruck
Allen County Council At-large
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