From the Johnson County Daily News:
Center Grove area residents have been wondering how they could end up in a town, with no vote on whether that’s what they really want.
Residents can’t directly decide themselves whether to form a new town under a state law that predates the era of taxpayers being able to approve government projects at the ballot box.
Instead, the decision to create a new town rests with county commissioners.
Residents, state lawmakers and even a commissioner have questioned whether it’s appropriate for the commissioners to create a new town government. They said the residents should decide themselves if they want to live in a town, pay town taxes and follow town rules.
Creating a town is a permanent decision with long-lasting repercussions, including who is responsible for policing the streets, whom you call if your neighbor has tall grass and what your property tax bill is. Commissioner Troy DeHart said the change would be so major for Center Grove area residents that the decision should not be left up to three commissioners.
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/local_story/Who-controls-future-of-CG-_1340428073/
Residents have been telling county commissioners what they think about a proposal to make the Center Grove area into a town, and most say they don’t want to pay higher taxes.
Commissioner John Price said the incorporation issue has been just as heated as the Greenwood-White River Township merger was two years ago, and he’s been stopped in public about it. Most residents are telling him they don’t want a property tax increase, that they’re happy with the services they’re getting now and they don’t see the need for an additional layer of government.
He’s received 40 phone calls about the issue, and all but 10 are from people who are opposed.
Commissioner Tom Kite said all 19 calls he received so far are opposed.
Jody Veldkamp, a board member with the Citizens for Center Grove group that’s backing a new town, said that opponents are always more vocal than supporters and that opponents were making a concerted effort to defeat the proposal.
The commissioners should consider what’s in the best long-term interest of the Center Grove area, Veldkamp said.
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/local_story/Who-controls-future-of-CG-_1340428125/
Earlier posts on this issue:
http://indianapropertytaxreporter.blogspot.com/2012/06/center-grove-seeks-to-incorporate-town.html
http://indianapropertytaxreporter.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-much-will-town-of-center-grove-cost.html
