From: Cole Bennett
Columbus
The recent scandal of former Columbus Township Trustee Ben Jackson stealing $1.1 million in taxpayer dollars has been an embarrassment for our county and the state of Indiana. The brazen misuse of our hard-earned money that was meant to be used for poor relief and township fire departments should be a wake-up call. This is why people do not trust government.
The Republic and IndyStar have done some excellent reporting on the prevalence of corruption in surrounding townships and concerns throughout the state. An October 2025 article by the IndyStar found that in “more than three-quarters of Indiana townships, taxpayers spent more on trustee and board member salaries in 2024 than they did on poor relief.” Read that again.
Township government has got to go. County governments are more than capable of absorbing the few duties that townships currently fulfill.
It is incumbent on our state lawmakers to take action on this issue. Thankfully, Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, has co-authored legislation that would promote consolidation of township government to streamline services and eliminate bureaucracy. While not total elimination, it’s a step in the right direction.
Opponents of such elimination of township government include, well, township government officials. There are roughly 1,000 townships in the state, each with a trustee and three members that serve on a board of advisors. That makes for a large lobbying group of 4,000 that will come out in droves to prevent the state from taking their jobs. Arguments usually range from concerns of centralizing government, loss of local connection, and proximity to citizens.
I find these rebuttals to be hollow. Limited government means efficient government, not more. Also, I would encourage you to ask random passersby who their current township trustee is. I can imagine maybe 1 out of 50 could provide the correct answer. When it comes to proximity to citizens, recall that townships are our country’s oldest form of local government. When we used to get to and fro via horses and buggies, a smaller form of government that could offer services close to home made sense. We no longer ride horses and buggies to get to and fro.
The elimination of township government is not a new debate. One of the best governors in our state’s and country’s history, Mitch Daniels, spearheaded the 2007 Kernan-Shepard Report for local government reform. The report recommended that township governments transfer their responsibilities to a county executive. There were also a flurry of other recommendations that have not come into fruition in the nearly 20 years since the report’s publication.
When you’re elected to public office, the people put their trust in you that you will be a good steward with their tax dollars. Township government officials in Indiana have broken that trust time and time again. We as taxpayers should not accept excuses from the same leadership that tells us elimination of township government would be catastrophic. It’s time to abolish township government.
