Articles

Township offices have to go

Leaders on both sides of the aisle have called for streamlining township government, and it’s time to demand that our legislators
make those changes.

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Assessor consolidation is a must

We have a long-standing policy of not endorsing political candidates, but there’s no such policy where ballot initiatives
are concerned. So we urge our readers to vote "yes" on assessor consolidation.

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Trustee inches toward redeveloping property portfolio

Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer and his predecessors have stockpiled more than money over the years. The trustee’s office
also holds a portfolio of mostly undeveloped properties worth at least $10 million. Several key parcels have been on the trustee’s
books-and off the tax rolls-for decades. Drummer has made some progress in finding uses for the properties since an IBJ special
report first questioned his holdings in November 2006. But it would have to be measured in inches. The most…

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SPECIAL REPORT: Center Township trustee taps taxpayers for millions

At an aging building at 863 Massachusetts Ave., they pass through a metal detector and wait in line to show a clerk their
identification and copies of overdue bills. Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer sometimes helps. The Trustee’s Office received
an average of $6.9 million each of the last seven years, mostly from taxes, to provide poor relief-now known as township assistance.
But only about $2 million reached the penniless each year, with much of the difference covering administrative overhead….

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Ex-member: Township board ‘bored by the budget’

Although he collects an average $6.9 million each year for poor relief, mostly from taxes, Center Township Trustee Carl Drummer
is rarely asked to explain his finances. Drummer’s budget is filed-unread-each year in the Indianapolis City Controller’s
office. The 66-employee Indiana Department of Local Government Finance reviews it, along with budgets from every other taxing
entity in the state. Year-end reports go to the State Board of Accounts, a 282-worker agency that conducts 2,700 to 3,000
audits of Indiana counties,…

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