Poll: State wants gov't consolidation

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - State lawmakers will launch the 2009 session of the Indiana General Assembly on Wednesday with a budget crisis to address. A recent poll found public support for another key issue: government consolidation.

Interns wandered the Statehouse halls Monday, two days in advance of a session filled with controversial issues. Meantime, a new Ball State poll shows voters are concerned most about the recession with 83 percent calling job creation the top priority. Surprisingly, efficient government ranked second on the priority list at 67 percent. The people who conducted the poll said it’s an argument for government consolidation.

"A lot of Hoosiers have lost confidence in the way in which local officials are handling their tax dollars," said Ray Scheele of Ball State University.

At the same time, the General Assembly has a relatively high approval rating. The poll found that 59 percent of voters approve of the job done by lawmakers in recent years.

The data, teamed with the governor's push to eliminate townships and county commissions through the Kernan-Shepard Report, puts local elected officials on the defensive.

"We're for government efficiency. It's just how you define the word efficiency. And necessarily going from elected offices to appointed offices is not gonna make county government more efficient," said David Bottorff of the Association of Indiana Counties.

It will be one of the major debates in a session that will tax lawmakers. Nevertheless, there will be a debate. Some lawmakers want more information.

"The poll shows that there's interest in consolidation. I'm not sure when we look at the cost effectiveness of it, or the deliverance of services, that this will work," said Representative Win Moses (D) of Fort Wayne.

The Ball State poll had one other surprising finding. Sixty-nine percent expressed support for a tax hike to benefit public schools and sixty-eight percent support higher taxes if it makes college more affordable.

Look for lawmakers to reject that information. Leaders in both parties are on the record saying that a recession is no time to raise taxes.