IUPUI Center Provides Staff for Government Reform Commission
Gov. Mitch Daniels knew where to turn when he wanted to find professional help for the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform, which he appointed last summer.
He asked the Indiana University Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at IUPUI. And the center delivered -- providing staff support and other services to enable the commission to produce a comprehensive report and bold recommendations after only four months.
The Center for Urban Policy and the Environment (CUPE), part of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI, provided staff and faculty for the effort, including the center's director, John L. Krauss; its project manager, Jamie Palmer; and several others. The center also created a Web site that enabled the public to keep informed about the commission's work and to submit comments and suggestions.
"There's probably no other team in the public or private sector that could have done what the Center did for our commission," said Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard, the commission's co-chair. "The breadth of their intellect and knowledge makes CUPE a genuine jewel in (Indiana University's) crown."
CUPE's mission is to help policy makers understand critical choices that they have to make, based on research, data and facilitated decision making.
"We pride ourselves in being a neutral broker of information that is relevant, timely and shows all aspects of the issues," Krauss said. "I think the governor recognized that and understood the unique assets the Urban Center could bring to bear."
Daniels announced in July that he was appointing the commission, chaired by former Gov. Joe Kernan and Shepard, Indiana's chief justice since 1987. The governor charged the commission with conducting research on and reviewing previous studies of local government in Indiana -- the structure of which dates from the 1800s -- and recommending reforms.
The panel, with IU President Emeritus Adam Herbert as one of its seven members, started work in August.
The commission and the center staff conducted six public input forums around the state and facilitated discussions with citizen and interest groups. In November and December, the commissioners deliberated and reached consensus through a process that allowed for both individual and group consideration of proposed reforms.
""They worked independently, brought their own views and experience, and formed a consensus on the recommendations," Krauss said.
The resulting 46-page report, issued Dec. 11, includes 27 recommendations to make local government more efficient, effective, understandable and accountable. It calls for changes in counties, cities, townships, libraries, schools and other entities. If adopted in its entirety, it would reduce the number of units of government by more than a third and the number of local elected officials by more than half.
The full report can be seen on the commission Web site at: http://indianalocalgovreform.iu.edu/.
Daniels, at the release of the report, praised the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment and also former SPEA Dean A. James Barnes, an IU Bloomington faculty member, who had completed a review of Great Lakes water-quality laws.
"I have said so often that there had to be ways to engage the tremendous academic and intellectual capacity of the state in solving public problems," Daniels said. "And now, twice in one week, IU and SPEA have stepped forward."
IU President Michael A. McRobbie, in a letter to Krauss, said: "As you know, one of my goals is for Indiana University to become more engaged in helping the State of Indiana chart its future. This has been an outstanding example of just how effective we can be in bringing our academic expertise to bear on the major issues facing the state"
The local government reforms aren't likely to be easy or quick. Most will require changes in laws or in the state constitution. And the 2008 session of the Indiana General Assembly is expected to be dominated by property tax reform, not changes in local government.
But the work of the commission and its staff has been widely praised by opinion leaders and news media, suggesting the recommendations won't be ignored.
"We were challenged that it had to be relevant, it had to be real, it had to be cutting-edge and it had to be forward-thinking," Krauss said. "We had excellent leaders in Gov. Kernan and Chief Justice Shepard. Nobody had a vested interest, and the commissioners were able to look at this fresh, but from their own viewpoints and experience."
"This is the kind of study the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment was meant to do, and I'm glad we were asked to do it."
- from IU News Room
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