EDITORIAL: Push for local government reforms

The Northwest Indiana Committee for Better Government is on the right track in choosing three bills that should become law in this legislative session. The narrow focus on achievable reforms should help the group succeed in its quest for improvement in local government.

The committee recently sent a letter to each member of the Indiana General Assembly in support of Senate Bill 193, which would require local elected officials to file the same kind of financial disclosures as state officials; SB 170, which would prevent local government employees from serving on the governing board of that unit of government and would forbid nepotism for both employment and public contracts; and SB 92, which would put teeth in the state's public access laws.

SB 193 and SB 170 are now assigned to a House committee. SB 92 didn't come up for a final vote in the Senate, but House Bill 1093, which would accomplish many of the same things, passed out of the House on a 90-4 vote.

Although the nepotism bill, SB 170, cleared the Senate, four region lawmakers voted against it. Sens. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond; Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago; Earline Rogers, D-Gary; and Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, need to explain their votes. Mrvan, especially, has been a longtime champion of government reform.

Each of the bills sought by the Northwest Indiana Committee for Better Government, a part of the One Region, One Vision movement, would bring a welcome reform.

Citizens should be able to find out whether local elected officials have a financial interest in an issue on which they will be voting. The right thing to do, of course, would be to recuse themselves if a conflict of interest arises. By filing the disclosure, the elected official would be more aware of that potential conflict — as would the public, of course.

Preventing employees from governing themselves and their departments likewise is sensible. Northwest Indiana, and the rest of the state as well, has numerous examples of employees serving in this capacity. Their campaigns typically say they are best suited for public office because they know the inner workings of government. But they, and the voters who elect them, are setting up conflicts of interest that don't serve the voters well.

The Northwest Indiana Committee for Better Government knows the value of holding officials' feet to the fire on public access issues, too. The law currently allows residents to sue public officials to force compliance with open meetings and open records laws, with the understanding that the residents' legal fees could be reimbursed by the offender. A civil fine is a better punishment because the resident doesn't have to take the risk of running up big legal fees to force compliance with the law.

We agree with the principles of each of these local government reforms and urge the Indiana General Assembly to adopt each of them. Further, we encourage residents to contact their legislators in support of each of these bills.

Insist on better government, just as this committee is doing.