Leaders of Whitestown and Worth Township are trying to figure out how to assemble a governing body if they continue with reorganization plans.
Members of the Whitestown Town Council and Worth Township Trustee and Advisory Board held a public workshop Thursday night, May 24, to discuss the new council.
The current draft of the plan has seven members, two members from Worth Township, two from Whitestown and three at-large members.
Dawn Semmler, Whitestown Town Council president, said she felt that could violate the principal of one man, one vote.
“We looked at it as the merging of two governmental units,” Paul Carpenter Wilson, reorganization committee member, said. “We looked at having it similar to the way county commissioners are voted. We didn’t see it as a one person, one vote violation.”
Clinton Bohm, Worth Township trustee, offered a solution that involved creating seven equal population districts.
“What if we go away from the at-large bid and have seven members from all districts,” he said. “If we go with the population now and try to do districted seats, rural would not have full representation. With seven equal districts, we can get at least one and probably two representatives. That would achieve close to what the reorganization board had in mind.”
Members from both entities agreed with Bohm’s suggestion.
Julie Whitman, Whitestown councilwoman, asked if having Worth Township residents abide by planning ordinance from the town and Boone County service the roads created a conflict.
“A little bit,” Semmler said. “The roads may need to meet town standards; that’s the concern that I see.”
Bohm said that if they put roads under town control, it would change a lot.
“That changes a lot all at once,” he said. “We are trying to change as little as possible. The less change for unincorporated members, the more likely they are to vote and support the plan.”
Carpenter Wilson said the reorganization committee tried to change as little as possible for a reason.
“We saw this as a merging of governmental bodies,” he said. “We were trying to find efficiencies to save as much money as possible; that’s why we tried to keep things as much the same as we could.”
Many other communities are mimicking a reorganization; Zionsville was the first town to reorganize, which began Jan. 1, 2010.