On June 23rd, 2022 the Madison Township Advisory Board held a public meeting. At that meeting at least one agenda item was tabled; and parties from all sides agreed another meeting needed to be set to follow up. The board agreed to meet on July 21st, 2022 at 7pm.
By July 21st, there had been no notice posted on the door of the fire station, on the website, on social media, or in the newspaper.
Due to the lack of communication from the township, concerned citizens instead had to play telephone to notify each other that the meeting was canceled. No alternate dates have been announced.
I, and many others, were hoping for an update on the now 9 month long venture to get the roofing repairs made to the fire stations, as well as the potential sale of an old engine (which was needed and used since the last meeting).
The principled thing to do is set meetings at regular intervals in order to inform how tax dollars are spent, and answer any questions. This will help avoid any confusion and promotes cooperation with the public. Accountability and transparency should be the responsibility of elected officials – not the public citizens.
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Madison Township needs Principled Public Notices
Taxpayer concerns about accurate meeting notices have been voiced at every single meeting I have attended since 2019. Yet, Madison Township neglected to post appropriate advanced notice before an attempted public hearing regarding additional appropriations on December 9th, which led to a wasteful meeting with no votes and little discussion.
A second Madison Township Advisory Board meeting regarding the same additional appropriations was suddenly canceled on December 27th. I believe the cancellation was, again, due to insufficient / inaccurate advertisement.
Indiana Code 6-1.1-18-5 states that an additional appropriations process must begin with a public hearing; and a notice of the location, date and time must be published 10 days in advance. (A hearing is specifically meant to allow taxpayer input on additional expenditures.)
Appropriate notice was given before the planned December 27th meeting, but lacked important information like the time and location of the hearing.
Taxpayers have been very vocal about asking for cooperation from the township administration on this issue. Why do these mistakes keep happening? When they can’t get something as simple as a notice for public hearing correct it leaves citizens wondering if they are being intentionally secretive, or just sloppy.
I am publicly asking my Madison Township elected officials to take a more principled approach to public notices in the future. Meetings should be scheduled at a regular day and time each month so taxpayers can plan to attend if desired and public hearings should be properly advertised with more than two weeks’ notice.