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Many of you have been following the discussion around whether the Town of Fishers should remain a town or become a city government. A 44-person study group was appointed by the Fishers Town Council earlier this year to host town hall meetings and research their options. Meanwhile, a political action committee formed spearheaded by Greg Purvis called City Yes Now. His group is promoting that Fishers puts the referendum on the May 2010 primary ballot, just five months after the Geist annexation is final. Many suspect that Fishers will call a special election prior to the annexation being finalized in an effort to suppress the anticipated pro-city voters from Geist.
“The timing which we recommend will permit the residents of the Geist area, recently annexed by the Fishers Town Council, to have a voice in determining the future of the community,” said Purvis. “If the Town Council schedules the referendum for this fall, as has been rumored, it will deny these new citizens of Fishers the right to participate in deciding an issue which will impact them for decades. A vote this fall would, therefore, be grossly unfair to them and should be avoided.”
Timing aside, the bigger issue is whether or not the Town of Fishers should go from a 7-person town council voted at-large to a city government consisting of a Mayor with a city council voted by districts. If Fishers were to become a city, a resident’s ballot would have the names of those city council nominees from their district only. Currently, every Fishers town council nominee is on every ballot regardless of district and the top seven are elected to the board, even if they all live on the same street.
The initial report drafted by former Indiana attorney general Steve Carter reads like a “pro-Town” brochure.
>> Download a copy of the Fishers Draft Report (PDF)
A discussion around this report will be held at the Fishers Town Hall on Monday, August 24th at 7:00 pm.
Watch videos from City vs. Town meetings, click here
Visit the CityYesNow PAC website
Since the CityYes group is not going to submit petitions for the election until after the first of the year, voters living in Geist would be able to vote. You can also show your support to conduct this election by signing the petition to call for a vote. Please go to the City Yes web site and down load the petition, get your neighbors to sign. http://www.cityyesnow.com
what happened last night Joe?
Not much most of the committee liked what was presented except for the format; they wanted an easier to read document and Mr. Carter is going to redo the report and sent it to the committee members.
One of the items missing from the report did result in a question.
What is the cost difference between a Town and City? From an operational standpoint the cost difference is almost nothing. A few new decals for the police cars and fire trucks, overlays for the signs but not much else. Mr. Huff told the group.
In the area of people the pro town group keeps talking about all the new people that will be needed but I can’t seem to find any, as all the same functions being preformed by the Town will be preformed by the City with two exceptions, a Mayor and 2 more Council members. But there will be one less Town Manger.
The Town manager earns about $125,000 a year, most Mayors $90,000 and Council Members $12,000 each so this is a basic wash or if you want to be exact a savings. A real savings comes in one position that the City would have to have. A City by state law has to have a City Attorney versus Town hires outside counsel. This was another item that was left out of the report. An in-house counsel will try and resolve problems whereas a hired law firm wants extended lawsuits when they are paid by the hour.
One Commission member made the comment we would still need outside counsel to cover the planning commission and other commissions of the City. In the City of Noblesville Mike Howard serves as counsel and seems to cover all in that City and still has time to work for the County.
One member asked if the Committee would take a position on waiting to hold the vote in the spring so all new voters could vote. There was some vocal opposition and the proposal never got a vote. Seems as if some of the Town forever group still does not want to have a united Fishers.
In today’s Indy Star an article indicate Fishers is still considering putting this on the ballot this November. Why? Of course they are afraid of having an election with the new Giest voters. First Fishers fights tooth and nail to include the residents of Geist in the Town of Fishers, but when it comes to a vote to determine the long term government structure of the Town/City, they don’t want the new residents to have any say.
The draft report clearly shows that a City has checks and balances in its government structure and a Town has none. This is becoming crystal clear more and more. Mr. Faultless and his crew don’t want any checks and balances in the way they govern or take any chance they may lose the power grip they have on the local government.
Fishers Indiana, town or city?
Many of you living in the Geist area will remember when we tried to form our own city only to be stopped by Fishers and the courts. While doing research on becoming a City I also looked into how come Fishers was still listed as a town and I found out any town in Indiana can remain a town forever. No population requirement, no size requirement, etc. Indianapolis could even be a town.
To change from a town to a city it would take a vote by the citizens of the community to convert. But how do I get it on the ballot for people to vote? I found all I needed was so many signatures based on how many people had voted for the Secretary of State and that came to around 1500 voters living in Fishers. So far I alone have collected about 1000 signatures and others are now collecting more. It has been very interesting do this with comments from some people. These are great on both sides of the fence. One of my favorite places to meet with people is the Fishers Farmers Market on Saturday morning. If is not 90 degrees or raining the odds are you can see me getting signatures and talking to people.
Part of the fun is hearing what people say or their questions. So here are some of the statements, questions, and comments:
When I first started to collect signatures I had to explain what was this all about. This past Saturday I had three people just grab my clip board and sign without having to say a word.
Here we go:
I though Fishers was a city.
What’s the difference?
I won’t sign because you will get this on the ballot and the people around here will approve a city.
I would love to sign but I work for the town and they ….
Two Fishers Policemen- “What are you doing?” I said “Getting signatures on a petition that you should sign but won’t to place on the ballot the question of town versus city in accordance with my rights as protected under the Constitution of the United States.” After their surprise look, they just left.
Will this raise my taxes?
Will this lower my taxes?
Will this mean get a real Mayor?
Will we still have a town manager?
Will we get rid of the town council?
Will we keep the town council?
Does this mean we get rid of Mayor Church?
What’s voting at large?
Will we still have our sister city?
Will this change the fire and police?
Will this mean we get smoke free restaurants?
I have watched what the Council is doing and I don’t like the way they are acting. They should have placed this on the ballot when you started instead of telling us everything is perfect.
I live in Geist can I sign? (Yes we will be submitting this after the annexation takes place.)
I live in Geist can I vote on this?
Who is my district representative?
Do we currently have district representatives?
I live in Chicago can I sign? (Sorry but I would consider it if you bring dead relatives and Mayor Daly along.)
Will this change the way we vote for council?
I like the way things are.
What is a storm water fee?
Will a City have trash pick up?
I have lived here over 30 years and …
When will this be on the ballot?
What is the main change this will bring?
Will a City cause even more development?
Will a City mean more controlled development?
I never know whom to complaint to in this town, will that change with a city?
Will this change the Fishers Schools? (Many were surprised to find out Fishers does not have a town school system)
Do you know where the bathroom is?
Please provide a website or similar that explains why City status is better. Fishers is a
great place to live NOW (awards galore). I can NOT yet see any benefits to change.
We (our Council, each currently elected by ALL of us) can fire the Town Manager. We
can not ride ourselves of a bad mayor so easily. Why should we vote for this change?