State Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis) said during a discussion on House Bill 1131, which excludes the town of Cumberland from the Indianapolis consolidated city-county government, or “Unigov,” that he plans to bring forward legislation next year to exempt Franklin, Perry and Decatur townships from the city-county government.
This comes after State Sen. Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) spoke in support of the bill and suggested that Unigov should be eliminated. Taylor pointed out that the number of residents required for a locality to be designated a “First-Class City” and merge with its county government had been statutorily increased since Indianapolis merged with Marion County to form Unigov in 1970.
[RELATED: Drug overdose deaths declining in Marion County]
In 2004, that population requirement was increased from 250,000 to 600,000. Fort Wayne is the second most populous city in Indiana after Indianapolis, with a population of 269,994.
Cumberland is a unique locality in that its boundaries extend across county lines from Marion County into Hancock County. When the city-county government was formed, Cumberland had a population of around 1,478 but it now has a population of over 6,000. The initial statutory requirement for exclusion from consolidated city-county government was 5,000.
Beech Grove, which is already an excluded city with a population of over 14,000, on the other hand, is considered “landlocked,” completely surrounded by the consolidated city-county government. If Franklin, Perry and Decatur townships were excluded from the consolidated city-county government, this would no longer be the case.
[RELATED: Beech Grove awarded grant funding for road repair]
House Bill 1131 passed the Senate with a vote of 46-1.