They may not seem like much, but minutes are kind of a big deal. Last time, we explored a legal meeting, and minutes are the legal record of legal meetings. What makes them important? Once a government body formally adopts the minutes of a meeting (or a work or executive session), it becomes a legal … Read more
In the last column, we discussed the various types of sessions in which local government boards and councils perform their work. Now let’s take a look at their regular legal meetings. Again, what’s here are common practices. The meeting you walk into may be different. Indiana’s Open Door law requires public posting of the agenda … Read more
Maybe you’ve never attended a school board or town council meeting. Or maybe you’ve been to a meeting or two and found the process strange or confusing. Wherever you’re at, I’d like to share some insight into what’s going on and why it’s done that way. Every governing body is unique, and that includes the … Read more
That new school opened up … and no wonder my taxes jumped! They used marble floors, enormous windows, and even an elevator! You know those jerks on the school board just want to spend as much money as they can so they can outdo our rivals and boost their egos! No matter what your school … Read more
(First, let me clarify: I do not hate the act of people dancing. I hate when the expectation is that I should join them, whether I want to or not. I don’t, because there is nothing I enjoy about participating.) As a kid, I loved to sing. At 5, my Sunday School teacher nicknamed me … Read more
If you ever had the pleasure of watching Judge Jeff Boles at work, you heard him tell every defendant they were entitled to certain rights simply because they were fortunate enough to live in these United States. It was always a great reminder for everyone in the Hendricks Circuit Court’s room, now the province of … Read more
Few people react to a jury summons with excitement. In fact, some people don’t register to vote largely because they’re afraid of being called to serve. Hate to disappoint you, but that’s not the only way prospective jurors are selected. Have a driver’s license? Own property? The state taps into all sorts of data sources … Read more
Much of Indiana’s local government owes its structure to our state’s early days. Hoosiers are a generally conservative bunch (and yes, that includes your neighbors who are Democrats … and there are more of them than you probably realize). As a group, we don’t like to see things we’ve known go away, even when they’ve … Read more
It happens every year when property tax bills appear in mailboxes. If you’re a regular visitor to the Government Center in Danville, you’ll notice a slightly larger police presence … and some remarkably furious folks. They make their way to the Auditor, Assessor, and Treasurer’s offices and wait for their chance to scream at the … Read more
In a past column, I wrote about concerns about school safety and the simple fact that one of most-requested measures – metal detectors – is a fundamentally flawed solution. The same is true for some of the high-tech wizardry you’ve seen on the news, or calls to arm teachers. (Why do I think arming teachers … Read more