Rock Island Today

Henry County wants to reduce government in its townships but it needs the permission of local voters.

According to Illinois News, Henry County Board Chairman Roger Gradert said that some of the county's 24 townships are getting smaller because there are "fewer people in the rural areas." He suggested that reducing the amount of leadership positions would cut spending and reduce voters' taxes.

"The advantage would be a reduction in administration costs in the assessor's, county clerk's and treasurer's office, since these offices have the responsibility of preparing, billing, collecting and distributing these taxes," Gradert told Rock Island Today. "All this is done at the county's cost. Any reduction or consolidation of taxing bodies would reduce the workload."

Henry County Board Chairman Roger Gradert | http://www.henrycty.com

The Henry County Board devised a plan to place an advisory referendum proposal on the ballot for voters to decide how they wanted the townships to change, but the board is postponing that plan to give voters the chance to decide on taxes.

"First, there are no present plans to place any referendum on the ballet," Gradert said. "That action was tabled as we research how to present the issue to the public. The voters say they are taxed too much. Since the voters elected to have these taxes, we feel it is up to the voter to prioritize the value of these taxing districts."

Although the board knows Henry County would benefit from a government downsizing, its members have no choice but to leave the outcome to county residents.

"We believe we need to try to inform the public of the costs, value and options available," Gradert said. "The only way any changes can come to these districts, whether elimination or consolidation, is through the districts themselves or the voter. The county has no power to act on our own even if we wanted to. Our action here is only to advise and be advised."