Voters in three Allen County townships will have the option of making them little more than lines on a map at the general election Nov. 2.
Residents of Carlyle, Cottage Grove and Elm townships will be asked whether they favor having powers, duties and functions of governing bodies of the three townships transferred to county commissioners. Carlyle is north of Iola, Elm east of Iola and Cottage Grove southeast of Humboldt.
Yes votes will mean trustees, treasurers and clerks no longer will be elected in the three townships.
“They really don’t have any functions to perform,” County Clerk Sherrie Riebel said of the township officials. “Most of the time no one runs and people elected are from write-in votes, sometimes of one or two. Also, the townships won’t have to publish budgets any longer,” which has been the only financial obligation of the three.
She stressed that townships as political units would stay in place. “Republican and Democrat precinct people still will be elected,” she said.
A primary role of townships is maintenance of cemeteries.
Voters to decide townships’ fate
