INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan has proposed a radical shrinking of state government to save millions.
The incumbent Democrat, who debates his Republican opponent Tuesday night, presented a plan Monday that would eliminate 24 of 74 state agencies and create a single office for all state environmental permits.
Kernan would scrap the township tax assessment system of 178 elected township assessor positions and shift assessment authority to counties, the Indianapolis Star said. Another 350 trustee-assessors would no longer have responsibility to administer a local tax system that raised more than $5 billion annually for public schools, libraries and local government.
The governor would take over control of public education -- 62 percent of the state budget.
Indiana has 1,008 primary assessing jurisdictions that determine the value of land and buildings.
Both Kernan and Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels have promised to streamline state government.
Kernan did not estimate how much his Peak Performance Project plan would save taxpayers.
