Moseley offers amendments to give voters a voice

State Rep. Chuck Moseley today offered an amendment to House Bill 1035 to give voters in specific townships more of a voice when it comes to township assessors. Originally the bill would create a county-wide ballot question: “Shall the county discontinue paying the cost of township assessors in the county?” Moseley's amendment would change the question to a township wide ballot question asking: “Shall the office of the (insert name of the township) assessor be retained?” Moseley offered the following statement on his amendment:

“My amendment would allow members of specific townships to have a direct say in what happens in their communities, as opposed to having the entire county voting on what happens in their backyards. It's my belief that the more control people have over their communities, the more active and engaged they are in what's happening around them. When we had this referendum conversations in 2008, the vote was township wide. What's changed now? People should be trusted to make decisions about assessors in their specific township. It doesn't make any sense to change the rules now and take that power away from our constituents. The only ones who should be voting on this should be those directly impacted by the work of their township assessors.”

The amendment failed in the House by a vote of 62-31.