Make Local Government
Work Better for You
Most people are not aware of the Town of Avon boundaries. The Town of Avon is the white areas on the map. In Washington Township, we have six different government entities and five of them issue building permits, contributing to several issues including traffic congestion. Only people that live in the white area are permitted to vote for the Avon Town Council. However, the decisions made by the Avon Town Council affects the entire community. Consolidation will protect our tax base from annexation by other municipalities, improve the quality of our services, put us under one coordinated development plan, use our tax dollars in a more efficient manner by reducing the size of local government, and give us all a voice and a vote in our Avon community.
Issues
How will consolidation or annexation affect my taxes?
Protect our tax base from other municipalities.
As other municipalities continue to annex parts of Washington Township, they take tax dollars out of Washington Township. For example, if you live in Plainfield municipality and your kids go to Avon Schools, part of your property tax dollars are being taken out of Washington Township by the City of Plainfield. Consolidation or annexation will not increase your property taxes because of the 1% property tax cap, if your home is valued at or above $90,805, for taxes paid in 2026. Consolidation or annexation will only change how your property taxes are distributed among the taxing entities.
Services in the unincorporated area of Washington Township.
Services in the unincorporated area of Washington Township: county sheriff, road repair, snow removal, library access.
Consolidation will improve the quality of these services in the unincorporated area of Washington Township. If you live in the unincorporated area, you may wait hours for a deputy sheriff to respond, unless it is an emergency then the closest police will respond until the emergency is resolved. The county never has more than five patrols on shift at any given time to cover the entire county.
Snow removal and road repair are slow to non-existent on the eastern side of the county. The county focuses more on the rural side of the county. Multiple people that live in Washington Township with Indianapolis addresses have been refused service in the Avon/Washington Township Library because library employees believed they lived in Marion County.
Traffic congestion
We have six different government entities in Washington Township and five of them issue building permits. The inability of Washington Township to operate under one Coordinated Development Plan has caused or contributed to significant traffic congestion, with developments built in areas that will not support the increased flow of traffic. Annexation enables Avon residents to have a voice and manage future growth that will impact the Avon community.
Why can't I vote for the Avon Town Council?
A voice and a vote in the Avon Community.
Most people do not understand that the US Postal Service determines your mailing address not your voting address. Most people that live in Washington Township are not eligible to vote for the Avon Town Council, but the decisions made by the Avon Town Council have a significant impact on everybody that lives in Washington Township.
What are the steps for annexation?
The Town Council introduces an annexation ordinance, adopts a fiscal plan for the annexation, notifies property owners of the public hearing, holds the public hearing, considers changes to the ordinance based on public comment, and votes on the final adoption of the annexation ordinance.
Will consolidation fix these problems?
How does the Government Modernization Act work?
To begin with, consolidation will not increase your property taxes if your home is valued at or above $90,805. Consolidation will only change how your property taxes are distributed.
The process can be initiated by the Washington Township Board and the Avon Town Council with approval of a resolution. These entities must then develop plan determining what the new government would look like. This plan would then need to be approved the Department of Local Government Finance. Both the Washington Township Board and the Avon Town Council must pass a second resolution approving the final product before it becomes a ballot referendum for the public.
The Indiana Government Modernization Act is attached. I have listed the relevant parts of the statute and I apologize for its length. I also provided links to the original Indiana Code.