The Court of Appeals has issued a decision affirming a trial court’s dismissal of a township assessor’s challenge to the General Assembly’s decision to transfer township assessor duties to the county assessor. I haven’t read the whole thing and most likely won’t unless some paying work requires it, but the meat of the case seems to be the township assessor’s contention that the Indiana Constitution prohibits the elimination of the township assessor position during the assessor’s elected term of office.
Article 6, section 3 provides:
Section 3. Such other county and township officers as may be necessary, shall be elected, or appointed, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.
Article 15, sections 2 and 3 provide:
Section 2. When the duration of any office is not provided for by this Constitution, it may be declared by law; and, if not so declared, such office shall be held during the pleasure of the authority making the appointment. But the General Assembly shall not create any office, the tenure of which shall be longer than four years.
Section 3. Whenever it is provided in this Constitution, or in any law which may be hereafter passed, that any officer, other than a member of the General Assembly, shall hold his office for any given term, the same shall be construed to mean, that such officer shall hold his office for such term, and until his successor shall have been elected and qualified.
The assessor’s argument seems to be that, because township officers are mentioned in the Constitution under Art 6, sec. 3, the General Assembly is prohibited from terminating the position in the middle of an elected term. The Court of Appeals disagreed, stating that because there was no Constitutional obligation to have a township assessor and because the existence of the position was entirely dependent on statutory creation of that office, the General Assembly necessarily had the authority to terminate the position at its discretion.
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