Come November, a referendum on the ballot will ask voters if they support increasing the property tax rate levied to support Champaign Township. The increase will fund greater support and general assistance to the poorest members of our community. The News-Gazette editorial board has come out against this increase.

After interviewing Township Supervisor Linda Abernathy at length, I was unable to find any significant waste or misuse of spending. The township has only two functions – general assistance to the poor and property assessments.

The general assistance provided by the township is welfare of “last resort,” meaning that it is available to only those who are getting no help anywhere else and have no assets to their name. In short, they are the poorest of the poor in the community, many of which are living on streets and under bridges.

While there has been an increase in spending under Abernathy, there was one fact that escaped the News-Gazette editorial board. The court had ordered the township, along with other government agencies, to spend the cash they had on hand instead of saving it in their general funds. In addition to the court-ordered draw down of funds, there has been an increase of the number of unemployed people seeking assistance. Somehow helping more poor people doesn’t quite seem like rampant spending abuse.

The argument is that the township is a “relic of a bygone era” (much like one can describe the News-Gazette) and the functions should be assumed by the county government. One could argue that the states could be dissolved and the functions be assumed by the federal government, however, we constructed the U.S. system of government to include state governments. The same is true of townships. State law establishes townships and what functions they should perform and there is no movement to dissolve townships. Saying that the township should be deprived of needed funds because we can redo our governing structure is nonsensical.

It is true that the township operates largely invisibly to most voters; however, that is a sign that it is doing what it is supposed to do and not acting like an agency out of control. The township performs two functions and two functions alone. They haven’t tried to expand their power or interfere with voters’ lives. Ms. Abernathy was easy to reach and willing to spend about an hour on the phone for an unscheduled interview. That’s hardly the behavior of an unaccountable bureaucrat. It is clear that those who think the township is unaccountable are just too lazy to pick up a phone.

While the city of Champaign is busy trying to figure out how to use eminent domain to take over utilities so that they can expand their base of power into areas they don’t belong, the township is providing assistance to people who have no where else to turn. If providing help to these people is expensive, it is only because as a society we’ve pawned off our personal obligation to help those in our community on the government.

This is one of the very few tax increases that I support and find no fault with. Come November, join me in voting yes.