A draft for a new county

The East Allen County Project · Allen County, Indiana

Petition for the organization of East Allen County

And for an amendment to Article 15, Section 7 of the Constitution of Indiana. Draft for circulation. Not a filed instrument.

We, the undersigned residents of Allen County, Indiana, petition the Indiana General Assembly to support the following.

This sheet is not a petition under Indiana Code 36-2-1-2. That statute only moves territory from one existing county to another, and it cannot decrease any county below 400 square miles. It cannot organize a new county. Indiana has no initiative. Article 4, Section 1 provides that no law shall be enacted except by bill. Signatures here do not enact a county and do not satisfy any signature statute.

Whereas

• The eastern civil townships of Allen County are the territory described below. East Allen County Schools serves ten of those townships in full and a majority of Adams Township. It does not include St. Joseph Township. The school line and this line are not the same. This petition follows the civil townships on the project map.
• The undersigned state that residents of this eastern territory are often outvoted in county decisions on roads, zoning, taxation, economic development, and public services by the western townships and by Fort Wayne.
• Article 15, Section 7 now provides: “No county shall be reduced to an area less than four hundred square miles; nor shall any county, under that area, be further reduced.”
• On the Census TIGER/Line measurement used here, these twelve townships contain 375.07 square miles in all, of which 372.90 are land, and a 2020 population of 145,650. The remainder of Allen County would contain 284.91 square miles in all, of which 284.24 are land. Allen County now contains 659.98 square miles in all, of which 657.15 are land, and a 2020 population of 385,410.
• Organizing this county would reduce Allen County below 400 square miles. That is what Section 7 forbids. The new county, at 375.07 square miles, would itself be under 400. A floor of 350 square miles would still leave the remainder, at 284.91 square miles, under the floor. The smaller piece is what remains of Allen County.
• An amendment is proposed in either house. If a majority of the members elected to each house agree, it is entered on the journals and referred to the General Assembly chosen at the next general election. If that next General Assembly agrees by a majority of all the members elected to each house, it goes to the electors of the state at the next general election. It becomes part of the Constitution if a majority of the electors voting on it ratify it. That is Article 16, Section 1.

Therefore

We petition the Indiana General Assembly to:

1. Propose an amendment to Article 15, Section 7 lowering the four-hundred-square-mile minimum to 275 square miles, and pass it under Article 16. 275 is below the measured remainder of Allen County and leaves a margin if a later official survey differs by a few square miles.
2. After that amendment is ratified, enact a statute that organizes a new county named East Allen County, adds it to the counties named in Indiana Code 36-2-1-1, and sets its boundary as the civil townships listed below. The boundary is the township line. It is not a city limit and not a school-district line.
3. In that statute, provide for a fair division of property, indebtedness, and services between East Allen County and the remainder of Allen County, and for officers, records, taxes, and pending cases during the transition.
4. Provide that the organizing act does not take effect unless the voters resident in the twelve townships approve it at an election the statute sets.

Boundary

The proposed county is Townships 29, 30, 31, and 32 North, Ranges 13, 14, and 15 East. Every one of these twelve civil townships is included in full.

1. Cedar CreekT32N R13E · 34.48 sq mi land · 13,684
2. SpringfieldT32N R14E · 35.31 sq mi land · 4,541
3. ScipioT32N R15E · 13.22 sq mi land · 412
4. St. JosephT31N R13E · 35.15 sq mi land · 76,266
5. MilanT31N R14E · 37.17 sq mi land · 3,891
6. MaumeeT31N R15E · 26.37 sq mi land · 2,647
7. AdamsT30N R13E · 33.12 sq mi land · 34,192
8. JeffersonT30N R14E · 36.53 sq mi land · 2,037
9. JacksonT30N R15E · 25.50 sq mi land · 523
10. MarionT29N R13E · 34.75 sq mi land · 3,838
11. MadisonT29N R14E · 36.59 sq mi land · 1,659
12. MonroeT29N R15E · 24.74 sq mi land · 1,960

These incorporated places lie wholly inside that line: the City of New Haven, the Town of Leo-Cedarville, the Town of Grabill, the Town of Monroeville, and the City of Woodburn. Harlan’s point is in Springfield Township. Hoagland’s point is in Marion Township, on the line with Madison. Both of those townships are inside, so both places are inside.

The City of Fort Wayne crosses the line. 36.48 square miles of its 111.76 square miles of land lie inside the twelve townships. The rest of Fort Wayne would remain in Allen County. Huntertown lies outside the line. Townships not named above would remain Allen County.

Signatures

Printed name, residence address in Allen County (street, city, ZIP), signature, and date. Only registered voters of Allen County should sign. Continue on additional sheets as needed. Copies may be circulated separately and combined.

Not a filing with the Allen County clerk, the election board, or the Indiana General Assembly. This site does not take signatures. A signature that is not collected under the statute that applies is not a petition.