We get the government we settle for!
We need look no further than the Data Center issue for proof that the Shelby County public wants to be included in the decision-making process of our local government.
The broadband project was an issue where the county council decided on their own, at their July budget meeting, not to move forward and fund the project. For the last year, since the council’s Dec. 17, 2024 meeting, there has been no documented effort made by the council to reach out to the commissioners, nor the public, to explore and ask for suggestions or options, to address the obstacles and challenges which the council cited as reasons not to fund the project.
Between receiving the documentation from Commissioner (Jason) Abel at the Dec. 17 meeting, there was a window of time to resolve issues of disagreement, draw up a new draft, deliver a voteable document, place a 7-day notification in TSN of a hearing, as required by law, and complete the process in time to beat the Dec. 31 deadline to have used the 3 million ARPA dollars before they would be lost back to the state.
Instead what happened was that the county council, which was under the leadership of President Tony Titus in his last meeting of his term, was informed by the firm of Bose, McKinney and Evans that any action taken by the council in this hearing would be illegal due to the fact that no 7 days notification was placed in TSN. Upon learning of this, the council tabled the issue, effectively shutting down the issue for 7 months. At the council’s August meeting, President Brett Haacker informed the public that the council would no longer consider funding the project. The council has been criticized heavily for leaving the public out of this discussion.
I cannot in good conscience blame the council president Brett Haacker and his council alone for not voting on nor taking action on this issue, and overlook the role that Commissioner Jason Abel played in the fact that the broadband project has thus far been unsuccessful. Using the reporting of TSN as my source and my own personal experience attending meetings, I can find no indication Commissioner Abel made any effort to reach out to the council after the council’s Dec. 17 meeting to the present day to work through the challenges and obstacles that were mentioned by the council as reasons that prevented them from voting on the funding for the project.
You can talk to Council President Brett Haacker and Board President Jason Abel and realize that both of these gentlemen are smart and intelligent elected officials that are more than capable of overcoming the challenges and obstacles listed as reasons by the council not to take a vote or hold a hearing on this issue.
There is another issue at play here that needs to be addressed. In August when the council told the public they were not going to fund the project, Commissioner Abel expressed his frustration over their announcement saying they had “kicked the can down the road” instead of holding a hearing and giving the public a chance to be heard on the issue. And he was right!
Here is the thing, neither the council nor the commissioners made a public attempt to reach out and work with each other to move the project forward, at least none that I can find reported in TSN.
Fast forward to the Northwest Concerned Citizens Coalition meeting in December of 2025, when asked about the broadband issue, the sparks flew between Councilman Haacker and Commissioner Abel. At issue was their different perspectives concerning the documentation given to the council from Commissioner Abel and if it was something the council could vote on or not.
The inability of our elected leaders to work together has had a negative impact on their ability to effectively represent Shelby County, not to mention wasting (spending) 280,000 taxpayer dollars with nothing to show for it but confusion over why they put forth the effort in the first place since the goal of getting faster internet service for the underserved was not met with an enforceable contract.
There is plenty of blame to go around for this fiasco going on between these two leaders and we, the public, let it happen. The failure to try and work together on this public project is unacceptable and a breach of the trust we put in these two groups to represent us. We the public have an obligation to do our due diligence as well.
The public should play an active part in the decision making process by pushing for public meetings to address specific issues such as broadband, but not limited to one issue. Ask questions and push for answers. Be supportive and offer suggestions to help motivate our leaders to include public input and cooperation. It is a mistake to allow our public servants to dictate to us that they will not consider an issue any further. We should ask what options did you consider and question the responses which seem to be an avoidance of accountability.
Their volatile relationship “feud” is just cause to ask them to step down from their elected positions. Shelby County needs leaders who will put their differences aside and honor their pledge to support our citizens with action and explore options to move forward and welcome the input of the public in the decision making process.
Shelby County needs leaders who will fight for us, not each other!
Michael Carpenter
429 W. 400 South
Shelbyville, Indiana
