By Bobbie Washburn Ruhnow Staff Writer
CULVER — Marlene Mahler, Union Township trustee, announced to her Advisory Board that effective July 1, 2008, she will no longer be the township assessor.
The state legislature has dissolved all township assessor’s duties for all townships that don’t include 15,000 parcels. This will affect all but approximately 40 to 44 township assessors in Indiana Mahler reported.
On July 1, all township records will be turned over to the Marshall County Assessor’s office. This includes personal property tax assessment records for farmers, businesses, RVs and ATVs.

Presently, Mahler also obtains all building permits issued in the township and makes an inspection for property tax purposes. This will now be done by county personnel.
Interestingly enough, Mahler said she will keep the title of township assessor as she is an elected official, just not the duties.
All assessors were required by law to obtain a Level 1 certification in one year and a Level II within two years by December, 2007. The county paid for the classes at a cost of $150 per class for the training and Mahler had obtained her Level II certification.
How this translates into a cost saving effort to for the taxpayer is unclear. Mahler pointed out that this will require the county assessor to hire qualified persons to assume the job done by township trustees.
In other business, the advisory board voted to install four tornado alert sirens in strategic locations around Union Township. Presently, the town of Culver has installed two and the Academies have three tornado alert sirens installed.
The sirens will be purchased from the American Signal Corporation. Classified as the Tempest T-128 siren, the alert system has a range of 2 and 1/2 miles with a 70 decibel sound. They will be located on a standard wooden utility pole mounted approximately 45 to 55 feet above grade. They will be activated for tornado alerts by the county’s emergency 911 system.
Presently, outlying areas of Union Township have no alert system in place and rely on warnings from the local fire and police department for tornado alerts. With the placement of the four sirens, the township will have an early warning system in place.