Elkhart could oppose St. Joe on time zone
Commissioners may testify against Central
Published: Friday, August 26, 2005 -- The Truth, A1
Last updated: 8/25/2005 11:05:39 PM
By Aleks Tapinsh
Truth Staff

ELKHART -- Elkhart County may testify against St. Joseph County's request to switch to the Central time zone, according to one Elkhart County commissioner.

Some in the Elkhart County business community are proposing county commissioners be ready to testify against St. Joseph County's request to switch if the U.S. Department of Transportation has hearings on the thorny issue, said Mike Yoder, Elkhart County commissioner.

Yoder declined to name those business people who approached the commissioners. But he said the commissioners have not made a decision whether they will testify.

An Indiana county may ask the federal agency to switch time zones. The agency bases its decision on economic factors rather than public opinion.

It is not clear whether St. Joseph County can make a valid case to the federal agency, said Bill Bradley, executive director of the Economic Development Corp. of Elkhart County.

"It is a stretch to say that South Bend is a part of the greater Chicago area," he said.

Four counties -- Marshall, St. Joseph, Elkhart and Kosciusko -- intended to remain in the same time zone; however, that looks less and less likely. And St. Joe's switch to Central would add more confusion for commuters and businesses, Bradley said.

While the St. Joseph County Council passed a non-binding resolution Tuesday in support of Central time in St. Joseph County, the decision to request a change lies with its county commissioners.

Commissioners president Cindy Bodle said commissioners self-imposed a Sept. 1 deadline to decide whether to request a time zone change.

"We do believe it is beneficial for us to be on the same time zone," she said, referring to Marshall, Kosciusko, St. Joseph and Elkhart counties. However, Bodle said, everyone has different opinions on the time issue, including business people.

"I'm not at all surprised they would ask their representatives to intervene," she said.

Yoder said St. Joseph County's resolution does not affect Elkhart County's position. The commissioners see no economic benefit of a switch to Central time, Yoder said.

"We're not going to do that, unless some data is going to show up in the next weeks," Yoder said.

Most of the state is in the Eastern zone and will remain there unless the federal government authorizes the change.

Out of four counties that wanted to remain in the same time zone, Marshall and now St. Joseph counties are likely to file for a change to Central, while Elkhart and Kosciusko are likely to remain on Eastern.

Contact Aleks Tapinsh at atapinsh@etruth.com.

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Additional Information:
Background

When the Indiana General Assembly voted earlier this year to move the state to daylight-saving time, the legislature asked Gov. Mitch Daniels to request the federal government conduct hearings to determine in which time zone the state should be.

The federal government responded by requiring counties that want to switch time zones to file a request by Sept. 16. The U.S. Department of Transportation would then schedule public hearings to determine whether to approve a time zone switch. If counties in this part of the state don't act, they will remain in the Eastern time zone.

Economic Factors

Counties wishing to switch time zones must file a request with the U.S. Department of Transportation. If the agency finds the counties' arguments compelling, it will schedule public hearings, analyze the data and public comments and decide whether to grant a switch.

These are the questions counties applying for a switch must answer:

· Where do businesses in the area get their supplies and where do they ship their goods and products?

· From where does the area receive television and radio broadcasts?

· Where are newspapers that serve the area published?

· Where does the area get its bus and passenger rail services, and if there are none in the area, where must people go to get them?

· Where is the nearest airport?

· What percentage of residents work outside the area, and where do they work?

· What are the major elements of the area's economy? Is the economy improving or declining? What government plans, if any, are there for economic development?

· If residents leave the area for schooling, recreation, health care or religious worship, what standard of time is observed in the places they go for those purposes?

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation