Few request change to Central, to dismay of some residents
By Mary Beth Schneider

Battered by proponents of both sides in Indiana's time zone debate, Michael Yoder says he and a number of county commissioners across the state are becoming "time zone piñatas."

Elkhart County, where Yoder is one of three county commissioners, has decided not to ask for a time zone change -- a decision that pleased businesses but angered plenty of local residents, Yoder said.

The pummeling he described is still going on in a couple dozen of Indiana's 92 counties.

The federal Department of Transportation has given counties until Sept. 16 to seek a time zone change.

So far, only a handful have reached a decision, and no county has formally requested a time zone switch under the process the federal government laid out in early August.

Elkhart, Kosciusko and Vanderburgh county commissioners have decided not to seek a time change. Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, who as the chief executive in Marion County is the deciding voice here, also will not ask for a hearing.

Those who have voted for a switch from the Eastern to the Central time zone include Daviess, Fulton, Marshall, Pulaski and Starke counties, although they haven't officially petitioned for a hearing. In no county is the situation more confusing than St. Joseph, where South Bend and the County Council have voted in favor of switching to Central time but the County Commissioners have not, said commissioner Cynthia Bodle.

"I'm not saying we're going to," she said.

Many other counties are taking a wait-and-see attitude in what has become a statewide game of dominoes.

Some counties want to stay in sync with their big-city neighbors. So counties near Lafayette are watching Tippecanoe County, which is watching Marion County.

"If Indianapolis would consider going to Central, we'd consider going to Central," said Tippecanoe County Commissioner K.D. Benson. "If we'd go to Central, counties around us would."

Benton County Auditor Joan Schluttenhofer agreed, saying that her county is watching to see what Tippecanoe does before making a decision.

Although two-thirds of the 1,500 e-mails, letters and calls the county has received have been in support of the Central time zone, Benson expects that when Tippecanoe County Commissioners vote on the issue -- probably at their Tuesday meeting -- they'll stick with the Eastern zone.

The East, Benson said, is where the county does most of its business -- and it's the needs of commerce that are the deciding factor for the federal government in determining where to draw the time zone line.

Unfortunately, said Kosciusko County Commissioner Ron Truex, that's something most folks in his northeastern Indiana county don't understand.

"Yes, I'm frustrated," Truex said, exasperation filling his voice.

He and other commissioners have felt the public's wrath because they voted not to seek a change to the Central time zone. But, he said, under the guidelines laid out by the federal government, the county could not have made an economic case that would have convinced the Department of Transportation.

"We did not feel we qualified in any area," Truex said. "And public input is not considered."

County commissioners in both parties, and in all areas of the state, said they are angry that the state legislature, Gov. Mitch Daniels and the federal government have stuck them with this issue.

Daniels said he doesn't think most county commissioners feel that way.

"Oh no, they don't," Daniels said. "The most irresponsible thing we could have done is to try to dictate an answer from here. Some of these folks would rather not be forced to deal with an issue of local importance, but in that case they shouldn't have run for the job."

Daniels fought in this year's legislative session for passage of a bill moving all of Indiana to daylight-saving time. The bill lawmakers passed required Daniels to ask the federal government for time zone hearings.

In his campaign, Daniels said Central time made the most sense for Indiana, but he refused to state a preference to the federal government.

Instead, he asked for a series of regional hearings. In July, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta turned down that request and said the issue should be decided county-by-county.

That was not entirely a surprise to the Daniels administration.

An e-mail the state government released to The Indianapolis Star last week shows that on May 20 -- the day Daniels sent the initial letter to the federal Department of Transportation asking for the hearings -- the governor's office already was concerned that regional hearings would not be possible.

The e-mail from Debbie Hohlt, who represents Indiana in Washington, D.C., notes that "there is some concern on our part that the (transportation department) counsel may insist we have a more specific proposal in order for the DOT to conduct public hearings in Indiana."

Mineta ultimately said individual counties would have to specifically ask for a time zone change, and have the documentation to back up why the change made sense, before any hearings would be scheduled.

There is no guarantee that the federal government will grant any hearings, much less any time change.

Yoder said the people in his county are angry the time issue ever came up at all. "Overwhelmingly people want to be left alone," he said.

A Republican in a strongly Republican county, Yoder said Daniels' popularity is hitting bottom in his part of the state. "I don't think I've talked to anybody in the last two months that had anything good to say about the governor. I don't think he could get 10 votes in this county now."

Kevin Brinegar, president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, which thinks Eastern time makes the best economic sense, said he's got a lunch bet that, in the end, few counties will change to Central time.

"I think less than five," Brinegar predicted. "They're not going to do anything goofy like draw a (time zone) line down the middle of the state."

Daniels said the debate has been worth the angst.

For too long, he said, Indiana has had three time zones: "Central Time, Eastern Time and the Twilight Zone."

Now, he said, the whole state will be on daylight-saving time, with two time zones.

"The era of total confusion will be over."