INDIANAPOLIS — For over a decade, veterans have made the journey to the Statehouse, both to be honored for their service and to raise awareness about issues affecting their community.
However, the introduction of Senate Bill 433 has some veterans concerned about changes to county-level veterans services.
"As county veterans service officers, we are the men and women on the front lines,” Alex Dobson said. “Every county in the state of Indiana has a resource in your county for any help veterans questions you might have."
Senate Bill 433, authored by Senator Scott Baldwin (R-Hamilton County), seeks to change the structure of veterans' services across Indiana.
Currently, veterans service officers are employed by county governments, providing direct assistance to veterans in accessing benefits.
The proposed legislation would shift this responsibility to the state level, with veterans' service officers reporting to the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs instead of county commissioners.
Dobson, a veteran and the County Veterans Service Officer for Steuben County, expressed his concerns about the bill during Tuesday’s event.
Dobson, an Iraq war veteran who has worked closely with veterans to help them access benefits, said the bill could undermine the local, personalized service that county officers currently provide.
He fears the state’s involvement could lead to a reduction in the number of officers available to serve veterans, particularly in rural areas where access to services is already limited.
"If you make it more of a district structure, those veterans that are in the rural communities or those veterans that are in a populous area might not be able to drive, communicate or have that local voice,” Dobson said.
Senator Baldwin argues that Senate Bill 433 is designed to improve the training and efficiency of veterans service officers across the state.
Baldwin believes that centralizing training and oversight under the state’s Department of Veterans Affairs would lead to better consistency and more effective outcomes for veterans seeking assistance.
"All the veterans services officers would now report to one place, be trained by one organization, be held to the same KPIs and standards as one organization but the county commissioners would have the final say in who is hired,” Baldwin said.
While Dobson and other opponents of the bill worry about the potential loss of local control, Baldwin maintains that the bill would not result in significant consolidation of services.
"We have consolidation already. There are some counties that don't have a one-for-one ratio,” Baldwin said. “I can't imagine that the director would negotiate anything that is not happening right now."
To find your local service office, click here.
Other Legislative Priorities
In addition to concerns about Senate Bill 433, veterans' organizations are advocating for several other priorities this legislative session.
One key issue is the property tax exemption for disabled veterans, which has not been updated since its inception in 1975, according to the veteran advocate we spoke with.
Veterans are calling on lawmakers to revisit the tax benefit, particularly for veterans who are 100% disabled, to ensure it remains relevant and sufficient to meet their needs.
"As they are looking at doing property taxes across the state, we want to make sure that our disabled veterans and our 100% disabled veterans are updated at the same time,” Lisa Wilkin said.
The push for property tax relief is just one of several initiatives veterans hope lawmakers will address this year as they continue their advocacy efforts.
They also want to restore the remission of fees for the children of disabled veterans.
Wilkin says the benefit was cut in 2011. They would like to see it restored this legislative session.
