Illinois has more units of government than any other state. So it’s always notable when a government entity dissolves a layer of oversights that may not be needed.

Belleville Township regularly collected more than $500,000 from residents there, and the bulk of that amount went to pay salaries, according to a report.

Beginning in May, the city of Belleville will tale over the duties that had been assigned to the township. Said Mindy Ruckman, policy analyst at the Illinois Policy Institute:

“In some cases, like the case of Belleville Township, the township governed over the exact same area of the Belleville City.  The only service that the Belleville Township provided was to administer what was called the vernal assistance program. Basically, this program gave out financial aid to lower income residents who met certain qualifications. In that area it happened to be a very small amount — approximately 40 people — who received this service.”