Fairfield Township official lays claim to interim trustee fires rival 'interim trustee'

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fairfield Township Board President Perry Schnarr presumes he's the interim trustee instead of Cheryl Watkins, the presumed chief deputy trustee, so Schnarr fired Watkins on Friday before a legal opinion arrived to substantiate his claim to be the heir to the office.

"I said this is your last day," Schnarr said Sunday when asked about Watkins' employment status with the township.

The dust up came after embattled Trustee Taletha Coles resigned Wednesday just hours before a hearing to force her from office for failure to do her job and allegedly using township money for person purchases.

Schnarr answered the question about Watkins during a tour of the township office Sunday afternoon. Only two media outlets showed up for the tour.

Inside the office at 718 Wabash Ave., there are boxes of files on Watkins' desk, one of three bathrooms is operational. One of the three is out of order, and the second is used as a storage room for building supplies.

All of the inner offices, the hallways and the conference rooms have cameras installed. Eight cameras are mounted inside the office, and Schnarr isn't quite sure if they have been disabled.

Former employees told the Journal & Courier last year that Fairfield Township ex-trustee Taletha Coles monitored them and eavesdropped from her home via the internet. Then Coles would dole out discipline if she heard something she didn't like, according to former township employees.

There also are two cameras outside.

The storage rooms are packed with assorted items.

One closet had eight computer towers in storage, and another closet had more than 30 rolls of toilet paper stored in it.

Next door at the township assistance house, there were seven clothes washers and/or dryers. One washer and dryer were hooked up, but one small bedroom had five machines in it.

The garage contained exercise equipment, lawn equipment, and the other side of the garage was stacked floor to ceiling with tables and shelves containing boxes of files.

The office was cluttered, including in all but two of the inner offices, which appeared to be unused.

A life-size bunny costume that Coles allegedly purchased was laid out on a bench in the outer office, giving an odd appearance as if it was sleeping.

Interim trustee title remains unresolved

Watkins said Thursday after an emergency township board meeting that she will work with Schnarr until the interim trustee issue is resolved.

It was at that emergency meeting that the board adopted a resolution that Schnarr be the interim trustee. However, there still is no legal written opinion from counsel about who is the heir to the trustee office.

Watkins, according to Schnarr, threatened to sue the township for civil rights violations after he fired her.

In comments last week to the Journal & Courier, Watkins indicated she felt her civil rights were being violated as a woman and a woman of color.

The Journal & Courier was unable to reach Watkins for comment.

In her Oct. 19 resignation letter, Coles anointed Watkins to be her successor as her chief deputy.

Schnarr, the board president, claimed he was the interim trustee because, according to Schnarr, Watkins was not the chief deputy, so the board president is the interim.

Schnarr took an oath of office last week, and the township board adopted a resolution Thursday naming him as interim trustee.

Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush has not received a legal opinion yet from either the Indiana Township Association or the Indiana Attorney General's Office.

Roush said that Coles appointed Watkins as chief deputy in March 2022. But advice from Indiana Township Association Director Debbie Driscoll is that a chief deputy must reside in the township. Watkins only recently moved into the township, claiming to live at Coles' house, according to her voter registration card that Watkins changed online two minutes before the Oct. 11 deadline.

In March 2022 until some time in September, Watkins lived in Wea Township.

Asked Sunday what he'd do if a legal opinion indicated that Watkins was the interim trustee, Schnarr said, "Well then, I'm out."

Roush said Friday that she anticipated a legal opinion on the issue as early as Monday.

As of Monday morning, Roush had not received a legal opinion to sort out who is the lawful interim trustee.

Until then, Schnarr said the township offices are closed because they are trying to sort through files.

Schnarr might have trouble paying the office's bills on time during the upheaval. Schnarr claimed that Watkins locked them out of the computer program used to write checks to pay bills.

Schnarr will announce soon when the offices will re-open, if he's interim trustee.

The township's Democratic Party precinct leaders will meet Nov. 12 to appoint a trustee to fill the office through the end of the year.

Until then, whoever is determined as the interim trustee will fill the office.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Fairfield Township official lays claim to interim trustee, fires rival