Journal & Courier files suit in pursuit of Fairfield Township trustee's records
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Journal & Courier on Thursday filed suit against Fairfield Township Trustee Taletha Coles in pursuit of public records that include the township's credit card receipts and statements.
In the Tippecanoe Circuit Court complaint, the newspaper and reporter Ron Wilkins accuse Coles, and Fairfield Township, of "unlawfully denying access to public records."
The newspaper, in a written request, asked to inspect the township's financial records last September.
Also that month, Wilkins reported Coles had run up more than $72,000 on the township's credit cards during her first two years in office.
That article noted an earlier trustee had charged less than $35,000 on township credit cards over an eight-year period beginning in 2011.
Coles did not respond to the newspaper's request for financial records in the allotted time, prompting a complaint with Indiana's public access counselor, Luke Britt.
In a December opinion, Britt said the public, "including the media has the right to inspect any township's transactional records within a reasonable time."
He also said Coles had "not provided any credible reasoning as to why she would be an exception in this circumstance."
According to the public access counselor, Coles "considers requests for information to be vexatious and harassing."
In a statement Thursday, Deanna Watson, executive editor of The Journal & Courier, said, "Transparency in government is key to maintaining the public’s trust in our elected officials.
"The information the Journal & Courier has sought for several months is, quite simply, how one elected official spent public funds. This is not too much to ask. The public deserves to know, and as journalists, we lead the charge toward transparency.”
Thursday's lawsuit was filed by Lafayette attorney Kyle Cray on behalf of the Journal & Courier and Wilkins.
It seeks a court order directing Coles and the township to "produce for inspection and/or copying the public records requested."
A voice-mail message was left for Coles on Thursday seeking comment on the suit.
Controversy surrounding Coles — and former Wabash Township Trustee Jennifer Teising, who was convicted of stealing township funds — prompted legislation, signed last week by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, that specifies how township trustees can be removed from office.
In articles published in The Journal & Courier, Wilkins has also reported that:
• Coles in December 2019 purchased a Ford crew cab pickup truck, ostensibly for work at Fairfield Township's Greenbush Cemetery, with funds the township board has appropriated to purchase property for a community center.
• A former township employee said Coles used more than $5,000 in township funds to purchase used exercise equipment.
• The State Board of Accounts and Indiana State Police are investigating Fairfield Township's finances.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Journal & Courier sues for Fairfield trustee Taletha Coles' records
