No clear legal authority yet on who is interim Fairfield Township trustee

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Friday dawned with no clear legal authority as to who is serving as Fairfield Township's interim trustee.

An attorney for the Indiana State Board of Accounts told Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush on Friday that agency is not going to "opine on who is the rightful heir of the township trustee position," Roush said. The State Board of Accounts, however, pledged to assist the township in its transition.

The interim trustee question arose after Taletha Coles, the Democratic trustee elected in 2018, resigned Wednesday, hours before a judge was to decide if she should be removed over allegations she wasn't doing her job and had used taxpayer money for personal purchases.

More:Battle continues over who is Fairfield Township's interim trustee

The rightful replacement — whether that's Township Board President Perry Schnarr or Cheryl Watkins, one of Coles' township employees — will have a short tenure. The Democratic Party has scheduled a Nov. 12 caucus to elect a trustee to serve through Dec. 31. Election Day is Nov. 8, and Democratic candidate Monica Casanova faces Republican candidate April O'Brien for the office.

While county and township officials and employees await a legal opinion possibly from the Indiana Attorney General's Office or an attorney from the Indiana Township Association, Schnarr and Watkins agreed Thursday to work together to serve the township residents.

“I’m all good," Watkins said Thursday night after an emergency meeting of the township board. "I’ll look into the paper he got up there."

Schnarr brought copies of Indiana law that bolstered his argument to be the rightful heir to the office.

“I want to make sure everything is fair," Watkins said. “I’m going to research. I’ll work with them, but I want to make sure things are right. I don’t want them making up stuff.”

To shore up his claim to the office, Schnarr took the oath a second time Thursday after he learned that the first oath was not valid because the person administering the oath was outside of his jurisdiction.

Schnarr's new oath is on file at the clerk's office.

An oath, however, is just a promise to follow the law, Roush said Thursday morning. It is not a legal claim to the office.

The township board on Thursday night voted to remove Coles' name from the township's bank accounts and credit cards. The board then voted to recognize Schnarr as the interim trustee.

Friday morning at the township office

Schnarr said he arrived at the office about 8 a.m. Friday and was working with Watkins. Board secretary Rocky Hession was also there. It was the first time in years that Schnarr and Hession were allowed into the township's office. Former employees told the Journal & Courier that Coles barred township board members and the public from the office area.

The office, at 718 Wabash Ave. in Lafayette, was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the last year, the office has been accessible by appointment only. Schnarr anticipated opening the office to the public as early as Monday.

“The doors are going to be open," Schnarr said Thursday, "and I want to welcome people in to help.”

Four years of no transparency

Coles has been the target of investigations by the Journal & Courier, the Indiana State Police and the Indiana State Board of Accounts.

It took a lawsuit filed by the Journal & Courier and a court order to force Coles to produce credit card statements, which revealed taxpayers funded meals, massages and nail salon visits for Coles and her employees. She also used the township credit card to make large purchases from home-improvement and hardware stores. Coles claims the purchases were for renovations to township properties.

Coles and the township have yet to produce receipts requested by the Journal & Courier. Coles says former employees destroyed the receipts, a claim those employees dispute.

More:Fairfield Township trustee blames former employees for lack of itemized receipts

The Indiana State Police finished its investigation into Coles' management of the township and its finances. No charges or indictments have been filed in the case as of Friday.

Asked about Coles' resignation, Watkins said, “I think she was overwhelmed. She couldn’t take it anymore.”

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

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: No clear authority yet on who is interim Fairfield Township trustee