Watkins' claim to Fairfield Township interim trustee looks tenuous
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fairfield Township payroll records indicate that Cheryl Watkins was never really chief deputy trustee, so her claim to interim trustee appears tenuous, at best.
If Watkins is not really chief deputy, that clears the path for Fairfield Township Board President Perry Schnarr, who has laid claim to the title since Oct. 19, when Trustee Taletha Coles resigned. Coles' resignation came just hours before a judge was to hear evidence Coles allegedly abused her office and decide whether to toss Coles out of office.
In Coles' resignation letter, she anointed Watkins her successor because Watkins was Coles' chief deputy.
Coles emailed Tippecanoe County Sheriff Bob Goldsmith on March 9, indicating that Watkins was her chief deputy trustee.
Bill Jones, Tippecanoe Township trustee and an expert in township government, said chief deputies must reside in the township. Watkins lived in northern Wea Township until last month.
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Then there's the township payroll documents presented Monday during a Fairfield Township Board meeting.
These documents indicated that Watkins earned $27,507.75 in 2022 as an intake specialist paid from the Welfare Assistance funds, according to Coles' bookkeeping. There is no position in the township job structure for a chief deputy.
Jones said the board has to approve a Form 17, which itemizes jobs in the township. Until this fall, the last time the board approved a Form 17 was 2019, Board Secretary Rocky Hession said last week. That form did not create a chief deputy position, he said.
If Watkins was appointed chief deputy, Jones said law requires that she take an oath within 30 days of the appointment, and the oath is supposed to be on file in the county clerk's office. If the oath is not filed in 30 days, the post is void, Jones said.
No clear legal authority yet on who is interim Fairfield Township trustee
Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush said last week she does not have an oath on file for Watkins.
This suggests that Coles might have called Watkins her chief deputy, but there is nothing official about the title. Without an official claim to the title, Watkins' claim as interim trustee looks questionable.
Roush said Monday evening that her office has not received a legal opinion from the Indiana Township Association or the Indiana Attorney General's Office indicating whether Schnarr or Watkins is the interim trustee.
Schnarr, however, has proceeded with the board's blessing as interim, and on Friday, he fired Watkins, Schnarr said on Sunday..
On Monday, he let one other township office employee go, and the third employee resigned on her own accord, Schnarr said Monday during the board meeting.
The board transferred $5,000 from the cemetery care funds into professional services. The board also transferred $6,000 from the part-time intake specialist into the professional services.
Those transfers created a $11,000 pool to hire four consultants to shift through the township's records and put things in order.
The board approved Schnarr's request to hire former township employees Kelli Stump, Teresa Meyers and Trisha Fogleman as consultants. The board also approved hiring Jones as a consultant.
Jones put Wabash Township's books back in order after its trustee, Jennifer Teising, was forced from office after being convicted earlier this year of 21 counts of theft from the taxpayers. Teising is appealing her conviction and sentence.
Schnarr said the township office is not ready to open to the public.
He announced last week he hoped to open as early as Monday. But at Monday's meeting, he said it's going to be a few weeks to work through the mess.
In in the meantime, anyone needing township assistance should call 211 to find resources.
The board will meet Nov. 10 — two days after the election — to update the public.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Watkins' claim to Fairfield Township interim trustee looks tenuous
