Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
I have served as Township Trustee for 12 years (first as Franklin Township Trustee and then after the merger, Franklin Union Needham Township Trustee). Prior to that I worked for over 20 years at a Bankruptcy Law Firm. During my tenure as Trustee I have been named the Indiana Trustee of the Year and later we were awarded the Indiana Township of the Year award. Under my leadership, FUN Township became the first township in the state to successfully merge. With the 2026 passage of SB 270, our model for township efficiency and merger are now the road map for all other townships to follow.
Every resident who calls the township is offered an appointment to apply. If someone reaches out but reside in a different township, we direct them to their correct township office. All applicants complete the same state mandated forms. Our goal is to always look for ways we can help any resident in need. Denials most often occur when a resident is above the income guidelines. Even then, our office looks for ways to help by reaching out to other organizations and
churches we have built relationships with to help. No resident is ever turned down the opportunity to apply for assistance, and under my leadership we created the JAKI program
which provides emergency hours and weekend assistance when local police encounter a resident in need.
We continually look at ways to better serve our community. While township assistance is thought of to be “emergency assistance”, we believe that helping residents move out of the cycle of poverty is a better path for them and for our community as a whole. We created a partnership with a local agency to offer a Master Leasing Program, which assists residents in obtaining a Lease. We are working on the “Gap Program”. This program will
bring many caring local businesses in to help in times of crisis. We are in the process of re-opening Smiley Mill Cemetery and will look at the other cemeteries to see if we can reopen them as well. We contract for Franklin Fire and we have also helped the fire department attain critical equipment.
Transparency is equally important as citizens need to know how their tax dollars are used. We have created website and Facebook page to share regular updates, advertise meetings and will continue to do so. Fiscal transparency is controlled by a four point process my administration put in place. All invoices and checks paid out are reviewed by two separate staff members, myself as Trustee and the Oversight Committee and then provided to the Board, so all financials are reviewed by multiple people.
We attend many community events held within the “help community”. We interact with residents on social media and an exciting new program we expect to roll out later this year are video updates where we will share news of office programs, upcoming events etc. We also have an “email tree” where residents can subscribe and receive regular email updates of happenings at the office and around the county. My favorite is our Community Giveaway. We host this event several times each year. We accept donations of clothing, furniture, household goods, food and more from our generous community. These items are then given away to those in need absolutely free of charge at our Giveaway events. This helps both the donor and the receiver.
Positivity, growth and leadership. Our residents deserve a township they can truly be proud of! I am so very proud that FUN Township is considered by the state of Indiana as a model for township efficiency. Our office has worked hard to adapt to the constant flow of adversity. Re-opening cemeteries to generate revenue to maintain the costs and repairs for the cemeteries. Our community is caring and always step up to help those in need, but we must maintain affordability through low tax rates. Through our innovative programs we have actually increased our service offerings while keeping costs flat. We will continue to partner with other agencies and churches to build the resources necessary to lift our entire community.
