Wiggins To Seek Second Term
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
A member of the Warsaw City Council since 1983, Ernie Wiggins marks his 20th year of association with the local government this year. The first 14 years were spent representing the city's Third District. He was appointed mayor when Jeff Plank resigned in 1997.
Elected to the post in 2001, Wiggins wants to serve a second full term, a seat challenged by fellow Republican and former Warsaw Police Chief Craig Allebach.
In a way, Wiggins was raised on town business. His father, Beecher, was a city councilman in the late 1970s and was a local restaurant owner.
"I wake up in the morning and it's something different every day," Wiggins said of his work running the city.
A 1972 Purdue University graduate who also spent a couple of years attending Ball State University, he is pleased with the administration's open communication between the city and county governments.
The central dispatch facility, housed in the basement of the Justice Building, is one aspect of that relationship, and the ongoing talk about a western corridor is another.
"Dialogue is so important between us," he said. "We have to make sure we don't isolate ourselves into political districts."
In May 2002, the Warsaw police department relocated to East Fort Wayne Street, and Wiggins also plans to move city hall to another location downtown, leaving behind the 50-year-old building at the corner of Market and High streets.
Warsaw fared better than most cities during the recent economic downturns, he observed, a situation he intends to supplement with more available parking, informational signage and by carrying out other key aspects of the HyettPalma Downtown Action Agenda, presented last year.
"It's a slow process," he said of downtown enhancements. "With the recent addition of staff and by working with the Warsaw Community Development Corp., we'll see good things."
Construction of a second wastewater treatment plant began in 2002 and is scheduled for completion the summer of 2005.
When operating to full capacity, the new plant will process 3.9 million gallons a day. It is on the west side of town, south of U.S. 30.
"Hopefully, I'll see it completed," Wiggins said. "As a result, we'll have the opportunity for real economic development. We're handicapped without more treatment capabilities."
Continued close association with the Warsaw-Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce and Kosciusko Development Inc. can only add to those economic possibilities, he said.
City services will expand later this year to include curbside recycling for residents.
"We'll have recycling in place by April 1. And we'll continue to offer the best services at the lowest property tax rate," he said.
Like all cities and towns across the state, what that tax rate eventually will be is still up in the air. The tax restructuring dust has not yet settled. When it does, Wiggins can work the figures.
"I'm educated and prepared for those changes, with my financial background," said the partner in Ramsey, Wilson and Wiggins CPA Inc.
He'll probably know exactly when those changes are coming, too, as a member of the Indiana Association of Cites and Towns executive committee and chair of the IACT audit committee.
As such, he participates in the development and implementation of major policies and programs affecting all the state's municipalities.
Wiggins and his wife, Deb, have two children, Christopher, 21, and Elizabeth, 19.
Dr. David Haines is serving as Wiggins' campaign manager, and Kent Adams is campaign treasurer.
"It's heartwarming, the number of people who have called and offered assistance for the campaign," he said. [[In-content Ad]]
A member of the Warsaw City Council since 1983, Ernie Wiggins marks his 20th year of association with the local government this year. The first 14 years were spent representing the city's Third District. He was appointed mayor when Jeff Plank resigned in 1997.
Elected to the post in 2001, Wiggins wants to serve a second full term, a seat challenged by fellow Republican and former Warsaw Police Chief Craig Allebach.
In a way, Wiggins was raised on town business. His father, Beecher, was a city councilman in the late 1970s and was a local restaurant owner.
"I wake up in the morning and it's something different every day," Wiggins said of his work running the city.
A 1972 Purdue University graduate who also spent a couple of years attending Ball State University, he is pleased with the administration's open communication between the city and county governments.
The central dispatch facility, housed in the basement of the Justice Building, is one aspect of that relationship, and the ongoing talk about a western corridor is another.
"Dialogue is so important between us," he said. "We have to make sure we don't isolate ourselves into political districts."
In May 2002, the Warsaw police department relocated to East Fort Wayne Street, and Wiggins also plans to move city hall to another location downtown, leaving behind the 50-year-old building at the corner of Market and High streets.
Warsaw fared better than most cities during the recent economic downturns, he observed, a situation he intends to supplement with more available parking, informational signage and by carrying out other key aspects of the HyettPalma Downtown Action Agenda, presented last year.
"It's a slow process," he said of downtown enhancements. "With the recent addition of staff and by working with the Warsaw Community Development Corp., we'll see good things."
Construction of a second wastewater treatment plant began in 2002 and is scheduled for completion the summer of 2005.
When operating to full capacity, the new plant will process 3.9 million gallons a day. It is on the west side of town, south of U.S. 30.
"Hopefully, I'll see it completed," Wiggins said. "As a result, we'll have the opportunity for real economic development. We're handicapped without more treatment capabilities."
Continued close association with the Warsaw-Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce and Kosciusko Development Inc. can only add to those economic possibilities, he said.
City services will expand later this year to include curbside recycling for residents.
"We'll have recycling in place by April 1. And we'll continue to offer the best services at the lowest property tax rate," he said.
Like all cities and towns across the state, what that tax rate eventually will be is still up in the air. The tax restructuring dust has not yet settled. When it does, Wiggins can work the figures.
"I'm educated and prepared for those changes, with my financial background," said the partner in Ramsey, Wilson and Wiggins CPA Inc.
He'll probably know exactly when those changes are coming, too, as a member of the Indiana Association of Cites and Towns executive committee and chair of the IACT audit committee.
As such, he participates in the development and implementation of major policies and programs affecting all the state's municipalities.
Wiggins and his wife, Deb, have two children, Christopher, 21, and Elizabeth, 19.
Dr. David Haines is serving as Wiggins' campaign manager, and Kent Adams is campaign treasurer.
"It's heartwarming, the number of people who have called and offered assistance for the campaign," he said. [[In-content Ad]]