Reflections From Two Long-Time County Officials
January 3, 2017 at 6:45 p.m.
By Dan [email protected]
Ron Robinson, the county’s first and only county administrator and a former sheriff, is stepping away. Larry Teghtmeyer, who had two long stretches of service on county council dating back to 1978, did not seek re-election last year.
The following is a recap of nearly 70 years of service between the two men.
Ron Robinson
Sitting in his old county office last week, Robinson, 69, still talks about ongoing projects as if he’s still employed.
We need to do this. We need to do that, Robinson said about various projects.
Yet, Robinson, who will turned 70 later this month, retired nearly two months ago after serving 22 years as county administrator plus a long career in law enforcement.
Old habits are apparently hard to break.
Robinson began a career in police work in 1969 as a deputy marshal in Syracuse and then had a four-year stint in the county sheriff’s department under sheriff Dave Andrews. He then left and returned four years later when Al Rovenstine was elected sheriff.
Eight years later, Robinson was then elected sheriff, but chose not to run again. Once again, he found himself working for Rovenstine as a captain.
At Rovenstine’s direction, Robinson helped establish a merit board for the department, which then worked to create a retirement plan and hiring practices.
He then took on another challenge – coordinating plans for an enhanced 911 emergency phone service, which dovetailed with the lengthy process of converting rural addresses from rural routes.
But by the mid 1990s, he was looking for a new challenge.
“I just got to the point where I was ready to get out of law enforcement,” he said.
That inkling to work on internal policies and save money for the county led to the job of overseeing human resources in 1995. Within months, he was asked if he would like to serve as a county administrator.
He said he remembers former commissioner Eddie Creighton asking if he would be interested in being a county administrator.
“I told them, ‘I’ll try it and if you’re not happy with what I’m doing, you let me know and if I’m not happy, I’ll let you know,” Robinson said. “Twenty-two and a half years, we’re still here.”
The role of county administrator was unchartered territory for many Indiana counties 25 years ago and Kosciusko County was among the first in the state to move in that direction.
Robinson settled into the role with a simple outlook look for ways to cut corners and save the county government.
Robinson’s first task was to revamp the personnel policy, which he said consisted at the time of two pages and dealt mostly with vacations. That work took several months as he interviewed employees and worked with department heads to draft job descriptions.
When he took the new job, many county workers had their own printer and every department had its own copier. All told, the county had nine vendors for its copiers. That was soon reduced down to two vendors. Printers were soon looped into the copier system, he said.
Robinson said he also worked with department heads in reducing some redundancies, which led to some personnel cuts.
“We made some big changes, but saved a considerable amount of money,” Robinson said.
The fact that Robinson sat alongside elected leaders, including the three commissioners, and became a source of insights and opinions led the Times-Union to once refer to him as the “fourth commissioner” in a headline.
Robinson said he came across the story recently and he still bristles at what he considered to be a misrepresentation.
“I worked for the commissioners. Sometimes, I might act like a fourth commissioners, but they are the boss. I’ve truly enjoyed working with all of them,” he said.
“I didn’t make decisions. I checked stuff out and always had access to the commissioners,” he added.
Part of his job was to oversee federal monies coming into the county and was able to help track down $1 million that had been appropriated by Congress for CR 350, a bypass plan that never came to fruition.
Robinson said the hunt began while talking to a representative of former Congressman Mark Souder’s office who asked where the money had gone. Robinson then reached out to a representative of Michiana Area Council of Governments, which found the money sitting in a state account.
The county was then able to recoup the money and use it to partially fund two roundabouts.
Robinson also worked for more than a year to establish a employee clinic, which opened in 2012. The office, located on Lake Street, turned into a convenience for county employees and saved money on medical and workman’s compensation for the county, he said.
“In this job, the greatest thing has been the clinic and we’ve been able to save the employee money and the county money,” Robinson said. “I see that as my job. Cut corners and save money.”
During his tenure, he worked with seven commissioners. Ultimately, any accomplishments made as a county administrator were a group effort.
“I’ve enjoyed this job, but if it weren’t for the people of this county, we wouldn’t have what we have today. It took everybody,” he said.
Larry Teghtmeyer
At the age of 30, Teghtmeyer was an assistant fire chief in North Webster and the owner of a hardware store in town when he was approached by two men and asked to consider running for office.
In 1978, he ran for county council’s 1st District seat and along with Tom Anglin, Ron Sharp and Carl “Tuffy” Latta, was among a handful of newcomers to council.
He said he often looked to Norm DeGood, an incumbent councilman, for advice.
The political atmosphere, at the time, he recalled, was “pretty tough.”
Relations in county government at the time were “argumentative, uncooperative and untrustful,” he said.
Annual budget sessions were typically three long days and full of miniscule dissections of the budget, including a detailed review of all 16 township budgets.
“We went through every line item and argued about just about everything,” he said. “We’ve come a long way from those days.”
He stepped away after four terms and did not seek re-election in 1990.
He returned in 2000 as an at-large councilman at the time the county was working on expanding the jail.
“I cared about it and just thought that with my experience, I could provide some help,” Teghtmeyer said.
Teghtmeyer said the county has made great strides and specifically said the dynamics between different entities in the past half dozen years stand out.
He said he’s proud of the fact the county has no outstanding debt and a low tax rate.
He said the best thing the county has done in recent decades was establish the county administrator’s position.
He sees a better working relationship with the city of Warsaw and believes establishment of the Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace College and the creation of a economic development director have been good, solid steps for the county.
“I walk away with a sense of pride for our county,” Teghtmeyer said. “It seems like ... our community has really come together for the well being of our community and protecting our assets.”
Ron Robinson, the county’s first and only county administrator and a former sheriff, is stepping away. Larry Teghtmeyer, who had two long stretches of service on county council dating back to 1978, did not seek re-election last year.
The following is a recap of nearly 70 years of service between the two men.
Ron Robinson
Sitting in his old county office last week, Robinson, 69, still talks about ongoing projects as if he’s still employed.
We need to do this. We need to do that, Robinson said about various projects.
Yet, Robinson, who will turned 70 later this month, retired nearly two months ago after serving 22 years as county administrator plus a long career in law enforcement.
Old habits are apparently hard to break.
Robinson began a career in police work in 1969 as a deputy marshal in Syracuse and then had a four-year stint in the county sheriff’s department under sheriff Dave Andrews. He then left and returned four years later when Al Rovenstine was elected sheriff.
Eight years later, Robinson was then elected sheriff, but chose not to run again. Once again, he found himself working for Rovenstine as a captain.
At Rovenstine’s direction, Robinson helped establish a merit board for the department, which then worked to create a retirement plan and hiring practices.
He then took on another challenge – coordinating plans for an enhanced 911 emergency phone service, which dovetailed with the lengthy process of converting rural addresses from rural routes.
But by the mid 1990s, he was looking for a new challenge.
“I just got to the point where I was ready to get out of law enforcement,” he said.
That inkling to work on internal policies and save money for the county led to the job of overseeing human resources in 1995. Within months, he was asked if he would like to serve as a county administrator.
He said he remembers former commissioner Eddie Creighton asking if he would be interested in being a county administrator.
“I told them, ‘I’ll try it and if you’re not happy with what I’m doing, you let me know and if I’m not happy, I’ll let you know,” Robinson said. “Twenty-two and a half years, we’re still here.”
The role of county administrator was unchartered territory for many Indiana counties 25 years ago and Kosciusko County was among the first in the state to move in that direction.
Robinson settled into the role with a simple outlook look for ways to cut corners and save the county government.
Robinson’s first task was to revamp the personnel policy, which he said consisted at the time of two pages and dealt mostly with vacations. That work took several months as he interviewed employees and worked with department heads to draft job descriptions.
When he took the new job, many county workers had their own printer and every department had its own copier. All told, the county had nine vendors for its copiers. That was soon reduced down to two vendors. Printers were soon looped into the copier system, he said.
Robinson said he also worked with department heads in reducing some redundancies, which led to some personnel cuts.
“We made some big changes, but saved a considerable amount of money,” Robinson said.
The fact that Robinson sat alongside elected leaders, including the three commissioners, and became a source of insights and opinions led the Times-Union to once refer to him as the “fourth commissioner” in a headline.
Robinson said he came across the story recently and he still bristles at what he considered to be a misrepresentation.
“I worked for the commissioners. Sometimes, I might act like a fourth commissioners, but they are the boss. I’ve truly enjoyed working with all of them,” he said.
“I didn’t make decisions. I checked stuff out and always had access to the commissioners,” he added.
Part of his job was to oversee federal monies coming into the county and was able to help track down $1 million that had been appropriated by Congress for CR 350, a bypass plan that never came to fruition.
Robinson said the hunt began while talking to a representative of former Congressman Mark Souder’s office who asked where the money had gone. Robinson then reached out to a representative of Michiana Area Council of Governments, which found the money sitting in a state account.
The county was then able to recoup the money and use it to partially fund two roundabouts.
Robinson also worked for more than a year to establish a employee clinic, which opened in 2012. The office, located on Lake Street, turned into a convenience for county employees and saved money on medical and workman’s compensation for the county, he said.
“In this job, the greatest thing has been the clinic and we’ve been able to save the employee money and the county money,” Robinson said. “I see that as my job. Cut corners and save money.”
During his tenure, he worked with seven commissioners. Ultimately, any accomplishments made as a county administrator were a group effort.
“I’ve enjoyed this job, but if it weren’t for the people of this county, we wouldn’t have what we have today. It took everybody,” he said.
Larry Teghtmeyer
At the age of 30, Teghtmeyer was an assistant fire chief in North Webster and the owner of a hardware store in town when he was approached by two men and asked to consider running for office.
In 1978, he ran for county council’s 1st District seat and along with Tom Anglin, Ron Sharp and Carl “Tuffy” Latta, was among a handful of newcomers to council.
He said he often looked to Norm DeGood, an incumbent councilman, for advice.
The political atmosphere, at the time, he recalled, was “pretty tough.”
Relations in county government at the time were “argumentative, uncooperative and untrustful,” he said.
Annual budget sessions were typically three long days and full of miniscule dissections of the budget, including a detailed review of all 16 township budgets.
“We went through every line item and argued about just about everything,” he said. “We’ve come a long way from those days.”
He stepped away after four terms and did not seek re-election in 1990.
He returned in 2000 as an at-large councilman at the time the county was working on expanding the jail.
“I cared about it and just thought that with my experience, I could provide some help,” Teghtmeyer said.
Teghtmeyer said the county has made great strides and specifically said the dynamics between different entities in the past half dozen years stand out.
He said he’s proud of the fact the county has no outstanding debt and a low tax rate.
He said the best thing the county has done in recent decades was establish the county administrator’s position.
He sees a better working relationship with the city of Warsaw and believes establishment of the Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace College and the creation of a economic development director have been good, solid steps for the county.
“I walk away with a sense of pride for our county,” Teghtmeyer said. “It seems like ... our community has really come together for the well being of our community and protecting our assets.”
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