Benyousky Team Proactive
October 8, 2018 at 3:56 p.m.
By -
Thank you for taking the time to consider the importance of township trustees in a recent opinion column. I’d like to take a little time to point out a few things which need more thought, and more light.
As you know, my team and I were honored to be present at the historically large Wayne Township Trustee Board meeting last week. As a fair Times-Union article covering the event noted, our research discovering a $1.25 million surplus stockpile as of Jan. 1, 2019, was part of the current board discussion and the reason they have decided to enact a sizable reduction in their tax levy of 30 percent (which will be voted on at the next meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m.). We are happy to be part of tax improvements even if by reaction.
Although we appreciate the current board’s dedication to financial responsibility, we, and several other members of the public present at the meeting, voiced objections to this plan and I’d like to explain why.
Asking for less money isn’t the most proactive way of approaching the problem. That’s like putting a Band-Aid over a wound. Let’s examine the vision of the trustee as your recent editorial addresses them in comparison to other local townships.
First, do we in Warsaw want to be represented by the status quo? The average? Or are we a community which aspires to more? Township trustees choose how to approach their jobs. They can choose to be passive and just deal with problems as the problems knock on the trustee door, or they can choose to be proactive and go meet the problems present in every community.
I will be a pro-active township trustee to match a proactive community’s needs. For example, I will work with local entities such as Combined Community Services and the United Way to make our emergency network better and to fill gaps in assisting people who need and want a hand up. I have spent much time meeting with many excellent organizations already working hard in our community and asking them what new solutions can be created. We already have ideas. Ideas which will make this community stronger and more diverse and more open. Isn’t that better for all of us than the status quo?
Secondarily, there are a few other inconsistencies to illuminate in the editorial:
1. In contrast to Sheila Burner’s letter which is quoted, the Wayne Township trustee has had at least one violation of non-compliance. In July 2015 for example, there was this letter from the State Board of Accounts (www.in.gov/sboa/WebReports/B45244.pdf) about an overpayment in the amount of $8,000.
2. Although it is indeed common for townships to maintain large amounts if they are planning to purchase something large such as a fire truck, the MOU – Memorandum of Understanding – between Warsaw and the Wayne trustee illustrates that this isn’t the case here as the trustee may no longer even fund such purchases. Also, when asked on numerous occasions, the candidate Jeannie Stackhouse has offered no such vision or plan for the $1.25 million in storage. We received the MOU via a request at the last meeting and have read it in full.
Politics today are divisive and corrosive. But this doesn’t have to be true in our local races. This doesn’t have to be true of the Wayne Township trustee. The cash surplus would not have become known without the research of the Benyousky team. But this sort of understanding of government has come out because of the presence of multiple viewpoints. We are stronger. Republicans are stronger. Democrats are stronger. Our community is stronger. We are all stronger when there are checks and balances and multiple voices. My team and I are the type of voices which research, consider, state our case and then compromise to move forward. This is proactive. This is healthy. This is the heritage and history of our amazing communities of Warsaw and Winona Lake. The Benyousky team has the same aim as you. A better and stronger Warsaw which is ready for the future and the changes the future will bring.
Vote for us Nov. 6 and change the light bulb to a brighter one. See our video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCHfvbW2cmQ or on the Times-Union website to understand our proactive vision.
Shari Benyousky and team –
Jim Falkiner, Lori Roe and Laura Deal-Decker
Trustee Advisory Board candidates
Via email
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Thank you for taking the time to consider the importance of township trustees in a recent opinion column. I’d like to take a little time to point out a few things which need more thought, and more light.
As you know, my team and I were honored to be present at the historically large Wayne Township Trustee Board meeting last week. As a fair Times-Union article covering the event noted, our research discovering a $1.25 million surplus stockpile as of Jan. 1, 2019, was part of the current board discussion and the reason they have decided to enact a sizable reduction in their tax levy of 30 percent (which will be voted on at the next meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 4 p.m.). We are happy to be part of tax improvements even if by reaction.
Although we appreciate the current board’s dedication to financial responsibility, we, and several other members of the public present at the meeting, voiced objections to this plan and I’d like to explain why.
Asking for less money isn’t the most proactive way of approaching the problem. That’s like putting a Band-Aid over a wound. Let’s examine the vision of the trustee as your recent editorial addresses them in comparison to other local townships.
First, do we in Warsaw want to be represented by the status quo? The average? Or are we a community which aspires to more? Township trustees choose how to approach their jobs. They can choose to be passive and just deal with problems as the problems knock on the trustee door, or they can choose to be proactive and go meet the problems present in every community.
I will be a pro-active township trustee to match a proactive community’s needs. For example, I will work with local entities such as Combined Community Services and the United Way to make our emergency network better and to fill gaps in assisting people who need and want a hand up. I have spent much time meeting with many excellent organizations already working hard in our community and asking them what new solutions can be created. We already have ideas. Ideas which will make this community stronger and more diverse and more open. Isn’t that better for all of us than the status quo?
Secondarily, there are a few other inconsistencies to illuminate in the editorial:
1. In contrast to Sheila Burner’s letter which is quoted, the Wayne Township trustee has had at least one violation of non-compliance. In July 2015 for example, there was this letter from the State Board of Accounts (www.in.gov/sboa/WebReports/B45244.pdf) about an overpayment in the amount of $8,000.
2. Although it is indeed common for townships to maintain large amounts if they are planning to purchase something large such as a fire truck, the MOU – Memorandum of Understanding – between Warsaw and the Wayne trustee illustrates that this isn’t the case here as the trustee may no longer even fund such purchases. Also, when asked on numerous occasions, the candidate Jeannie Stackhouse has offered no such vision or plan for the $1.25 million in storage. We received the MOU via a request at the last meeting and have read it in full.
Politics today are divisive and corrosive. But this doesn’t have to be true in our local races. This doesn’t have to be true of the Wayne Township trustee. The cash surplus would not have become known without the research of the Benyousky team. But this sort of understanding of government has come out because of the presence of multiple viewpoints. We are stronger. Republicans are stronger. Democrats are stronger. Our community is stronger. We are all stronger when there are checks and balances and multiple voices. My team and I are the type of voices which research, consider, state our case and then compromise to move forward. This is proactive. This is healthy. This is the heritage and history of our amazing communities of Warsaw and Winona Lake. The Benyousky team has the same aim as you. A better and stronger Warsaw which is ready for the future and the changes the future will bring.
Vote for us Nov. 6 and change the light bulb to a brighter one. See our video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCHfvbW2cmQ or on the Times-Union website to understand our proactive vision.
Shari Benyousky and team –
Jim Falkiner, Lori Roe and Laura Deal-Decker
Trustee Advisory Board candidates
Via email
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