Baumgartner Taking 2nd Shot At Commissioner Seat
May 25, 2020 at 9:48 p.m.
Baumgartner Taking 2nd Shot At Commissioner Seat
By David [email protected]
That wasn’t enough to unseat incumbent Brad Jackson, who took 54% (8,205) of the votes, but that hasn’t stopped Baumgartner from trying again in the June 2 primary.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was trustee assessor,” Baumgartner said in an interview Thursday. “I had an appeal for poor relief and it went to the commissioners. And I really liked what they did, and I thought, ‘Someday, I’m going to do that.’ And now that I’m unemployed, I can devote 100% of my time to that position.”
She said she likes the way government “intertwines” with other offices.
“I like a puzzle, and, to me, that’s a big piece of a larger puzzle with the state, with the cities, with the townships, with everybody. And I like to work with everybody,” Baumgartner stated.
She served as the Van Buren Township trustee assessor from 1983 to 1990, where she dealt with EMS and fire contracts, poor relief and levy tax rates. It was her mom who told her she had the “perfect” job for her as the trustee assessor could work part-time from home and take care of her children. She was appointed to that position by the precinct committeemen for the first time, but then ran for election after that appointed three-year term was over.
“It ended up it was a full-time job with part-time pay,” Baumgartner said.
After serving in that position, she was a bookkeeper, worked at Lake City Bank as a teller and at Freedom Express as its first office employee.
From 2005 to 2015, she was a Kosciusko County deputy assessor, dealing with real estate and personal property tax.
After leaving in 2015, she’s served as her father’s caregiver.
The commissioners deal with a variety of issues, from roads to rezonings and policies and ordinances.
Baumgartner said, “Like everyone else, I find out about it in the newspaper. But I see Warsaw growing and growing, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I think the outlying areas out in the county need to grow with it, because we have to work with the city to control the traffic because some of the back roads need to be improved in and out of Warsaw to handle the heavier traffic. I find myself going the back roads to stay away from (U.S.) 30.”
As part of Jackson’s campaign, he is touting his relationships with others like state and U.S. officials that helps him get things done. Jackson has served as a commissioner for 24 years.
“I like meeting new people and I like challenges,” Baumgartner said. “And I’m not afraid to tackle questions. I like working with the taxpayers to meet their needs. And sometimes that means telling them something they don’t like because it’s not within state code.
“So I think the commissioners’ job is mainly to be the mediator between the taxpayer and the state of Indiana,” she said.
As for the biggest issues the county is currently facing, Baumgartner said one is traffic.
“I think maybe we could start some county parks. Our county doesn’t have any parks. They depend on the city parks. I think somehow the county needs to tie in with some of the other areas that are starting their own parks and have grants and things, so people aren’t going down on the Monon Trail. They’re not biking on other counties’ bike (trails), that we have it right here. And people that come to visit at the lakes can do that also and have something to do other than just sit at the lake,” Baumgartner said.
The COVID-19 pandemic and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s executive orders to close schools and businesses down for a number of weeks is having an economic effect on everyone, and that will affect the state’s, county’s and cities’ budgets, likely for several years.
While the county council is the “purse string” for Kosciusko County, the commissioners’ decisions will be affected by county revenue.
Baumgartner said, “They need to look within and strengthen before we divide out into other projects and things.”
As an example, she referenced the $8 million overhead project in Milford.
“They should have improved Old 15 and the access from Elkhart County from the north, and when they approved the planning of it, maybe they should have thought about that a little more. Then the $8 million would have gone a lot further in other areas in the county,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s not needed, but maybe it should have done a better way.”
Baumgartner went to Wawasee High School, graduating in 1977. She lives in Milford and is married to Sam Baumgartner with three grown children.
“I like digging for answers. I’m not afraid to call people and talk with them. I’m not afraid to call down to the state and find out the answers, sometimes even the ones we don’t like,” she said when asked for a final thought on what she wanted voters to know about her.
That wasn’t enough to unseat incumbent Brad Jackson, who took 54% (8,205) of the votes, but that hasn’t stopped Baumgartner from trying again in the June 2 primary.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was trustee assessor,” Baumgartner said in an interview Thursday. “I had an appeal for poor relief and it went to the commissioners. And I really liked what they did, and I thought, ‘Someday, I’m going to do that.’ And now that I’m unemployed, I can devote 100% of my time to that position.”
She said she likes the way government “intertwines” with other offices.
“I like a puzzle, and, to me, that’s a big piece of a larger puzzle with the state, with the cities, with the townships, with everybody. And I like to work with everybody,” Baumgartner stated.
She served as the Van Buren Township trustee assessor from 1983 to 1990, where she dealt with EMS and fire contracts, poor relief and levy tax rates. It was her mom who told her she had the “perfect” job for her as the trustee assessor could work part-time from home and take care of her children. She was appointed to that position by the precinct committeemen for the first time, but then ran for election after that appointed three-year term was over.
“It ended up it was a full-time job with part-time pay,” Baumgartner said.
After serving in that position, she was a bookkeeper, worked at Lake City Bank as a teller and at Freedom Express as its first office employee.
From 2005 to 2015, she was a Kosciusko County deputy assessor, dealing with real estate and personal property tax.
After leaving in 2015, she’s served as her father’s caregiver.
The commissioners deal with a variety of issues, from roads to rezonings and policies and ordinances.
Baumgartner said, “Like everyone else, I find out about it in the newspaper. But I see Warsaw growing and growing, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I think the outlying areas out in the county need to grow with it, because we have to work with the city to control the traffic because some of the back roads need to be improved in and out of Warsaw to handle the heavier traffic. I find myself going the back roads to stay away from (U.S.) 30.”
As part of Jackson’s campaign, he is touting his relationships with others like state and U.S. officials that helps him get things done. Jackson has served as a commissioner for 24 years.
“I like meeting new people and I like challenges,” Baumgartner said. “And I’m not afraid to tackle questions. I like working with the taxpayers to meet their needs. And sometimes that means telling them something they don’t like because it’s not within state code.
“So I think the commissioners’ job is mainly to be the mediator between the taxpayer and the state of Indiana,” she said.
As for the biggest issues the county is currently facing, Baumgartner said one is traffic.
“I think maybe we could start some county parks. Our county doesn’t have any parks. They depend on the city parks. I think somehow the county needs to tie in with some of the other areas that are starting their own parks and have grants and things, so people aren’t going down on the Monon Trail. They’re not biking on other counties’ bike (trails), that we have it right here. And people that come to visit at the lakes can do that also and have something to do other than just sit at the lake,” Baumgartner said.
The COVID-19 pandemic and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s executive orders to close schools and businesses down for a number of weeks is having an economic effect on everyone, and that will affect the state’s, county’s and cities’ budgets, likely for several years.
While the county council is the “purse string” for Kosciusko County, the commissioners’ decisions will be affected by county revenue.
Baumgartner said, “They need to look within and strengthen before we divide out into other projects and things.”
As an example, she referenced the $8 million overhead project in Milford.
“They should have improved Old 15 and the access from Elkhart County from the north, and when they approved the planning of it, maybe they should have thought about that a little more. Then the $8 million would have gone a lot further in other areas in the county,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s not needed, but maybe it should have done a better way.”
Baumgartner went to Wawasee High School, graduating in 1977. She lives in Milford and is married to Sam Baumgartner with three grown children.
“I like digging for answers. I’m not afraid to call people and talk with them. I’m not afraid to call down to the state and find out the answers, sometimes even the ones we don’t like,” she said when asked for a final thought on what she wanted voters to know about her.
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