Winona Council Continues With Clerk Concerns
April 22, 2023 at 12:36 a.m.
By Leah Sander-
The council had a special meeting at Winona Lake Town Hall to approve claims for the monthly payment of bills that it was unable to do at its regular meeting Tuesday due to wanting more review of them.
Council members began the meeting with looking at different line items on the monthly bills and asking questions of Renier.
During that process, it was discovered that Renier's office had already paid bills before the council was able to approve them. Renier told council members she didn't realize that the payments had been mailed out already.
Another issue that came up was payroll being messed up this week, with funds coming in late to employees on payday. To remedy that, Renier's office gave paper checks to employees.
Several employees, including Winona Lake Police Chief Joe Hawn and Sgt. Joe Bumbaugh, shared their frustrations regarding the matter, with Bumbaugh also doing so with InkFreeNews after the meeting. It was mentioned that payroll was messed up another time recently.
When public comment was allowed at the end of the meeting, Winona Lake Park Board President Kristie Maiers shared her frustration with financial information from Renier's office being delayed, which has caused problems with the process of a $500,000 grant the parks department received to finish Winona Lake Limitless Park.
In her defense during the meeting, Renier noted how the loss of a clerk's office employee that left without much notice at the end of last year affected the office, mentioning it was her that knew how to do many procedures. One of Renier's deputy clerks, Teena Pence, further confirmed that with media members after the meeting regarding the employee, Meghan Lincoln, also noting that Renier had been left with a mess to clean up early on after she took over as clerk-treasurer at the beginning of 2022.
Renier apologized to the council for her mistakes, stating that they wouldn't happen again while she was clerk-treasurer.
It was questioned during the meeting why Renier had an attorney, Jack Birch. Renier said she retained him due in part to the council allegedly not properly advertising an executive or private session in February in which they discussed financial concerns with her office.
The council then discovered that the town was supposedly set up to cover expenses for Birch representing Renier, but Birch confirmed to media members after the meeting that no official plan for his payment was established yet.
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The council had a special meeting at Winona Lake Town Hall to approve claims for the monthly payment of bills that it was unable to do at its regular meeting Tuesday due to wanting more review of them.
Council members began the meeting with looking at different line items on the monthly bills and asking questions of Renier.
During that process, it was discovered that Renier's office had already paid bills before the council was able to approve them. Renier told council members she didn't realize that the payments had been mailed out already.
Another issue that came up was payroll being messed up this week, with funds coming in late to employees on payday. To remedy that, Renier's office gave paper checks to employees.
Several employees, including Winona Lake Police Chief Joe Hawn and Sgt. Joe Bumbaugh, shared their frustrations regarding the matter, with Bumbaugh also doing so with InkFreeNews after the meeting. It was mentioned that payroll was messed up another time recently.
When public comment was allowed at the end of the meeting, Winona Lake Park Board President Kristie Maiers shared her frustration with financial information from Renier's office being delayed, which has caused problems with the process of a $500,000 grant the parks department received to finish Winona Lake Limitless Park.
In her defense during the meeting, Renier noted how the loss of a clerk's office employee that left without much notice at the end of last year affected the office, mentioning it was her that knew how to do many procedures. One of Renier's deputy clerks, Teena Pence, further confirmed that with media members after the meeting regarding the employee, Meghan Lincoln, also noting that Renier had been left with a mess to clean up early on after she took over as clerk-treasurer at the beginning of 2022.
Renier apologized to the council for her mistakes, stating that they wouldn't happen again while she was clerk-treasurer.
It was questioned during the meeting why Renier had an attorney, Jack Birch. Renier said she retained him due in part to the council allegedly not properly advertising an executive or private session in February in which they discussed financial concerns with her office.
The council then discovered that the town was supposedly set up to cover expenses for Birch representing Renier, but Birch confirmed to media members after the meeting that no official plan for his payment was established yet.
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