Renier Qualified For Job
April 25, 2023 at 8:37 p.m.
By -
Laurie Renier, who is currently the elected clerk-treasurer for the Town of Winona Lake, and who faces opposition in the election on May 2, has recently become the focus of some less-than-flattering media coverage.
Council has raised concerns about a delay in people getting paid, although checks were available just a little later in the day than usual, and she's been accused of causing delays in grant funding even though there have been no requests made to the clerk's office by any grant agency for information.
I am well aware that the duties of the previous chief deputy had been delegated to her by the former clerk-treasurer, and that they had been solely carried out by her long before and all the way through Laurie's first year in office. Even though multiple requests were made to implement cross training and have written instructions created for procedures within the office, those requests were ignored.
Mail was intentionally withheld from Laurie, and no explanation was given when it was discovered that invoices were not being paid on time or in full. Without warning, the former employee quit at the end of December, leaving the town office with a mess, including months of incomplete bank recs, all receipting since the new ice rink opened, and significant errors in payroll including paying an employee's health insurance without ever deducting it from their pay. As these and so many other issues began to surface, Laurie and I reached out the State Board of Accounts and upon their recommendation, met with two council members. We told them the SBOA's suggestion was to address the issues at their next public meeting for the purpose of transparency and so the council would be aware of the potential for some unexpected expenses to rectify some of the larger issues. One council member said we were absolutely not bringing this up at a public meeting.
I believe expecting a nearly new clerk with three new employees to take over the operations of an entire town with virtually no training and not a single operating procedure in place without a hiccup is ridiculous! Have there been errors? Of course, but without Laurie's more than 30 years of experience working in government, I can only speculate that the council would have a very different list of concerns today.
Laurie Renier is profoundly qualified to continue in her roll as Winona Lake's clerk-treasurer. She is a "boots on the ground" kind of leader, has held a public office for the majority of her career, and she clearly enjoys serving the public.
I pray for this community and I encourage everyone to cast their vote for a worker, someone who has proven she will work hard for her community, even through the toughest challenges.
Teena Pence
Chief Clerk Deputy
Winona Lake, via email
Laurie Renier, who is currently the elected clerk-treasurer for the Town of Winona Lake, and who faces opposition in the election on May 2, has recently become the focus of some less-than-flattering media coverage.
Council has raised concerns about a delay in people getting paid, although checks were available just a little later in the day than usual, and she's been accused of causing delays in grant funding even though there have been no requests made to the clerk's office by any grant agency for information.
I am well aware that the duties of the previous chief deputy had been delegated to her by the former clerk-treasurer, and that they had been solely carried out by her long before and all the way through Laurie's first year in office. Even though multiple requests were made to implement cross training and have written instructions created for procedures within the office, those requests were ignored.
Mail was intentionally withheld from Laurie, and no explanation was given when it was discovered that invoices were not being paid on time or in full. Without warning, the former employee quit at the end of December, leaving the town office with a mess, including months of incomplete bank recs, all receipting since the new ice rink opened, and significant errors in payroll including paying an employee's health insurance without ever deducting it from their pay. As these and so many other issues began to surface, Laurie and I reached out the State Board of Accounts and upon their recommendation, met with two council members. We told them the SBOA's suggestion was to address the issues at their next public meeting for the purpose of transparency and so the council would be aware of the potential for some unexpected expenses to rectify some of the larger issues. One council member said we were absolutely not bringing this up at a public meeting.
I believe expecting a nearly new clerk with three new employees to take over the operations of an entire town with virtually no training and not a single operating procedure in place without a hiccup is ridiculous! Have there been errors? Of course, but without Laurie's more than 30 years of experience working in government, I can only speculate that the council would have a very different list of concerns today.
Laurie Renier is profoundly qualified to continue in her roll as Winona Lake's clerk-treasurer. She is a "boots on the ground" kind of leader, has held a public office for the majority of her career, and she clearly enjoys serving the public.
I pray for this community and I encourage everyone to cast their vote for a worker, someone who has proven she will work hard for her community, even through the toughest challenges.
Teena Pence
Chief Clerk Deputy
Winona Lake, via email
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