By HOLLY GASKILL
Wells County Commissioners have overruled a decision made by the Jefferson Township board regarding four requests for financial assistance.
Township Trustee Larry Heckber and Karen Rydman, investigator, approached the board during their regular meeting Monday to ask for additional appropriations to fill the requests. The township board had denied his request, and there were no remaining funds in the budget. The claims totaled roughly $2,300.
Heckber advised the requests filled all requirements, which Rydman confirmed. Two households were also present to answer questions regarding their requests.
Representing the board, David Haiflich said they rejected the requests because Heckber had never established guidelines, and therefore, the state restricted the board from granting requests.
Heckber refuted the claim, saying he had written criteria adapted from state guidelines and that the board had refused to approve it for multiple months.
Rydman echoed this, adding that the board members had been disrespectful. “I presented (guidelines) to Larry, and Larry presented them to the board,” Rydman claimed. “One night, I had to leave the meeting — one of the (board members) said, ‘We don’t do Indiana Code.’”
Despite the back and forth, the commissioners unanimously believed only one thing mattered in the conversation — were the individuals eligible for assistance? And having their answer, they approved the request for funds.
In doing so, however, the commissioners reprimanded the board’s inflexibility, especially to the detriment of people in need.
“I’ve been doing this for 11 years now,” Commissioner Blake Gerber said. “And I’ve never had a situation like this.”
“You have four people that are in need that are caught in between some bureaucracy,” added Commissioner Jeff Stringer.
“If there were other details that needed to be fought out, it should have been fought out in other meetings,” Commissioner Mike Vanover concluded. “It never should’ve gotten to us.”
holly@news-banner.com
