WINONA LAKE — The town of Winona Lake is looking for a new town manager after hiring one less than a year ago.

Town Manager Pam Howard gave the council her resignation letter a week or so ago, according to a report by the Times-Union.

The town's clerk-treasurer, Heather James,  confirmed the resignation on Thursday after the town council met earlier this week to confirm plans to advertise the job opening.

In her letter, Howard cited the long commute to her home in Butler as the reason for her resignation.

Howard’s last day will be May 22, and she will then be the town manager in Hamilton,  The Times-Union reported.

Howard was hired in July 2025 and replaced Craig Allebach, who had held the position for more than two decades.

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WINONA LAKE — Nearly three months after an Indiana state audit exposed internal problems with Winona Lake government operations, town council still has not determined what to do — if anything — with town employees accused of misusing town money.

Town officials have implemented numerous policy changes to correct issues cited in the report, but residents have called for action against employees who appeared to use town money without formal approval.

Last month, Council President Ashley McGinnis said they would be reaching out to those accused to give them a chance to respond before officials make any decisions.

On Tuesday, McGinnis said they’ve had trouble contacting one of those people and were still attempting to do so. 

Exactly when they hope to reach any conclusions on the issue was unclear.

Several current and former employees used money without approval, according to an audit by the State Board of Accounts, which was made public in late June. Town officials were briefed on the contents of the audit before the release and said afterward that they began taking action on some of the matters before the public release.

Many of the biggest concerns highlighted in the audit dealt with shoddy recordkeeping and standard communictions that spanned several years and dated back to the time when the late Kent Adams served as clerk-treasurer.

Much of the misuse of money involved the unauthorized use of town credit cards, including one instance in which a deputy clerk used one while vacationing in Hawaii.

Town Attorney Adam Turner was asked last month to identify who the town is reaching out to, but declined and said that that can be figured out by reading the audit.

Council on Tuesday heard more about plans to amend the town's employee handbook to clarify policies that came up in the audit. The new policies have not yet been finalized but should be in force by Jan. 1.

The town also approved plans to outsource payroll duties, which had been a sore point for the town.

Cost of outsourcing is expected to be about $2,000 per year, James said.

"We continue to move forward with the audit report in mind, looking to diligently to restore respect to taxpayer dollars while also ensuring that our employees are treated with fairness and clarity," McGinnis said.

No other town officials had anything to say in public about the matter on Tuesday.

In another matter, town officials were criticized Tuesday over handling of the proposed 2026 budget after it came to light that the council will seek to collect an additional $150,000 from the tax levy that they recently discovered was available.

A hearing on the budget plan was held at Tuesday's meeting.

Two residents asked about a 35 percent increase in part of the town budget that apparently had not yet been discussed in a public setting prior to Tuesday.

Clerk-Treasurer Heather James said they learned that about $150,000 in additional revenue would be available through the town's tax levy late in the budget process from a consulting firm, Baker Tilly.

Jim LeMasters, who is familiar with budgeting through his work with Warsaw Community Schools, questioned the town’s methodology.

"I'm just curious about how you build your budget. It sounds like ... that you have money and then you go back and look what you're going to do with it," LeMasters said.

"At the schools, we do it just the opposite. We have projects we do, and then we set our budget," he said.

James said they chose to include the additional money in the budget and that they would like to use the money on future projects, which she declined to detail.

"We really didn't have the time to figure out (how) we were going to use that money," James said.

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WINONA LAKE — The town of Winona Lake still owes $5.8 million on the Miller Sunset Pavilion, and is looking for ways to improve revenues.

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WINONA LAKE —  Winona Lake’s utility billing system continues to be a mess.

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WINONA LAKE — A software issue is being blamed for Winona Lake residents not having received their sewer and trash bills yet for the month.

Sewer and trash bills are normally due by the 28th of the month.

Clerk-Treasurer Heather James said they're working on a software issue and hope to get the bills delivered soon.

She said customers won’t be charged a late fee.

She also pointed out that none of the rates have increased from last year.

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WINONA LAKE — Town Council put the brakes on appropriations Monday night amid questions and confusion.

Council met in a special meeting Monday and attempted to approve the moving of $990,000 in money for several line items, but ultimately pulled back on the plans after realizing legal advertising was inaccurate. 

That became apparent after Retha Hicks, working as a part-time consultant after financial accountability issues arose earlier this year with the clerk's office, took the blame in presenting council with incorrect plans to move the money. She apologized during the meeting.

The town turned to Hicks and the Indiana State Board of Accounts to sort out problems with town finances after town council began wrangling with Clerk-Treasurer Laurie Renier over numerous issues.

Renier resigned three months ago and claimed the town’s finances had been a mess before she arrived in office some two years ago.

The state board of accounts is currently in the middle of review of town finances.

Heather James, who replaced Renier, was unable to answer several questions on the additional appropriations Monday night as well as another issue involving proposed Christmas bonuses for town employees.

The appropriations proposed from the town TIF fund (totaling $740,000) and another $250,000 from the town's EDIT fund were prepared for consideration, but officials were vague on some of the intended uses until town resident Jerry Nelson sought details.

Nelson was told that $620,000 was sought from the town TIF fund to pay on a bond issue for the Miller Sunset Pavilion ice rink.

Money for the rink was listed as a capital expense.

James could not provide details on the $250,000 request which was also listed as a capital expense.

Nelson had more questions until council member Barry Andrew came to the clerk-treasurer’s defense.

"I think Jerry's questions are legitimate questions and they are questions and answers I'm looking for too, but I also think we need to extend a level of grace to Heather and her team, knowing that she came into a position that had a lot of stuff involved with it and I think her and Retha are probably doing the best they can," Andrew said.

Nelson said he wants more details on finances of the pavilion.

"Before we get into approving money like that, I'd like to see a breakdown of where the heck we're spending our money. If's it's gonna be a million bucks on the ice rink, I think the town taxpayers are entitled to know that," Nelson said.

He added, "I don't have a clue as a taxpayer what's in that $250,000."

Other questions arose over plans to provide bonuses and comes after questions arose involving a similar situation with elected state officials.

In both proposals, council pulled back the plans and decided to investigate more before reconsidering the requests.

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WINONA LAKE — There’s another new face in Winona Lake town government.

Barry Andrew was ready to step into his new role with Winona Lake Town Council moments after being chosen by a Republican caucus as the new town council member on Monday night.

Andrew, 48, was the lone candidate seeking to to fill the vacancy created after council member Heather James was chosen last month by another caucus to be the town’s new clerk-treasurer after Laurie Renier resigned on Oct. 10.

Andrew sought to run for the seat this spring (and was unopposed), He's also unopposed in today's general election so his choice to fill the remaining portion of the vacancy was an easy one for the caucus members.

Minutes after being chosen and signing paperwork, Andrew headed into his first initial duty, an executive session with town council, then followed by a public town council meeting.

the executive session was held shortly after the 6 p.m. caucus meeting and was followed by a 7:15 p.m. regular council meeting.

he works as the Director of Kosciusko County Community Corrections and has been involved in corrections for nearly two decades.

He said he thinks his background, especially in terms of budgeting, can be a benefit and hopes to address issues the town has faced in the past year.

"We all know this town has had a rough few months," he said, adding that there needs to an emphasis on "treating people with respect and dignity and making sure we're leading by example."

His new role on town council, representing Ward 4, extends his family’s legacy of public service. His grandfather, Porter Polston, was a Warsaw City Council member and his uncle, Randy Polston was a longtime educator and now sits on the Warsaw Community High school board while also running Combined community Services.

He said he looks forward to carrying on the legacy.

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WINONA LAKE — As expected, Heather James was appointed as the new Winona Lake Clerk-Treasurer Tuesday night by a Republican Caucus to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Laurie Renier.

James, who beat Renier in the May Primary and was set to take office in January, will now have the chance to begin rebuilding the office.

She said she's been gearing up to take over for months and knows there is plenty work to be done

"It is a big challenge. I don't think anyone can deny that," Thomas said. "I think this opportunity — especially what we've done here in the recent past — we've identified some problems and an opportunity to correct them and move forward and and make sure we're doing everything as we should."

She said one of her first priorities will be to begin filling two vacancies by deputies who quit their jobs along with Renier earlier this month.

The clerk’s office remans in the middle of a audit by the Indiana State Board of Accounts. Town council contends Renier did a poor job and Renier claims the office was a mess before she arrived in 2021.

James said she believes it could very well take several months to right the ship.

As a result of taking the job, James had to resign her seat on council, and Republicans will now work to fill that vacancy.

A caucus to fill that seat is now scheduled for Nov. 6.

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WINONA LAKE — The deadline to file for the Republican caucus to replace Laurie Renier after she abruptly resigned as Winona Lake clerk-treasurer, has passed — and as expected — only one person sought the job.

That would be Town Council Vice President Heather James.

[caption id="attachment_84509" align="alignright" width="234"] Heather James[/caption]

Renier resigned after a lengthy dispute with town council and had already lost in the Republican primary to James.

Even though James is the sole candidate to file, a caucus is still required to elect her to the clerk-treasurer position.

The caucus to replace Renier is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at town hall.

If  elected by the caucus, James will have to resign her position as the Ward 4 council representative and Ragan will have to call a caucus to replace James on the council for the remainder of 2023. 

Barry Andrew ran for the Ward 4 seat this year unopposed and is slated to take office Jan. 1.

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WINONA LAKE — Clerk-Treasurer Laurie Renier and two employees in the clerk's office abruptly resigned Tuesday night, ending months of acrimony between Renier and town council members.

The resignations came at the start of a public hearing for the 2024 budget when Renier spoke up and said she wanted to make an announcement.

Despite on-going tensions with council and others, Renier said Tuesday she had  committed to remain in office during a state audit.

She said she had been informed that the audit was “still nowhere near completion," but that a "substantial completion of the on-site portion" of the auditing procedures had been reached.

“I have therefore fulfilled my obligations by being present and providing them with the documentation they requested,” Renier told council.

She then continued reading a five-page resignation letter that outlined 13 problematic issues she encountered after arriving in office shortly after the death of clerk-treasurer Kent Adams in December of 2021.

She also addressed what she called “a lack of support and the hostility toward myself and my staff” that had carried over to other department, town residents and the media, which she said made it "nearly impossible to serve the community."

She concluded by saying her resignation was effective immediately and was then joined by Chief Deputy Teena Pence and Utility Clerk Cindy Justice in announcing they were also quitting immediately.

Town officials had no comment as they left the council chambers and had no comment after the brief budget meeting concluded.

As the three left the building, they also took down their portraits that hung in the hallway that were part of a collection of town employees.

A fourth worker employed in the office did not attend the meeting and it was unclear if she intends continue working for the town.

Renier told News Now Warsaw afterward she planned to contact the Kosciusko County Republican Party, the county clerk of the court and the state board of accounts.

The Republican Party will now have to choose a replacement to fill out the remaining ten weeks of Renier's term in office.

Renier lost in the May primary to Heather James, who currently serves on town council.

For several months, council questioned Renier's work practices and complained that not all bills or payroll checks were issued in a prompt manner.

Renier defended her work at times in recent months, but also admitted that she and some of her staff struggled with some of the duties, in part because of a lack of familiarity with office procedures as well as the resignation of a deputy at the tail end of the year when bookkeeping for the new year was just beginning.

Council, she said, "did not hesitate to call me out at every public meetings for all the things I didn't know."

She also reminded council that she had reached out and received help from a software company and other professionals and "spent countless hours researching and teaching ourselves how to do our jobs."

"As we received the help we asked for, it quickly became clear there was not much in the office being done correctly. At every turn, we not only needed to learn how to do things the right way, but we had to find the way to correct what was wrong," she said.

Renier chose to not work with council in its preparation of the 2024 and council created a committee to help prepare the new budget, which turned out to be a mirror copy of the 2023 budget.

On Tuesday, Renier explained, she did not feel her input in budget preparation would be of much benefit. "I realize that was misinterpreted as an unwillingness to participate," she said.

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