ETNA GREEN — On March 14, Todd Slabaugh submitted his resignation from his position as Etna Green Town Council president.

In an e-mail to Ink Free News, Slabaugh provided further reasoning for his resignation.

“I felt the need to resign when the former clerk [Laura Baker] resigned, but I didn’t feel I could ‘hit’ the town, town council and the new clerk with the departure of two long-tenured town servants at the same time,” said Slabaugh. 

Laura Baker resigned from her position as clerk-treasurer on Dec. 31, 2018. She announced her resignation at the town council’s November meeting.

“Thirty years ago, I went into this position to help the town of Etna Green become better,” said Baker. “But all the lies that have been told about me … all the hatred put towards me … it gets to you after a while … I’m done.”

Slabaugh also discussed his experience with a town citizen coming to his house with a petition demanding the town cease purchase of the former Interra Credit Union building, which now serves as the town hall. 

According to Slabaugh, the petitioner said the purchase of the bank building would raise residents’ rates and utility costs.

“This should have been brought before the council in a proper public forum and not at my home,” said Slabaugh. “That incident pretty much moved my thinking toward resigning my position as president of the council. That was a false insinuation and in fact was not the case for the monies involved in the purchase, now or in the future. This eventually led to the clerk’s resignation and also led me to reconsider my devotion to the service of the community.”

When asked about the recent resignations of Baker and Slabaugh, Kosciusko County Republican Central Committee Chairman Mike Ragan said he is not concerned.

“I have never been told, or even suggested, that the resignations are connected,” said Ragan. “Both had served a long time and I take them at their word that it was just time to move on. I believe they both left Etna Green better than they found it and their leadership will be missed.”