By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WINONA LAKE — The May primary election for cities and towns is less than two weeks away.

In Kosciusko County, that includes the race for Winona Lake clerk-treasurer with two Republicans. Incumbent Laurie Renier is running against challenger Heather James, who currently serves on the Winona Lake Town Council.

InkFreeNews recently posed a series of questions to Renier and James. Those and their responses may be found below by the candidates’ names in alphabetical order.

“Why are you running for Winona Lake clerk-treasurer?”

James: “My decision to run for Winona Lake clerk-treasurer was not an easy or quick decision. I had actually filed to run for my council seat again. However, people started reaching out to me sharing concerns and asked me to run. As a council member it was and still is my responsibility to listen to the concerns brought to my attention. I responded in the way I usually do by listening to the concerns and following up with possible solutions. In this situation I believed I needed to give people a choice.”

Renier: “I want to continue to serve the residents as the chief fiscal officer of the town responsible for managing the accounting, collections and disbursement of funds and all financial matters pertaining to the town. I have always enjoyed serving the members of our community with the upmost honesty, integrity and strong work ethic to make the community a wonderful place to raise a family.”

“My husband Gary and I have two daughters that have attended Jefferson Elementary School. My daughter Olivia graduated from Warsaw Community High School in 2020. My daughter Hilary is a freshman at Warsaw Community High School. She plays volleyball and helps with the Unified Track Team. We are members of Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church.”

“What are your qualifications for Winona clerk-treasurer?”

James: “I have a Bachelor of Science degree in health science from Ball State University, and although it’s not a related field, I have work experience with budgets, managing accounts, and customer service. My work background, council experience, along with my personal strengths of good communication, organization and being detail-oriented make me a qualified and competent candidate who would bring respect and trust to the office.”

Renier: “I have 28 years of experience working with Kosciusko County government in the courthouse. For 13 of those years, I was the elected county assessor responsible for the assessing of all residential, agricultural and commercial/industrial properties in the county. I was secretary for the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals. The PTABOA oversees all local taxpayer appeals on their assessments. During my time as assessor, the state of Indiana transitioned to a market value state. I have worked with setting budgets and making sure that we were fiscally responsible for the spending of taxpayers’ dollars. I have always attended the State Board of Accounts training and Department of Local Government Finance education/training to learn about details and responsibilities to better learn/implement the best practices for myself, staff and the office.”

“I started working part time at the town of Winona Lake in January 2017. I was the accounts receivable clerk, helping with the bank reconciliation, typing up council minutes and storage of documents such as ordinances, resolutions, contracts, investments and other municipal records. I ordered supplies, maintained calendars for the month and posted signs for town meetings. During my position as accounts receivable clerk, I worked under the previous Clerk-Treasurer, Kent Adams. Kent passed away on Dec. 19, 2021. The Winona Lake precinct committee members elected me to fill the vacancy of his term. There were two other candidates that ran for this position. I was elected by the committee because of my experience in the office and previous government work. I was sworn in Jan. 16, 2021, to fill the remainder of Kent’s term.”

“What is your vision for the Winona Lake clerk-treasurer’s office for the next four years?”

James: “My vision for the clerk-treasurer’s office is to create a positive environment with structure, transparency and clear communication. To promote transparency and share relevant information with the residents, I would like to create a newsletter to be distributed on a regular basis. I will work to build strong relationships with the town departments and continue working with the council to maintain the reputation of Winona Lake.”

Renier: “I want to continue to have an open-door policy, always willing to help anyone that calls or comes into the town hall. We strive to be a welcoming office for anyone that needs assistance with payments, questions or any concerns in the community. Last year we implemented a new system that offers more flexibility for customers to pay utility payments, building permits, parking tickets and park rentals and programs. We will continue to attend any education/training to improve on our job functions.”

“What do you see as the most important challenges the Winona Lake clerk-treasurer’s office will face in the next term and how do you plan to meet those challenges?”

James: “Winona Lake continues to grow and be a desirable place to live. With the growth of the town comes additional financial responsibility. To help promote this growth and balance the financial changes, I will support the departments and their efforts to obtain grants by providing the supporting documents within the required timeline. The clerk-treasurer office needs to be prepared for these changes and work as a team with department heads and the town manager and council.”

Renier: “Boyce Systems, our financial software, is working on transitioning to a cloud-based system soon. Boyce works each day on making its software the best in the market. Boyce helps clients manage billing, finance, payroll and assets to report to the State Board of Accounts with efficiency and compliancy. The office staff will attend all training to make a smooth transition to a cloud-based system.”

“Also, I plan to work constructively with the town council, town manager, park office and police, fire and street departments to support worthwhile community programs and projects while keeping within the budget.”