Bartholomew County’s first full-time veteran services officer has been fired.
Tom Crawford was terminated from his position as head of the Bartholomew County Veteran Services Office by the Bartholomew County commissioners Monday morning, commissioners chairman Larry Kleinhenz said. The decision was effective immediately.
The veteran services officer is generally charged with helping veterans wade through federal rules and appeals processes when they seek benefits linked to their military careers, including health care and disability payments.
Crawford, 57, said the commissioners told him earlier this year they had received complaints regarding his conduct from veterans and county employees.
“Veterans, they love me,” Crawford said. “It’s the commissioners who are the ones who have a problem with me.”
The commissioners declined his request for names of people making complaints, Crawford said. But they did warn him at the time that he could be fired if another complaint of a similar nature surfaced, he said.
Notice given
The commissioners informed Crawford about two weeks ago that it was their intention not to reappoint him at the first of the year, Kleinhenz said.
Kleinhenz said he wanted to give Crawford plenty of time to find another job, but Crawford said he believes the commissioners were attempting to avoid paying him jobless benefits by delaying his termination.
Crawford said he was under the impression the commissioners had given him a four-year appointment at the end of last year, but Kleinhenz said the veteran services officer’s contract is subject to renewal on an annual basis like all county department heads.
After learning he would lose his job at the end of this year, Crawford said he posted a sign on his office door indicating the number of days until the veteran services officer would be terminated by the county commissioners. Crawford said he considered the sign to be freedom of speech.
On Monday morning, county commissioner Rick Flohr came up to the veteran services office and asked him to remove the sign, Crawford said.
When Crawford declined, responding that veterans had a right to see the sign, Flohr took it down himself, told the veteran services officer he was fired, and called in sheriff’s deputies to escort him out of the building, Crawford said.
Kleinhenz said insubordination is listed as a factor on Crawford’s termination form, but the commissioner said he could not comment further on a personnel matter.
Prior to Crawford’s termination, representatives from the Indiana Department of Veterans’ Affairs were expected to meet with the commissioners within the next few weeks to address unresolved issues, Crawford said.
But it’s not clear whether those representatives will make the trip after Monday’s termination, IDVA District Veteran Service Officer Joe DeVito said.
Although his department offers the local Veteran Services office support in assisting veterans, DeVito said Indiana law makes it clear that the hiring and firing of service officers is completely controlled by the county commissioners.
Interim steps
The Veteran Services office, located in the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building in downtown Columbus, will remain staffed during normal hours by three part-time employees, Kleinhenz said. However, Kleinhenz said he anticipates there will be some requests from veterans that staff members won’t have the expertise to handle.
If that occurs, local veterans needing assistance will be asked to visit a service officer in a neighboring county who is capable of handling the matter, he said.
Up until five-and-a-half years ago, the job of veteran services officer was a part-time post, supplemented with a full-time secretarial worker.
But local veterans groups complained about what they perceived as a lack of responsiveness. Today, the commissioners remain committed to hiring another veteran for the job on a full-time basis, Kleinhenz said.
After a 24-year military career, Crawford was appointed to the full-time position by the commissioners in December 2012. Before his termination, he was on course to earn $38,625 this year, according to budget records.
Crawford’s military service included three deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as assorted tours of various other Army posts in Georgia, Germany, South Korea and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Crawford ended his military career as a sergeant first class and supervisor of military police investigators at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.
After retiring from the Army in March 2009, Crawford first worked as a corrections officer at the Johnson County Jail in Franklin, and later as a flag person on road crews for a private contractor before being hired as veteran services officer.
The county will begin taking steps to fill the position over the coming weeks, Kleinhenz said. Since more than 50 people applied for the job in 2012, the commissioners chairman said he anticipates substantial interest from job seekers with military experience.
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The Bartholomew County Veteran Services Office is located at 440 Third St., Suite 205 in the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building.
Purpose: The office assists veterans in qualifying for benefits and filling out paperwork for compensation and/or pension claims.
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.
Phone: 812-379-1540.
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