EDINBURGH — Two Edinburgh Town Council members Friday assumed leadership of the town after the council fired former town manager J.T. Doane, who is under criminal investigation.
Doane was fired Friday, and Jeff Simpson and Ryan Piercefield were named interim co-town managers, said Dustin Huddleston, town attorney. The town manager is responsible for operations of the town of about 4,600 in southern Johnson County.
The town council found evidence Doane had been paying an employee of the Edinburgh Electric Department $480 a month from his personal bank account, Huddleston said. Town officials are not sure what Doane was paying the employee for, he said.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, Huddleston said.
The decision comes after the town council met in executive session Wednesday to discuss Doane’s job performance, he said. According to town documents, Doane was not listed as an attendee of that meeting as he had been for other executive sessions, which are closed-door meetings allowed under state law for certain circumstances such as job performance evaluations.
After the meeting, Doane submitted a letter of resignation, but the council rejected it, choosing to fire him instead, Huddleston said.
This is not the first time the Bargersville resident was removed from a town leadership position.
Before the council hired him to work for Edinburgh in May 2019, Doane had been dismissed as town manager in Hope, a job he held from July 2016 to December 2018.
Hope Town Council members expressed concerns about how Doane had spent his time. One council member told The Republic Doane had confidential meetings with individuals and groups that should have involved council members, while another council member was concerned that the town hall — which also houses the police department — was unoccupied during lunch hours.
The Edinburgh Town Council amended its agenda prior to its Monday night meeting to discuss the search for a new town manager and consider a resolution that would formalize the acting town managers role with a vote.
Requests for comment were not returned by Doane by press time Monday.
