Carla Clark | For The Republic Luann Welmer speaks after being sworn in as clerk during the City of Columbus elected officials swearing in ceremony in the Cal Brand meeting hall at the city hall in Columbus, Ind. Monday, January 1, 2024.
A new Columbus Township trustee who will fill out the remaining term of Ben Jackson will be selected this week.
There will be 37 Republican committee members from Columbus Township who will vote at 6 p.m. Thursday at Bartholomew County Republican Headquarters, 718 Pearl St., county GOP Chair Luann Welmer said. The vote is not open to the public.
Four individuals are being considered to complete the term that runs through the end of 2026, according to township advisory board member Lloyd Miller, although the candidates’ names are not being revealed by the GOP prior to the vote. The office is now being supervised by Chief Deputy Trustee Roxanne Phillips Stallworth.
Jackson, the top-ranking elected official in Columbus Township government, stepped down on Nov 22 by sending a brief email announcing his resignation to Welmer. Later that day, Indiana State Board of Accounts Chief of Staff Jennifer Gauger confirmed there is an ongoing financial investigation into the Columbus Township Trustee’s office.
However, Gauger said she was unable to provide additional information.
Miller said he was initially told the investigation centered around the misuse of a credit card. But when he recently asked the state board for details, Miller said he was only told the investigation was continuing.
The Republic has reached out to Jackson seeking comment, but he has not responded to the request. Columbus Township is the only one in Bartholomew County where the trustee is a full-time position. The latest available figures listed Jackson’s annual salary at $62,000.
The primary responsibility of a township trustee in Indiana is to provide poor relief to residents who need it most. Other duties include funding rural fire departments and maintaining cemeteries.
On Oct. 7, Jackson and his advisory board adopted a $2,417,862 budget for 2025, including $862,622 for the general fund, $794,260 for township assistance and $686,980 for township fire and emergency services. The budget also contains $100,000 for the cumulative fire find, which is set up for capital purchases such as equipment and vehicles.
Jackson was chosen June 28, 2013 to replace Fred Barkes as trustee. Barkes cited health and family reasons for stepping down, with his death occurring only two months after he left the position.
But both his resignation and death came amid the turmoil of two criminal investigations into his office. Barkes was being investigated by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department over allegations of misconduct and forging an email, The Republic reported previously.
Jackson won his first four-year term as Columbus Township Trustee in the 2014 election, receiving 71.36% of the vote, according to the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office. He was instrumental in the creation of the Brighter Days emergency shelter in partnership with Love Chapel and also worked with Centerstone to set up an engagement center for homeless people to access community services on Columbus’ east side.
The most recent audit of Columbus Township by the Indiana State Board of Accounts, covering Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2022, found “no reportable instances of noncompliance,” according to online audit records at the state board of accounts.
