By TOM KENLEY
Guest Columnist
I truly enjoyed my two terms as Noblesville Township Trustee and one term as a township board member. It was a rewarding experience for me personally and professionally to have had the opportunity to serve all the citizens of Noblesville Township.
The reward was in helping common everyday low-income folks who qualified for a financial assistance need or just offering them good practical advice or a referral to another government agency or non-for-profit that may be able to help where we could not. I generally took time to discuss issues and offer possible solutions for clients who weren’t too overly upset with my decision on the use of taxpayer-funded assistance.
Denying assistance to a family or an individual is without question the most difficult part of being the trustee. Unfortunately, you cannot always help everyone all the time or you wouldn’t be doing job that you were elected to do.
I always looked for reasons to approve before looking for a reason to deny. My devoted staff always did their best to help and guide people to solutions to their problems. I think they are a good model for how a trustee office should be run: people in need first and confidentiality of clients foremost.
To my way of thinking, my best accomplishments were new programs to assist people at low cost, the establishment of two safe places to stay for township residents in dire need, and a two-year tax moratorium on the civil tax shown on the reverse of your property tax statement, while at the same time providing increased financial assistance to needy residents. We will always need a levy for fire protection and EMS services.
A big thanks to all the churches, not-for-profits, civic organizations, the Noblesville Schools Education Foundation for assisting with the first-ever Noblesville Township Trustee Scholarship, and to all the good people who donated pantry items or to the township donation fund.
I encourage anyone interested in serving the community to file for a public office before the Feb. 3, 2023, primary fling deadline. I’ve noticed many uncontested or unfiled-for seats remain as of this writing.
These local offices are all very important. A choice of good candidates is important to our democracy and is necessary to keep voter interest high. I have consistently heard from younger people, who I will call 50 years or less, that too many office holders are also too old. That will never change without your active participation. Show your willingness to serve, come up with a few good ideas, remain friendly to those who may not immediately accept you, and you might just win! And if you didn’t win and learned something from the mistakes you may have made, you should file for the next election. I know of several people who have been successful on their second or third attempt.
If you are not a young person and still honestly have the drive and energy to represent your constituents at a high level, you should consider running for office or running for re-election. My point is that we need more honest and well-meaning citizens willing to place their names on the local ballot. It’s really the best thing for all of us.
Tom Kenley was first elected as the Noblesville Township Trustee in November 2014. He announced his attention not run again in December 2021. Noblesville Township’s Trustee is now Theresa Caldwell, who won election this past November. For more information, go to NoblesvilleTownshipTrustee.com.