Owen County officials opened a public hearing on the Jennings Township 2025 budget and received questions from residents about how township meetings and budgets are announced and how township cash balances are being used. The hearing was held at the Pine Ridge Trail fire department and attendees were told the township’s budget was on track for a formal adoption vote at the Nov. 3 meeting.

Resident Susan Huftel said she moved to the area in 2021 and has been unable to find a reliable way to learn about township meetings. “I don’t have any way of finding out if or when there’s meetings for our township,” Huftel said during the hearing. She asked whether townships are required to advertise meetings.

County staff member Sheila (identified by first name only in the record) told speakers that the Department of Local Government Finance maintains an online portal through which the public can sign up for email notifications about township budget filings. “You can actually go and sign up by email for a notification involving their budget process,” Sheila said, adding that the state portal will notify a subscriber when a budget is filed.

Speakers also discussed townships’ cash balances and a recently required capital improvement plan. Several attendees said they had seen townships holding “healthy balances” and questioned whether those funds could be used to support local fire departments or road work. The record shows the capital improvement plan requirement is new for township filings this cycle; county staff said most townships prepared plans and the state is now monitoring cash balances.

Gandy Perez was identified in the hearing as assisting the township officer with paperwork and with state filings. Dawn Meek and Nathan Baker were named as the two other township board members present in records discussed during the hearing. Andy Pierce was described as a contact who helped get the filing to the state.

After public comment, a meeting participant identified only as Nick moved to accept the budget “as presented”; a meeting participant identified only as Anton seconded the motion. The motion carried; the record contains no roll-call vote. County staff explained that because the filing was advertised, the board must wait at least 10 days for any formal objections before the item is adopted. The formal adoption was scheduled for Nov. 3.

The hearing closed after the motion passed. County staff offered to provide residents with guidance on using the state portal to receive notifications and to follow up with contact information for township officials.

Provenance: The public-comment remarks about meeting notice and transparency begin with Susan Huftel’s remarks introducing herself and her concerns; the record of the motion to accept the budget and close the hearing appears later in the transcript at the vote by “Nick” and “Anton.”