Edinburgh hires ex-sheriff as town marshal

A former Bartholomew County sheriff will serve as Edinburgh’s new town marshal.

The Edinburgh Town Council voted unanimously Monday to hire David Mann as the town’s top police officer. He served as Bartholomew County sheriff for two terms during the 1990s.

Mann replaces Pat Pankey, who is retiring after more than two decades as marshal. Pankey is on medical leave and officially retires at the end of the month.

As marshal, Mann will be responsible for overseeing a police department with 10 officers and an annual budget of about $1.1 million. Mann will earn a salary of up to $60,000, but the council hasn’t determined how much he’ll be paid, town council member and utilities director John Drybread said.

Council members said they selected Mann because of his experience, professionalism and communications skills.

Mann has valuable experience with budgets at a time when property tax caps and the economy have caused the overall town budget to be reduced by about $1 million during the past three years, town council member Ron Hoffman said.

“His experience with budgets would make it possible to get more done with less,” Hoffman said. “He has a lot of experience with budgets and more experience than anybody.”

About 30 people applied for the position after the town council started looking to replace Pankey about two months ago, Drybread said. The town got applications from as far away as Maryland and Virginia, but most of the applicants were from central Indiana.

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