Two Edinburgh Town Council members Friday assumed leadership of the town after the council fired former town manager J.T. Doane.
Jeff Simpson and Ryan Piercefield were named interim co-town managers, said Mary Patterson, the town’s director of administrative services. The town manager is responsible for operations of the town of about 4,600 in southern Johnson County.
Requests for comment were not returned by Doane, Simpson or Piercefield by press time Monday.
The 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.
The decision comes after the town council met in executive session Wednesday to discuss the job performance of a town employee, 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.
It is unclear why Doane was fired, but 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.
