There’s a new manager in town.
Whiteland’s outgoing town manager, Kevin McGinnis, retired Monday after a year in office, and the town’s new manager, Jim Lowhorn, assumes duties today.
The Whiteland Town Council hired Lowhorn, who was the town’s water superintendent for a year, on Jan. 11, after interviewing qualified candidates.
Town council member Brad Goedeker said he is sad to see McGinnis go.
“I am happy for him to have the opportunity and have supported him all along, including this decision. The council promptly moved forward with finding his successor,” Goedeker said in an email.
Lowhorn was one of between 10 and 15 applicants for the job, McGinnis said. Lowhorn said he applied to the role because he saw it as a challenge, and he is grateful to have been given the chance by the town council.
“I am very pleased to have had Jim Lowhorn apply and accept the town’s offer,” Goedeker said. “He has a few decades of experience in municipal government and is a leader that is well liked by many.”
Lowhorn, a Trafalgar resident, has 30 years of local government experience, including a 12-year stint as water superintendent in Prince’s Lakes. That experience and his familiarity with the town as water superintendent will help him better manage the town, he said.
One thing Lowhorn wants the town to work on during his tenure is employee education about the function of local government, he said.
“I’ve done everything from working (in the) trenches to being a foreman working you know, digging and doing those sorts of things,” Lowhorn said. “So I understand what it takes to get jobs done.”
Lowhorn has his work cut out for him managing the growing town. McGinnins recently went through a list of about 40 projects with Lowhorn to get him up to speed, he said.
Lowhorn hopes to capture the potential the town has for growth and improvement, and do what’s best for residents, he said.
“I’m trying to do the best for Whiteland,” he said. “Trying to get them going in the right direction and continue what the previous administration has been doing and moving things forward.”
McGinnis said his decision to retire was because the job was “busy and stressful,” and he dealt with “micromanagement and meddling” from a council member.
“This was causing a lot of issues and stress and I was at a time in life where I could retire and decided to move on,” McGinnis said in an email.
Prior to serving as Whiteland town manager, McGinnis spent two years as Bargersville’s town manager. He said he was blessed to be selected and appreciates the support he received from the council and town employees in the last year.
