Trafalgar Town Hall on State Road 252 in Trafalgar. File photo
A Trafalgar town council meeting turned tense Thursday night after a town manager candidate questioned the hiring process and accused the council of being “crooked.”
Jim Lowhorn, former Whiteland town manager, was on the Trafalgar Town Council agenda Thursday although it was unclear why until he began speaking at the meeting.
Lowhorn was one of six candidates interviewed for the Trafalgar town manager position, however he did not get selected to move forward in the process. Lowhorn questioned the hiring process at the meeting and asked what the basis was for hiring a town manager.
Trafalgar town councilors decided in May to hire its first-ever town manager, citing a need to oversee the growth and development of the town. The manager will be tasked with overseeing daily operations and helping correct development that has not been done properly for the last 30 years. Adding the position is to help the town prepare for the future and “make things right moving forward,” Jason Ramey, town council president told the Daily Journal in May.
Two candidates were invited to proceed to the next stage, but Lowhorn was one of four who was not, council member Jessica Jones said at the meeting.
“You were not in the top two,” Jones told Lowhorn at the meeting.
Lowhorn was Whiteland’s town manager from Feb. 2022 to May 2023. The Whiteland Town Council unanimously voted to relieve Lowhorn of his position, citing performance issues as the reason for the decision.
He questioned whether each candidate got the same two-minute timeframe to answer questions as he did.
The town council interviewed six candidates and gave each candidate the same amount of time, Jones said. They then used a point system to tally scores and invited the top two candidates back for additional interviews, she added.
Lowhorn questioned how his 32 years of experience did not qualify him in the top two and accused the council of already having a candidate in mind. He named a current town employee as their alleged handpicked choice.
Council member Mike Peters then asked Lowhorn what his point was.
“My point is that all of this is crooked. All of you guys sitting up here right now,” Lowhorn responded.
Jones reiterated the process of hiring a town manager as Lowhorn took a seat.
“Each council member had come up with their own question that they would like to hear from those individuals that we offered interviews to and then we scored it individually on each question as we went through those individuals,” Jones said.
“I’m sure you did,” Lowhorn said while Jones was still speaking.
Moments later Lowhorn was escorted out of the meeting by Trafalgar’s police chief.
Lowhorn didn’t respond to a request fro further comment.
The town council is offering anonymity to the two individuals until an offer is extended, Jones said at the meeting.
“We do have those on file in the utility clerk’s office so that if and when anyone questions our hiring process, they are on file,” Jones said.
Jones said she also wanted to address concerns that the position was created with a particular individual in mind. The position was created to “be a comprehensive position for this town that is much needed,” Jones said.
No one has been chosen for the position and the hiring process is still ongoing, Jones said.
The town council was “very diligent” when they went through the process, Peters said.
“I hope you all can support us in trying to get things under control so that we have processes in place that our residents are going to benefit and not just town council trying to pass the buck,” Peters said.
The town council will hold a special meeting to vote and offer the position to a chosen candidate. A date for that meeting has not yet been announced.
Intern Mia Lehmkuhl contributed to this report.
