Forward
Weekly update #342 8/9/2026 to 8/15/2026
If you are just here to see what I say about the council meeting on Monday, you can skip ahead to the last paragraph. Otherwise, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
This past week, Parks and Recreation Director Chad Keithley and Water Pollution Control Director Jarin Gladstein finished year one of a two-year course through Ball State University. Year one earns the certification of Certified Public Supervisor. About a year from now they will have finished the full two years and become Certified Public Managers with a variety of topics all designed to help them lead their departments more efficiently and effectively. A few months before I completed my graduation requirements for the CPM program I knew that I wanted team members to attend as well and asked the council to approve additional funds in the education line to allow me to send two people per year. Thank you to everyone who was on council in 2024 that approved the additional funding, and congratulations to Chad and Jarin for finishing the first year.
During the Jackson County Solid Waste meeting, I learned that in 2014 the Indiana General Assembly enacted House Enrolled Act 1183 which requires recycling tracking and set a goal of 50% statewide. Currently, we are looking at 17% statewide recycling with Indianapolis being the largest city in the nation without curbside recycling. Jackson County Solid Waste District works with communities to try and improve that number in various ways. One focus recently has been battery recycling and how to do so properly. The tire amnesty days are partnerships that help residents recycle old car tires. Document shredding has also become an annual tradition as well. To Director Debbie Hackman and company, thank you for working hard and trying to help at least our part of Indiana reach the HEA-1183 goal from back in 2014.
Monday night, Seymour Common Council originally had three items on the agenda related to property located at the corner of Highway 50 and Highway 31. The items were a rezone petition from Residential Suburban to Industrial 2. The other two items related to state requirements for annexation with one being the fiscal impact if it became a part of the city and the other being a request to be voluntarily annexed into the city. Unfortunately, the way the council designed the agenda decades ago the public hearing for annexation was before the rezone vote, and I believe left room for more confusion on the annexation topic. After the rezone was defeated with a vote of 1-5, the company with a purchase agreement for the property chose to withdraw the annexation request. Over the next several days, I have had various people connect via text, email, and in person with their thoughts. One comment that came up several times was the public comment about low wage jobs. This led to researching where exactly Jackson County ranks compared to other Indiana counties. According to the U.S. Department of Labor statistics in 2024, Jackson County was 31st among Indiana’s 92 counties with an average wage of $24.80 per hour. For 2025, that average rose to $26.39. Now in 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor statistics says Jackson county Indiana has an average of $27.50 which moves us up to the 24th highest average wage in Indiana. Industrial jobs play a role in this average, and we often see during abatement compliances the average pay is above this average. The last item I will hit on from follow-up conversations is that several of them would love to figure out how we come together for the future of our community. When I asked why they don’t speak up, I got told they don’t want to face the backlash if they did. Regardless of which side of the most recent rezone or whatever request someone makes in the future, we have to continue to move forward before we are left behind as a community. Today, I will leave you with a quote shared with me over a decade ago from former State Representative Bill Bailey, “If you aren’t moving forward, you are moving backwards. A community can’t stand still.”