Commissioners withdraw process for vetting board appointments after lawsuit dismissed

SOUTH BEND — St. Joseph County Commissioners voted Tuesday to withdraw a resolution that, in 2022, had given them a procedure for vetting appointments to county boards and commissions.

Carl Baxmeyer, the commissioners’ president, said that the resolution wasn’t necessary and had become “fodder for unnecessary litigation.”

He mentioned a lawsuit against commissioners in the past year that ultimately was dismissed. In December, local retired attorney and Democrat Mike McManus filed a suit alleging that the commissioners violated the procedures in the resolution when, on Nov. 14, 2023, they’d voted to name three people to the county’s Redevelopment Authority.

The suit pointed out that the commissioners failed to receive résumés from the candidates. Nor did they hold interviews. In their responses to the suit, the commissioners admitted that they didn’t do résumés or interviews but argued that the resolution wasn’t legally binding in the first place — so, in effect, those steps weren’t legally necessary.

St. Joseph Circuit Court Magistrate William L. Wilson dismissed the lawsuit in February.

County attorney Mike Misch reiterated at Tuesday’s meeting that the resolution wasn’t binding. He said the resolution was “novel” in the state and that there wasn’t a requirement to do interviews or review résumés at all.

Still, in February, the commissioners did revisit the appointments to the Redevelopment Authority, saying that they’d originally failed to follow the proper public process.

Feb. 21, 2024: Three voted to serve on St. Joseph County Redevelopment Authority after interviews

Before, back in November, they’d appointed Tina Wilson, Jackie Horvath Stout and Tyler Gillean to the Redevelopment Authority. In February, apparently after doing interviews, they voted to reappoint Tina Wilson and Jackie Horvath Stout. But, rather than Gillean, who is chairman of the county Republican Party, the all-Republican commission named Dan Caruso, who regularly attends county meetings and often speaks up on issues over the massive development projects near New Carlisle, where he lives.

Horvath Stout had told The Tribune that she’s worked in business for more than 30 years and has worked in political non-profit areas in recent years. Wilson ran unsuccessfully last year as a Republican candidate for South Bend city clerk.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Tony Hazen, who became a commissioner early this year, said Tuesday that commissioners are elected and trusted to make the appointments, adding, “I think we use good judgement; I don’t think this is going to change what we do.”

Baxmeyer likewise said of the resolution, “It just solidifies what we do.”

Commissioner Derek Dieter was absent. Dieter had introduced the resolution in October 2022, saying at the time that it created a process for “transparency.”

Along with a résumé and interview, the resolution called for a letter of intent from the candidate.

“This is to find out why they want to be on a board, their background to being on the board, and an interview process so we can talk to the people before we make a blanket approval,” Dieter had said in 2022.

Before the commissioners made their remarks about the resolution at Tuesday’s meeting, Cheryl Nix of South Bend had asked about it, “What part … is no longer necessary?”

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joe County commissioners withdraw board appointment process lawsuit