09/24/2025
THE SAGA OF CENTER TOWNSHIP
Pull up a chair and grab some sweet tea. From 2005 all the way through 2021, the state’s auditors kept catchin’ Center Township with its pants down. Different years, same story: sloppy records, violating regulatory laws meant to protect taxpayer resources, and eventually flat-out lies told to the State of Indiana. Let’s walk through it.
2005–2006 (Kreutzjans → Blackburn takes over)
Trustee: Ed Kreutzjans, then Laurie Blackburn starts in 2007.
Board Chairs: Dave Eder (2005), Paul Losey (2006).
Township spending in the fund: around $33,000 in 2005, $36,000 in 2006.
Red Flag: Allegedly the bank only gave the township half of each check record, just the front, not the back. Indiana law says ya gotta keep both. Why? Cause the back shows endorsements, signatures, and proof the check actually cleared right. Without it, you can’t prove where your money went. Imagine balancing your checkbook with pages ripped out.
2007–2009 (Laurie Blackburn)
Board Chairs: Eder (2007), Biehle (2008), Pickett (2009).
Township Fund spending: $30k–$32k per year.
Red Flags:
No bank reconciliations. That’s the monthly practice where you match your checkbook (the township ledgers) to the bank’s records. Blackburn didn’t do it. Which means the township didn’t actually know if its records matched the money in the bank. If a dime was missing, there was no proof to catch it.
Still only half the checks. Same problem as under Kreutzjans. You’d think once the state flags it, they’d fix it. Nope.
2010–2013 (Blackburn)
Board Chair listed: Frank Biehle (2010).
Township Fund still spending roughly $30k–$33k a year.
Red Flags:
No salary resolutions for four straight years. By law, the board has to pass a resolution setting every officer and employee’s pay. Blackburn didn’t do it. That means everyone was gettin’ paid without legal authorization.
Trustee’s bond was too small. The trustee’s surety bond is insurance to protect taxpayers if someone misuses money. The law said it had to be $30,000. Blackburn only carried $15,000 for 2011–2013. So if money went missing, half of it was unprotected. That’s like insuring a $30,000 tractor for only $15k, you’d be left holdin’ the bag.
2014–2017 (Blackburn, with Board Chairs Biehle then Dan Fox)
By the end of 2017, the township was holdin’ $373,395 in taxpayer money:
$92,121 in the Township Fund,
$165,654 in Township Assistance,
plus Fire Fighting, Rainy Day, and Cumulative Fire balances.
Red Flags:
No adoption of internal controls. In 2016, Indiana required every township to adopt basic financial safeguards.. stuff like checks and balances so one person couldn’t just run off with the money. Blackburn ignored it.
No employee training. Workers handling cash never got the state-mandated training. That’s like lettin’ someone drive the fire truck without teachin’ ‘em how the brakes work.
False certification. This one’s the bombshell. Blackburn filed an official state document on the Gateway reporting system swearing she had adopted controls and trained employees. When auditors asked her, she admitted it wasn’t true. That’s not a mistake, that’s lying to the State of Indiana.
2018–2021 (Blackburn, Board Chair Dan Fox)
By the end of 2021, township balances had swelled to $564,842:
$178,932 in Township Fund,
$236,369 in Township Assistance,
$29,047 in Fire Fighting,
$106,076 in Cumulative Fire.
Red Flags:
Still no internal controls. Even after being called out last time, Blackburn never fixed it.
Still no training. Employees handling money were still untrained.
Another false certification. She filed on Gateway again, claiming everything was in place. It wasn’t. This makes it a pattern of lying, not a one-off.
No records uploaded. The township never uploaded the required monthly or yearly files, no bank reconciliations, no ledgers, no payroll reports, no board minutes. To the state’s system, Center Township looked like it didn’t exist.
Why It Matters
From 2005 through 2021, the township went from sloppy recordkeeping… to no reconciliations… to paying folks without legal resolutions… to carrying half the insurance required by law… and finally, to filing false state certifications two audits in a row while failing to upload any public financial records.
That ain’t just bad paperwork. That’s a government unit telling taxpayers and the State of Indiana one thing on paper, while living another reality behind closed doors.
This wasn’t just a leaky roof. This was the whole barn left to rot while the trustee painted the front red and told Indianapolis it was brand new.
If your neighbor ran their household checkbook like this, you wouldn’t lend ‘em a quarter. But this is your tax dollars we’re talkin’ about. For sixteen years straight, Center Township’s books showed red flags, and by the end, they weren’t just mistakes.
Note about 2023 and 2024 that have yet to be audited.
Current trustee: Andrew Eder
Current township clerk: Tracy Eder
Judging from property purchases, they're related.
Indiana nepotism law does not absolutely forbid a trustee’s relative from serving as a clerk. Under certain narrow conditions the trustee may hire one relative in his office, with a salary cap and only if the office is in the residence.
This CAN be trumped by more restrictive local laws and of course, Jennings doesn't have any such restrictions against it.
The compensation cap for a subordinate relative is $5000
Current Clerk's compensation: $4,980.00, being only $20.01 shy of a nepo violation.
Former clerk compensations shown for comparison
2024: Clerk Tracy Eder $4,980.00 & Assistant Clerk Connie Geurkink $5,010.00
2023: Clerk Tracy Eder $4,980.00 & Assistant Clerk Connie Geurkink $4,927.50
2022: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9600
2021: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9600
2020: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9600
2019: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9000
2018: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9000
2017: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9000
2016: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9000
2015: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9000
2014: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9000
2013: Clerk Phillip Deager - $9000
2012: Clerk Phillip Daeger - $9000
