Long-time residents of Monroe County vie for seat on Council

Long-time Monroe County resident Charles Newmann is running on the Democratic ticket for District 2 county council.\nA 1969 graduate of IU, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Zoology. He then went on to serve in the Army for 28 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.\nHe's since been involved in local government, first in 1999 when he was appointed to the board of zoning appeals, and then to the land use planning commission. \nThis is Newmann's first attempt at a county council seat.\n"I wanted to make sure there was someone the Democrats could relate to," Newmann said.\nNewmann said his previous experience at the University and current involvement in urban and rural life give him an edge.\n"I straddle the fence because I attended the University, I'm aware of the city and I live and operate my farm in the county, (which) gives me a broader perspective of what the overall needs of the county are," Newmann said. \nHe named county employees' salaries as one of his concerns. Because Monroe County has gone from seven to nine courts in the last two years, the costs of establishing a new court have taken away from county salaries. Newmann said he would like to reallocate funds toward the county employees.\n"The cost of living is going up, and those employees haven't seen any increase in their salaries," Newmann said.\nAnother issue is the proposal to use the Mental Health Treatment Clinic and the Bloomington Meadows Hospital to treat and detain minors convicted of a crime. In Monroe County is a youth services center for abused minors but not a youth detention center for convicted minors. Currently, these convicted youths are sent to other locations like Columbus, Ind.\n"I want them to be housed and treated in Monroe County in current facilities as opposed to a new building," Newmann said.\nIf there are enough youths to justify building a juvenile detention center, Newmann would advocate approaching the state legislature about raising county income tax.\nOvercrowding in the county jail is another of Newmann's focuses.\n"(The accused are) awaiting trial or being held locally as opposed to being moved to a state facility," Newmann said. \nThe county council's only role, though, is to allocate budget, so Newmann supports continuing to fund the system at the same level as before and letting the proper officials work with the overcrowding issue.