The Brown County Council is down one member after District 1 member Bill Hamilton submitted his resignation.
Hamilton’s decision was announced at the Aug. 19 council meeting. He’s accepted a job as an investigator with the Brown County prosecutor’s office. He attended the council meeting, but sat in the audience with his wife.
Hamilton was elected to the county council in November 2018.
“By taking the position (at the prosecutor’s office) it wasn’t a plan to try to get away from county council. That’s why it (the resignation) had been postponed so we could find a way for me to legally serve (with both),” he said.
Last week, Republican Party Chair Mark Bowman said a caucus would take place to replace Hamilton, but no date for it had been set.
County council President Dave Redding wished Hamilton well in his new role.
“Bill is a great example of a Brown County resident that gets involved and genuinely works to better our community and lives of our residents,” Redding said. “His personal choices of public service and willingness to help others are a fundamental reason our local area is such a wonderful place to live and raise a family.”
Hamilton said that resigning from county council less than a year after being elected was never his plan. The opportunity to become the prosecutor’s investigator just came about.
Hamilton was approached by Prosecutor Ted Adams to serve as the investigator after his previous investigator left. He accepted the job and then worked to see if he could still serve on the council.
“It went up to the state level. They did their checking and it came back as, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ You’re considered an employee for the county in two different ways, like you’re almost double dipping,” he said.
The county council helps determine the budget of various county departments, including the prosecutor’s office.
As the prosecutor’s investigator, Hamilton will gather information to support court cases, as well as review and research documents, records and other data related to criminal and civil cases. He will work closely with police to find and provide written statements from witnesses to the prosecutor and court.
“This also allows me to use a diverse background that I accumulated with civilian and military training, experience, management and leadership,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton was in the Air Force for 33 years and worked as a manager with AT&T for 30 years before retiring. In the Air Force, he worked in security forces, doing administrative work and reviewing reports that were sent up the chain of command to the Office of Special Investigations. He also worked as a security forces superintendent in charge of about 100 people doing security and law enforcement-type work.
Hamilton and his wife are technically retired, but he said they are now busier than they have ever been before.
Before taking the job as an investigator, Hamilton worked part-time driving for Access Johnson County, helping to transport mostly children with special needs.
He also is a reserve deputy with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department and is the voluntary head of security for the new Brown County Music Center.
In his spare time, Hamilton serves as the senior vice commander of the VFW Post 6195 and is an active member of the American Legion Post 13. He is also a member of the Brown County Honor Guard.
Want to serve?
According to the Indiana Election Division, a Republican Party caucus of precinct committeemen is called to fill a vacancy in a county-level elected office. Ideally, that is to occur within 30 days of the vacancy.
The precinct committeemen would vote on candidates. The county chair must send a written notice by first-class mail to each caucus member at least 10 days before the caucus date.
State law does not require the caucus to pick a candidate from the same political party as the person who resigned.
Anyone who wants to be considered for this seat must file a declaration of candidacy to the Republican Party chair by 72 hours before the scheduled caucus. A declaration of candidacy form is available from the circuit court clerk.
All candidates must live in county council district District 1.
District 1 includes Hamblen voting precincts 1 and 3, as well as Jackson precinct 2. Jackson 2 includes a portion of the Bean Blossom area. Hamblen 1 and 3 include the Gatesville and Cordry-Sweetwater areas. If you are not sure which precinct you live in, visit the county clerk’s office to view the official map.
The newly chosen member would serve on county council until the end of 2022.
