President of Indiana Dunes Tourism board resigns
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe president of the Indiana Dunes Tourism board has resigned. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report the departure of Mitch Peters follows weeks of tension and efforts by some county officials to remove him.
The issue stems from the departure of Lorelei Weimer, the former CEO of Indiana Dunes Tourism, who left the organization in January after 22 years in the role with a $225,000 settlement, according to the publication.
That settlement, which Peters said was approved by the tourism board and the Porter County Council, drew criticism from some county officials.
“In my 21 years in county government, I have never been a part of a decision that paid an employee any amount of money, much less nearly a quarter million dollars, to sever their employment with county government because they were not doing their job,” Porter County Commissioners President Jim Biggs told The Times. “Those decisions might happen in the private sector. Still, they should never occur in local government because taxpayers tend to get very upset over decisions that do not return value and, in some cases, cause harm.”
The Porter County Council recently voted to oust Peters, which resulted in a 3-3 vote due to one member being absent. Peters decided to resign ahead of another potential vote at the council’s May meeting.
In his resignation letter, Peters said the vote was a politically motivated ambush.
“The political onslaught has been relentless, and I am worn out by the ongoing controversy and dissension,” Peters wrote. “In every instance when I believe the matter is finally resolved, it takes a new twist, a life of its own.”
A timeline for finding a successor to Peters was not known.
You can read more from Jerry Davich at The Times of Northwest Indiana by clicking here.