James retires

In her final minutes in office, Debbie James was doing the same things she has for the last 10 years.

She fielded phone calls from Redkey residents.

And she provided some information to town council member Randy May.

James, who has served as Redkey’s clerk-treasurer for a decade, departed into retirement when she left town hall at 1 p.m. Thursday.

She had announced her retirement in November, saying she and her husband (former Redkey Town Marshal Donnie) had discussed the possibility for about six months.

“It’s like my daughter Taran said … ‘Mom, if you can, why not? While you can enjoy it,’” said James, 63. “So, that’s what we did.”

James’ retirement brings to an end her third stint working for the Town of Redkey.

She initially worked under then-clerk-treasurer Sandy Kirby shortly after leaving Jay County High School as part of its first graduating class in 1976. After some time away, she worked for Kirby again in 1980 and ’81 before taking a more than 25-year hiatus from public service.

In between, she worked as a cashier at Will’s IGA, did taxes for H&R Block and was employed by The Graphic Printing Company. She had been away from the workforce to take care of family when she learned Kirby’s assistant would be leaving. So James asked her two-time former boss if she could come back.

That was 2008. Two years later, when Kirby was ready to retire, James stepped in.

“She decided to retire and I thought, ‘OK, why not,’” she said.

She won re-election a year later, earning a second full term in 2015 and then winning again just last year. She said she had not been considering retirement when she ran for a third term but, after 10 years in office, the timing seemed right.

Her own assistant, Mary Eley, will take over as clerk-treasurer after Jay County Democrats appointed her last month to fill the role. She will fill out the remainder of James’ term, which runs through 2023.

“I told her … ‘Just take one day at a time,” said James, recalling that the job was a bit overwhelming in her first days. “That’s all you can do.”

Just as she was being asked about the day-to-day duties of the position, they were put on display as the phone rang and she fielded a question from a Redkey resident.

Beyond the customer service part of the job, James noted the various tasks required of a clerk-treasurer — sending out water bills, paying invoices, handling the town payroll. And then there are the various reports that are required to be passed on to the state level.

“You wear a hat of many, really,” she said, then adding on to the list.

There’s acting as secretary for town council meetings, working with the town attorney on ordinances and contacting the newspaper about public notice advertiser.

And the list goes on.

“You’re busy continuously when you’re in here,” she said.

She said she’s most proud of making sure the town’s business has been handled properly for the State Board of Accounts and Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. That, and being a resource for the residents of Redkey.

She hasn’t gotten to see as many of those residents this year, as town hall has been shuttered for months because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s been tough because I can’t say goodbye to everybody. They can’t come in,” said James.

“The pandemic’s just put a damper on everything.”

It's those interactions, both with the town’s residents and her fellow town employees — she especially mentioned Randy Young as an asset who “has been wonderful to work with” — that she will miss the most as she leaves town hall.

“I enjoy it,” she said. “I enjoy the people.

“You have your ones,” she added laughing, “but 95% of them are wonderful. I am going to miss the people. There’s a lot of good people in this town.”