CUMBERLAND — A Marion County deputy prosecutor has been hired as Cumberland’s new town manager.
April Fisher will replace former manager Andrew Klinger, who resigned in September after accepting a similar position in Plainfield.
Fisher, who is expected to earn about $73,000 in 2016, will start her new job at the end of the month. In 2014, Klinger was paid about $70,750 in the same position.
The job is a great opportunity, Fisher, 35, said. Her job duties will include managing the town’s daily operations, working toward long-term town improvement, serving as the town spokeswoman and acting as a liaison between businesses and governmental agencies.
In 2013, the town had a population of about 5,300; it’s proposed budget for 2016 is $5.1 million.
Fisher takes over the post as town officials work toward a resolution with St. John Church of Christ, the historic church that has been the center of controversy as church officials prepare to sell the historic building, which could lead to it being razed.
In recent weeks, efforts by the town to purchase or help sell the church to a buyer who wouldn’t demolish it haven’t moved forward. It will be one of several issues Fisher will have to juggle once she starts.
“The challenge with Cumberland is people want to see growth, but it needs to be good growth and ideal growth,” Fisher said. “We need to make sure we seize the right opportunities and see the right opportunities. … We want to maintain the character of Cumberland.”
Fisher is a 1998 Triton Central High School graduate and 2002 Butler University graduate with degrees in political science and communications. She also has a law degree from Indiana University.
She said she’s excited to take a leading job in the town she grew up near. It’s where she chooses to grocery shop, she said, even though she lives about 10 minutes away in Indianapolis.
Her knowledge of Cumberland and the surrounding area is part of the reason she landed the job, said Joe Siefker, Cumberland Town Council president.
“She’s rooted in the community, plus, she’s got enough interactions and connections and experience with the county and the city of Indianapolis … it will help us in the future to move the town forward,” Siefker said.
Fisher, a married mother of two, spends time in Cumberland for her current job with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, where she’s worked since 2005. The time she’s spent in town has led to her becoming invested in the future, she said.
“I just love everybody there,” Fisher said. “I love the growth in towns that are building and especially towns that keep (their) identity and personality, … and Cumberland has that.”
Town council member Anna Pea said she was happy to see town officials hire someone who is familiar with the town’s issues and opportunities.
The town has many goals and projects it would like to accomplish in the future, and the relationships Fisher has built in Hancock and Marion counties will help her be successful, Pea said.
“She’s highly motivated and is someone who, I think, will be here long term,” Pea said.
Although she didn’t foresee the opportunity to lead the town, Fisher said, she’s looking forward to starting.
