Mayor Hamilton scrambles to fill staff vacancies as staff jump ship in ‘lame duck’ months
Mayor John Hamilton announced the appointments of Angela Van Rooy as Interim Communications Director and Crystal Ritter as Interim Public Engagement Director for the City of Bloomington, effective July 17, 2023. Van Rooy and Ritter will serve as interim directors in the Mayor’s Office, succeeding recent Communications Director Andrew Krebbs and outgoing Public Engagement Director Kaisa Goodman.
As with many outgoing Administrator’s their appointed staff utilize their last several months of employment to find new jobs, as not to have such a significant gap after the newly elected officials bring in their own team. Deputy Mayor Mary Catherine Carmichael announced her parting just days ago, and we can expect more of the same in the coming months.
Ritter has worked with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department since 2009, serving as Program/Facility Coordinator since 2017. She previously worked as the Community Engagement Manager for Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, building community connections for Girl Scouts volunteers across six counties in south-central Indiana. Prior to this, she served as the Program and Interim Unit Director at the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Ellettsville Unit.
Van Rooy has served in the City’s Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) Department since 2019, first as a Housing Specialist and since 2020 as Neighborhood Services Program Manager. Prior to working at the City, she was a stay-at-home mom to her three children, after spending three years conducting research in East Africa as she pursued a graduate degree in anthropology.
Both Ritter and Van Rooy will split their time between their current departments and the Mayor’s Office and will continue to oversee their programs and initiatives in Parks and Recreation and HAND, respectively, in collaboration with other members of their departments. In their new roles, Ritter will serve as a liaison to community groups and organizations, while Van Rooy will be the City’s media contact and communications strategist. While serving in their dual positions, Ritter will earn an annual salary of $59,716 and Van Rooy will earn an annual salary of $63,894.
Indiana recovering after tornado outbreak
As of July 1, more than $13.4 million in federal disaster assistance has been delivered to Hoosiers who were impacted by the March 31/April 1 tornado outbreak. The total includes $2.1 million in assistance through the Individuals and Households Program and $11.30 million in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans to individuals, renters and businesses.
The storms produced more than 20 tornadoes, damaged more than 1,000 homes and resulted in five deaths. President Joe Biden declared a federal disaster for Indiana on April 15. The application period for individual assistance has passed, although the SBA is continuing to process applications through July. Twelve Indiana counties were included in the declaration: Allen, Benton, Clinton, Grant, Howard, Johnson, Lake, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Sullivan and White.
IDHS staff has worked closely with FEMA since April 15 to deliver assistance to Hoosiers.
Monroe County History Center hosts HT archived photo event
Help the Monroe County History Center identify uncaptioned images from the Herald-Times Archive Collection. You might even find yourself in the collection! Light refreshments will be provided.
This Week in Hoosier History
1903 – The Evansville Race Riot occurred in July 1903 in Evansville, Indiana and was the worst riot in the city’s history. The riots occurred after a black man shot and killed a white policeman and ultimately resulted in 12 deaths.
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