CHETOPA — Toni Crumrine, who has served as city clerk in Chetopa since 1997, is retiring effective the end of the month.
A public reception for her will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, April 25, at City Hall in Chetopa.
Amy Wilkinson, who is deputy city clerk now, will be the new city clerk effective May 1.
Crumrine started work in Chetopa on Jan. 13, 1997, and was sworn in as city clerk in February. She replaced the retiring Mary Lou Turner.
A Columbus native, Crumrine graduated from Pittsburg State University in 1980 with a bachelor of business administration degree, focusing on finance, economics and accounting.
She had worked for a time for First Federal Savings and Loan in Coffeyville. She was an assistant vice president there when the Resolution Trust Corp. took over the institution. RTC took over a number of the insolvent thrifts in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
After this process in Coffeyville, RTC hired Crumrine and she moved to Kansas City to work for the agency.
Crumrine said she moved to Chetopa because her husband at the time was from there. She took the clerk’s job 28 years ago.
“I enjoyed the community, working for the community.” She’s worked on several projects over the years related to improving Chetopa and its appeal to visitors and residents.
Her work with Labette County Tourism Director Jim Zaleski helped get Chetopa designated pecan capital of Kansas. The city had already been named catfish capital of Kansas from a contest years in the past.
After her divorce, she was looking for steady work and the city fit the bill. The city office was downtown at 332 Maple at the time. It has since moved to a former lumber yard building on the north side of the city.
Over her tenure, she worked with six mayors in Chetopa, all of whom had a different approach to city government.
The city has started a new housing edition during her career, The Hornet Edition. The city has completed a water line replacement program and is working on a sewer line replacement program, both of which were and are multi-million dollar projects.
Grants helped pay for the work. Other projects included water tower rehabilitation, water plant upgrade and fire hydrant improvements.
She also completed the certified municipal clerk’s program and the master’s course that follows through the League of Kansas Municipalities. The city council’s generosity helped her attain those certifications, she said.
The city runs its own utilities, water, sewer, electric and trash, she said. The city purchases electricity from KMEA but owns the distribution lines.
Over the years, the job has provided variety and challenges to her, she said.
“You never know what you’re going to run into. It kind of keeps you on your toes,” Crumrine said.
One of the perks of the job is she didn’t have to drive a long distance to work, she said.
Budgeting and making sure everything worked out at the end of year have been trying. Finding cash for the unexpected expenses was also a challenge, she said.
“Things breaking down that you weren’t expecting. So you’re having to figure out how you’re going to pay,” Crumrine said.
See CLERK, Page 4.
She said she has developed friendships on the city sta and from conferences and board memberships over the years. "I've worked with some awesome people and made friendships," Crumrine said.
"You make lasting friendships," she said. She said the city has changed its methods over her tenure, using internet based services. But the clerk sta still relies on paper methods, including utility bills. Residents can phone in payment information now or set up auto pay through a financial provider.
"It's kind of forced you out of your comfort zone, maybe learn how to do certain things," Crumrine said.
"We try to give good customer service to people." "I'm proud to have served the city as city clerk," she said. "I feel like we got a lot accom - plished. Had hiccups along the way, but that's life. We've made a lot of improvements to the city." Crumrine's youngest daughter, Jennifer Hine, is now city clerk at Oswego. Her other daughter, Amanda Carrell, works for a credit union in Leavenworth. She said she spoke to Jennifer about the ins and outs of being a city clerk before she moved into that role. She let her make the decision. "I think it was a good one for her," she said. "My main concern for both my daughters is that they enjoy what they're doing. And I think both of them have found their little niche," Crumrine said.
Crumrine plans on working part time for Zach Lawellin's backhoe and trenching com -
pany after retiring.
