Whitehall City Council will weigh applications from two candidates vying to become city treasurer – one of whom served as the city auditor previously and another who worked in the Franklin County Treasurer’s Office.
Council will decide whether to appoint Dan Miller or Janell Luke to the position following the resignation of Trevel Balser, who left the post after four months on the job.
In his resignation letter, Balser accused City Auditor Shaquille Alexander of creating a hostile work environment and of having his duties stripped of him, which Alexander has denied. Balser also said he did not have the time needed to commit to the position.
The city treasurer is paid $15,000 annually, according to the Whitehall City Charter. They are required to be a qualified elector and resident of Whitehall and serve four-year terms.
The treasurer’s main duties include keeping, preserving, and depositing money belonging to the city, receiving any taxes and assessments from the Franklin County Treasurer’s Office, and keeping a detailed and accurate record of money received and disbursed by and from the city, per the city charter.
Since the previous city treasurer resigned, council is tasked with appointing either Miller or Luke to the position, as they did with Balser.
Who are the candidates for treasurer?
Dan Miller served as a Whitehall City Council member from 2010 to 2011, then as city auditor from 2012 to 2021, according to his resume provided to The Dispatch. He studied business management and computer science at Columbus State Community College from 1980 to 1985. He also studied accounting at Franklin University and has a certificate for public investment management that he completed in 2014, according to his resume.
The Dispatch reached out to Miller for comment on his bid for treasurer on July 29 and July 31. He did not respond by the time of publication.
Janell Luke has lived in Whitehall for three years and told The Dispatch that she has an “extensive” background in finance. She also sees the position as a way to get more involved within the Whitehall community.
“I’ve always lived by the quote of, if you see a need, fill a need,” Luke said.
Luke previously worked at Huntington Bank as a forensic financial fraud specialist from 2015 to 2019, according to her resume. She then worked as an accounts receivable analyst in the Franklin County Treasurer’s Office from May 2019 to June 2023.
Luke is also the owner and lead inspector of Luke and Cole LLC, a multi-service inspection company that conducts inspections for medical facilities, houses, and commercial properties. She has operated the company since 2015.
It is unclear when council plans to vote on the candidates. Its Aug. 4 general meeting agenda does not include a vote on the matter. When The Dispatch spoke with Luke on July 29, she said she had not yet interviewed with city council for the position.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former finance officials seek Whitehall treasurer position
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
