Government

Cities in Indiana must follow municipal laws required by the State of Indiana; these laws are known as Indiana Codes and can be found at http://www.in.gov.

Mayor's Office

812-268-5464

Elected Officials

Mayor

Mayor JD Wilson graduated

from Sullivan High School in

1995. He joined the Indiana

National Guard in 1996.

Mayor Wilson started

working full time for the

National Guard in 2000.

During him time with the

National Guard, Mayor Wilson was deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002 and to Iraq in 2003. He continued to work full time for the National Guard until retiring in 2019. During his time at the National Guard, he received a bachelor’s degree from Oakland City University in 2006. After retirement, Mayor Wilson starting working for the City of Sullivan as the Department of Public Works Director. Mayor Wilson has been married to Jaime Wilson for 19 years. They share four children who include Makenzee, Jacie, Easton, Harper, and one grandchild, Anslee.

A Mayor's powers and duties, as dictated by the State of Indiana, include::

enforcing the Ordinances of the City and the Statutes of the State;
statement of the finances and general condition of the City to the Common City Council, heretofore known as the City Council, at least once a year;
attention to requests made by the City Council regarding City affairs;
recommendations, in writing, to the City Council actions that the Mayor considers proper;
arrangement of special meetings of the City Council when necessary;
supervision of subordinate officers;
filling vacancies in City offices when required;
signing of all bonds, deeds, and contracts of the City and all licenses issued by the City; and
approval or vetoing of Ordinances, Orders, and Resolutions of the legislative body (veto power, subject to City Council override, may be exercised on a line item basis on appropriations measures).

A Mayor is also empowered by the State of Indiana to:

appoint the heads of executive departments, employees of the departments, and many, if not most, board and commission members;
suspension or removal of officers or employees appointed by the mayor;
set the salaries of all appointed officials and employees (except police and firefighters and appointees of the Clerk-Treasurer) subject to reduction of salaries, but not increases of salaries, by the City Council;
conduct the monthly meetings of heads of the departments, adopt the rules and regulations for individual departments, and arrange for unannounced audits of the accounts of each department;
prepare the City budget for City Council review;
serve as presiding officer of the City Council and casting a vote in order to break a tie.

The above list of duties can be found at www.IN.gov, Indiana Codes (IC):

IC 31-11-6-1; IC 36-4-5-3; IC 36-4-5-4; IC 36-4-9-2; IC 36-4-7-3; IC 36-4-11-2; and IC 36-4-6-8.

Mayor JD Wilson

The Mayor is the executive authority of the city and is primarily concerned with the overall day-to-day operation of the City. The Mayor's executive authority is often exercised through the Board of Public Works and Safety and the City Departments.The Mayor is elected for a term of four years. There are no term limits on this position.