Former mayor working on next phase of life after serving City of Shelbyville for 30 years

former-mayor-working-on-next-phase-of-life-after-serving-city-of-shelbyville-for-30-years

When the City Hall doors swung open Tuesday morning, Tom DeBaun did not have an office nor a desk.

Friday was the final day for the three-term mayor who served 18 years prior to that as the City of Shelbyville’s Plan Director. With just a few containers full of stuff still sitting on a conference table, DeBaun was ready to “officially” move out of a place he never dreamed of moving in to.

DeBaun, a 1982 Southwestern High School and 1986 Franklin College graduate, was working as a probation officer in Shelbyville when he was passed over for a promotion.

Mayor Bob Williams, a former Adult Protective Services officer, had an opening for city planning director and DeBaun inquired despite having no real experience in the field.

“I thought I was willing to learn this and there was much more of a future in this than what I was doing,” said DeBaun Friday morning from the mayor’s office in an exclusive interview with the Shelby County Post. Ironically, the man hired for the position DeBaun was passed over for was fired two weeks later. Despite the inquiry to return, DeBaun opted to stay at City Hall.

“It was probably one of my better decisions,” he said.

DeBaun continued his education while also getting on-the-job training.

“I went to Purdue and took classes on Planning. I went to Ball State and studied GIS. The University of Wisconsin Madison had a great series that I went through for a number of summers to become a certified planner and a certified code administrator,” said DeBaun.

DeBaun (photo, center) worked with four mayors before deciding it was his time to run.

“I worked for Bob (Williams) and he lost his reelection. I worked for Betsy (Stephen) and she lost her reelection. I worked for Frank (Zerr) and Frank lost his reelection so I worked for Scott (Furgeson),” explained DeBaun. “Scott was the first mayor I worked for that had two terms.”

Once Furgeson announced he would not seek a third term as mayor, DeBaun weighed the field and decided the time was right to step forward.

“I decided it’s an open seat and over the years I’d seen some things that I think needed to be done that weren’t being done,” said DeBaun of his 2011 decision. “A lot of those I had learned through my planning experience at that point in time. I thought this was the perfect time to go for it. And I had the opportunity for a plan B if that didn’t work out.

“So I threw my hat in the ring. I was not the candidate the Democratic party wanted. Jim Sleeth was, and Jim was a member of the Plan Commission at the time. Jim and I were friends. It wasn’t adversarial. When I won the primary, he and everybody else came right on board and it went really well.”

Months later, DeBaun moved his office upstairs to the top floor of City Hall and stayed for 12 years.

There was little time to settle in, though.

“We had a homicide. Mrs. Kelley was killed,” he recalled. “We had the police action shooting at Family Video. We had a horrible traffic accident at (State Road 9) and Rampart where this van turned in front of somebody … It was horrible – a bad situation. There was a lot going on that first 72 hours.”

DeBaun (photo, center) survived his first week and settled in to lead the city for more than a decade – through good and bad times.

“The expectations of the public often aren’t realistic,” said DeBaun when asked what is the toughest part of being mayor. “Even when I read posts: The city needs to bring … It’s that perception that the government can do more.

“That’s the most frustrating part of the job. It’s the public perception of what we can and can’t do. The letters I get from people saying my son needs your help and they want me to do something with the sheriff, or the judges, or the prosecutor. And when you can’t help those folks, then it’s your just being a jerk.”

In his third term, DeBaun faced his greatest challenge while in office -- the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was awful. It was like watching the ‘Andromeda Strain,’” he said. “We had this phantom virus out there. My aunt was one of the first people to die in the county from (COVID-19). I lost two aunts.”

With an ever-changing message about the best protection measures from the virus, DeBaun struggled staying strong through daily and weekly meetings.

“We met here every day talking about what do we need to be doing,” said DeBaun. “What is the Governor mandating? What do we need to do to be compliant? How do we continue services to the public? Is it safe to pick up the trash? Do the guys need to start wearing gloves? That day-to-day stuff. How many firefighters do we have out because they are dealing with sick people?”

Ironically, as DeBaun recalled the days of the pandemic, several masks were still sitting on his desk.

“Fortunately, we didn’t lose any employees,” he said. “We lost a few former employees. And the misinformation about the shot, and masking, and the employees that were resistant to wearing a mask. Dealing with all those moving parts, it was sometimes overwhelming.”

DeBaun helped stabilize the city budget during his tenure and pushed a rainy day fund up over seven figures.

“We had to cut the budget. The council in November of 2011 had to adopt a layoff policy because there were legitimate concerns they were going to be laid off,” he said.

The city now has a redeveloped downtown area (construction phase photo) that serves as a gathering point for the community, more than 1,000 homes green lit for construction, and a growing educational initiative to help children get off to a positive start in life and assist adults improve their education level.

“The educational stuff is the thing I’m most proud of,” he said. “Helping people improve their lives is what I’m most proud of. Providing them the opportunity, even though they still have to do the work.

“When you are a community of 45,000 people and you have 5,000 adults that don’t have a diploma, that’s a problem,” he said.

With the Excel Center, the Advantage Shelby County program and the 2024 opening of the Nick and Julia Runnebohm Early Learning Center, there are now multiple educational opportunities within the community.

“The downtown is nice. The downtown has been good for the community but I think the true measure of success is how educated and what are the opportunities for your citizenry,” said DeBaun. “I think with Advantage Shelby County and the Excel Center, nobody can argue that.”

While DeBaun is not yet ready to retire, his next role is yet to be determined.

“I am waiting for a couple of different particular opportunities,” he said. “I am going to meet on those (this week) and I will take my best option.”

What DeBaun won’t be doing anytime soon is leaving Shelbyville, where he is helping take care of his parents and his children are still in the school system.

“I’m available. I’m easy to find,” he said. “I didn’t change my phone number. I will be around if anyone needs anything but I will be more particular about what I get involved in.”

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