LAFAYETTE, IN — After earlier pleading with the Tippecanoe County Council for a share of the county’s local income tax for public safety, Wabash Township officials were also turned down by the Lafayette City Council, effectively closing the door on the money.
At a special meeting Monday to hear the request, which had been voted down the week earlier by the Tippecanoe County Council, Wabash Township Trustee Angel Valentin said in his request for $750,000 the township’s emergency call volume exceeds that of other local townships.
“I know that we are often considered, especially in regard to cities, to be the small kids on the block, but I just wanted to highlight that our run volume was 1,700 calls per year last year,” Valentin said. “Which was already about 20% of what Lafayette does with just one station and about 55% of what West Lafayette does.”
Wabash Township’s rapid growth combined with changes the Indiana General Assembly enacted about how local income tax is distributed have left townships like Wabash behind, Valentin said. The rapid increase in housing, estimated to increase the township’s population to more than 13,000 based on current developments, has left the fire department staffing behind.
Given the township’s rapid growth and financial struggles, Valentin said he has engaged in discussions with West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter about the possibility of the annexation for Wabash Township. But that is unlikely anytime soon.
“I’ve asked if that’s part of their plans,” Valentin said. “We have to make sure that we’re providing services right now. We can’t do that without the support of this body, and so that’s what we’re here for today.”
After answering questions relating to current and past budgets and recent spending for Wabash Township, Lafayette Fire Chief Brian Alkire and Lafayette Police Chief Scott Galloway both requested the council vote no, citing the city’s own growing needs.
Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said meetings like this aren’t easy, knowing that at the heart of the matter, people of Tippecanoe County are affected.
“Everybody that’s come up here and spoke is doing it for all the right reasons,” Roswarski said. “They believe in what they’re doing, and they are fighting for what they think is right, and I respect that and appreciate their willingness to to stand up and do that.”
But those “right reasons” don’t change what’s coming, Roswarski said. Lafayette is currently for a new fire station to accommodate growth on the south and east ends, Roswarski said. Coming close to making an offer on land, the city will also need to buy new equipment to fill that new building.
“By my calculations, over the next few years, we’re going to need to hire between 20 and 24 firefighters to staff what we need to do currently,” Roswarski said. “That number just on 24 firefighters is looking $3.6 million to $3.7 million. In a few years, you’re talking $4 million, just not counting the buildings, the trucks, and the equipment, and all of the other things that come along with that.”
Based on Indiana Senate Bill 1, Roswarksi said the city anticipates losing $4 million through changes to how it is able to collect local taxes. But unlike other cities or townships, Roswarski said the city isn’t building new million-dollar homes.
“We don’t have any million-dollar homes being built here, so our income tax and those things … we don’t have the same opportunities,” Roswarski said. “We’re going to have worse opportunities under Senate Bill 1. So, we have to think about the future, because we will grow, but it’s probably not going to be with high-income earners.”
After Roswarski’s closing argument, Wabash Township Fire Chief Ed Ward said the growth Lafayette is anticipating isn’t unique. Wabash Township is growing, too.
“But the difference is, is that you all have the opportunity to get caught up with this public safety tax money,” Ward said. “I’m just asking for a sliver of it that’s already been paid by the people that live in Wabash Township to do the same, trying to get caught up the same way.”
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette council denies Wabash Township request for more funding
Reporting by Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
