County mulls local income tax for juvenile detention center, future jail needs
Public hearing Tuesday on the potential for a 0.1% local ‘correctional facilities’ income tax. Lafayette takes step toward development fees on sewers. And WL schools not alone on referendum talk.
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COUNTY MULLS LOCAL INCOME TAX FOR JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER
The potential of adding a 0.1% local income tax – one that would mean an additional $50 a year to someone with an annual salary of $50,000 – as soon as the start of 2027 for the county’s jail or proposed juvenile detention facility will be up for discussion during a public hearing Tuesday before the Tippecanoe County Council.
Ben Murray, a Tippecanoe County Council member, said consideration for the tax – one allowed by the state for correctional or rehabilitation facilities and one that comes as the county deals with impending fallout of the property tax reforms of 2025’s Senate Bill 1 – is in early stages as the county revisits the question of building and operating a juvenile center and preparing for a future work on the county jail.
“This isn’t anywhere near a vote, right now,” Murray said. “All we’re doing Tuesday is getting public feedback. We’re proposing it as a possible solution, especially since the legislature has wanted more local control of fiscal matters. … This is one way to possibly go.”
Murray said the 0.1% local income tax would raise an estimated $6.2 million to $6.3 million a year.
Tippecanoe County has 1.28% in current local income taxes, including those designated for economic development and the most recent one, for public safety, approved in 2019.
Murray said a potential vote on the income tax proposal likely wouldn’t come until late summer. A county council vote between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 would be in time to start collecting it Jan. 1, 2027.
“Looking at the numbers, it’s tough, understanding where we are with inflation, where we are in the world with expenses, where we are with just the cost of living,” Murray said. “It’s very difficult to wrap your head around taking more. … It’s needed to invest in the public safety of the county, but that’s why I’m not guaranteeing it’s going to go to a vote.”
