Wabash Township looks for West Lafayette's help on public safety tax request
The measure would ask to loosen reins on revenues so far not available to township fire departments. It also would ask to raise the rate of a local income tax collected since 2019.
Support for this edition comes from Wabash Riverfest. Celebrate the mighty Wabash River on Saturday, July 11, with conservation exhibits, float trips, charcoal drawing classes, paddleboard yoga, a birds of prey presentation, kayak tours, photography workshops, and more. Learn more about the festival and sign up for activities: wabashriverfest.com/
Support for this edition also comes from Rat Pak Venue, presenting Lil Flip in concert Thursday, July 9. Tickets are available now for the show, also featuring DJ Tre and Tyler Truth. Doors open at 7 p.m. Show starts at 8 p.m. at Rat Pak Venue in downtown Lafayette. Get tickets here.
WABASH TOWNSHIP LOOKS FOR WEST LAFAYETTE’S HELP ON PUBLIC SAFETY TAX REQUEST
Wabash Township’s so-far unsuccessful attempts to get a cut of Tippecanoe County’s public safety local income tax could get a boost from West Lafayette, where the city council is set Monday evening to debate a measure that would back the township’s efforts and advocate for an increase in the tax to get it done.
A resolution going to the city council would recommend a $750,000 share of the countywide, 0.18% income tax in the coming year to help Wabash Township – which includes West Lafayette and much of the unincorporated area surrounding the city – cover costs related to its fire department.
The proposed resolution, if approved, also would put the city’s weight behind the idea of increasing the local tax from 0.18% to 0.2%, or an extra $20 a year for a household with an adjusted gross income of $100,000.
Similar ideas haven’t gained traction in recent years, as Wabash Township officials continued to ask for a cut of a tax intended to cover costs of policing, fire protection and other public safety needs.
To get that traction, a township request would need the approval of at least two of the three largest players on a body called the Tippecanoe County Income Tax Council – made up of officials from Tippecanoe County, Lafayette, West Lafayette and the towns of Battle Ground, Clarks Hill, Dayton, Otterbein and Shadeland – to buy in. The tax council has until Sept. 1 to decide how to distribute the funds for the coming year.
In 2025, Wabash Township Trustee Angel Valentin made pleas to the Tippecanoe County Council and the Lafayette City Council for $600,000 from the estimated $12 million in revenue from the local income tax, intended to upgrade the Wabash Township Fire Department’s radios. The Tippecanoe County Council voted 4-2 against moving forward on the township’s request. The Lafayette City Council took no action, as city officials said the money was dedicated to policing and fire protection projects already in the works.
This year, Valentin said the township had submitted a request for $750,000. Of that, he said, $375,000 would go toward adding a sixth firefighter on shift, and another $375,000 would go toward defraying the cost of township fire apparatus purchases. That would include the township board’s decision last week to finance a $2.4 million ladder truck for the fire department.
