EMAIL Council Members

Dear Councilors,

I'm John Q. Public, a resident of unincorporated Wabash Township. I'm writing to encourage you to vote in favor of Wabash Township Fire Department's (WTFD) request for an allocation of $750,000 from the Public Safety Tax that is collected from all residents in Tippecanoe County, including those in unincorporated Wabash Township.

As a taxpayer, I am concerned (and frustrated) that my fire department has been unable to access the taxes that I have been paying for public safety purposes, which includes the fire protection, emergency medical services, and ambulance services they provide. It is simply wrong that my fire department has been unable to access any of the more than $7.2 million that residents of unincorporated Wabash Township have paid since 2020, even as units hold over $18 million of these funds in reserve.

Our service area is growing rapidly as a result of development that has been approved by Area Plan Commission appointees from Tippecanoe County, the City of Lafayette, and the City of West Lafayette. For that reason, the Fire & EMS responsibilities of WTFD continue to grow, and our fire department needs to be able to access the tax funds that we have already paid into for the last seven years, so that they may add additional fire & EMS first responders and invest in the capabilities of the department.

Tippecanoe County leaders pride themselves in working together to tackle tough issues. I sincerely ask that, in that same spirit, you support WTFD's request for a fraction of the tax dollars that residents of Wabash Township, such as myself, have paid and will continue to pay.

Sincerely,

John Q. Public