Tippecanoe County Council District 1
The financial powers of a county are placed with the county council, which serves as a check on the board of commissioners and board of finance. For election purposes, each county is divided into four districts, with one council member elected from each district and three members elected at large resulting in a seven-member council each elected for four-year staggered terms. Powers and duties are numerous including the following:· Approving and fixing annual operating budgets of all county departments· Authorizing the borrowing of money in the form of bonds and notes· Authorizing the expenditure of public funds for specific purposes· Establishing salaries and other compensation· Fiscal affairs· Fixing tax rates and levies· Setting priorities for the allocation of public fundsTerm: 4 years
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Benjamin R. Murray
(Dem)
What are your budget priorities for the next county budget?
What actions can the Council take to prepare for the current rapid economic development while keeping the county financially sound?
What ideas do you have to respond to housing availability challenges in Tippecanoe County?
Education
Bachelors of Arts from DePauw University (Communications/Economics) & Masters of Science from Purdue University (Educational Administration)
Experience in Leadership and Management
20 years as a Teacher, Coach and Administrator in the Lafayette School Corporation, Tippecanoe County Council for the past 7 years, serve on the following boards: Greater Lafayette Police Foundation, CityBus, Tippecanoe County Community Corrections Advisory Board, Cary Home Advisory Board, Tippecanoe Count Local Environmental Financing Board, I am an Eagle Scout and also serve as a member of the Eagle Scout Review Committee. I have also been a youth basketball, baseball, soccer and golf coach.
My budget priorities are to continue to lower our expenses through collaborative work with the department heads and other elected officials. At the beginning of the year I stated my goal was to figure out a way to provide a 5% raise for all county employees. This will be very difficult to achieve but we are working diligently to try and meet this goal. Secondly, I will continue to look for ways to build a juvenile detention facility. The need is there as we allocated $1 million in 2025 to house juveniles throughout the state. Last, as our population continues to grow we must fund additional public safety positions to keep up with the growth.
We need to ensure the infrastructure is place to support the growth. This includes roads, walking paths, parks and utilities (Tippecanoe County Government does not provide utilities but we can work with our local partner agencies in their areas of expertise) along with providing adequate personnel to keep up with the growth. We need to ensure zoning and future planning is worked out well in advance for consistent, stable growth in our townships with public input to help guide future plans. While the council does not handle policy decisions (that is a Commissioner role) we do need to fiscally support policies and planning. This is achieved by continuing to work collaboratively with all stakeholders.
There have been several subdivisions recently approved for development and this will help with housing availability in the county. However, this does not help with the affordability question of housing. I often hear how difficult it is to live, work and play in Tippecanoe County do the high costs of owning or renting a residence. One potential option is to work with our townships who provide housing and/or utility assistance for those individuals who qualify by providing an additional allocation shall it be needed. This would allow the townships to continue to provide the services they currently provide while potentially reaching more people until they are able to support themselves without assistance.
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