West Lafayette City Council on Jan. 6 approved three finance- and personnel-related ordinances and temporarily delayed a zoning change on accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

The council voted to allow temporary interfund loans to cover cash-flow gaps while tax levies arrive, extended blanket bond coverage for city officials handling funds through 2027, and codified a fire merit system. Council members voted to table Ordinance 1-20-25, an amendment to the Unified Zoning Ordinance regarding ADUs, until the March meeting after extended public comment and council discussion.

Why it matters: the temporary loan authority lets the city use dedicated funds to cover short-term cash shortages; blanket bond coverage insures employees who handle money; and the fire merit ordinance establishes a merit commission that changes how fire-department personnel matters will be governed. The ADU proposal drew sustained public comment from residents and neighborhood stakeholders and will return for further consideration.

What the council acted on

- Temporary loan ordinance (Ordinance 36-20-24): City Controller Peter Gray explained the measure allows the Motor Vehicle Highway fund to loan up to $2,000,000 to the General Fund and up to $1,000,000 to the Parks and Recreation fund if needed to cover cash-flow timing differences while awaiting property tax distributions. The ordinance passed on its second reading by roll call.

- Blanket bond coverage (Ordinance 39-20-24, amended): The clerk reported the blanket bond coverage was amended to extend coverage for 2025, 2026 and 2027 at $750,000 per year to insure employees who handle city funds. The council approved the substitution and then passed the ordinance on second reading by roll call.

- Fire merit system (Ordinance 2-20-25): The council approved an ordinance acknowledging the automatic establishment of a fire merit system and codifying it. Fire Chief Jeff Need said the department is preparing to appoint/elect commission members and the mayor will submit nominees. The council suspended the rules and approved the ordinance on both first and second readings the same evening.

- Appointments: The council approved mayoral appointments to boards and commissions by roll call. Lawrence Oates and Arnold Chen were appointed to the Redevelopment Commission. Linda Martin and Erin Thompson were renewed on the Historic Preservation Commission. A separate informational list of mayoral renewals to the Redevelopment Commission (Daryl Chase, Kristen Edmonson, Holly Keckler) was provided with no action required.

Votes at a glance

- Ordinance 36-20-24 (temporary loans): passed (8–0). Vote recorded as: Belisario: yes; Blanco: yes; Dennis: yes; Lee: yes; Lefference: yes; Parker: yes; Sanders: yes; Betamanez: yes.

- Ordinance 39-20-24 (blanket bond coverage 2025–27, amendment by substitution): amendment passed (8–0); ordinance on second reading passed (8–0). Vote recorded as: Belisario: yes; Blanco: yes; Dennis: yes; Lee: yes; Lefference: yes; Parker: yes; Sanders: yes; Betamanez: yes.

- Ordinance 2-20-25 (fire merit system): passed on first reading (8–0); council moved to suspend rules and passed on second and final reading the same night (8–0). Vote recorded as: Belisario: yes; Blanco: yes; Dennis: yes; Lee: yes; Lefference: yes; Parker: yes; Sanders: yes; Betamanez: yes.

- Ordinance 1-20-25 (UZO amendment 114, accessory dwelling units): motion to table to the March meeting passed 7–1. Vote recorded as: Belisario: yes; Blanco: no; Dennis: yes; Lee: yes; Lefference: yes; Parker: yes; Sanders: yes; Betamanez: yes.

- Appointments: Redevelopment Commission appointments (Lawrence Oates, Arnold Chen): approved (8–0). Historic Preservation Commission renewals (Linda Martin, Erin Thompson): approved (8–0). Informational renewals (Daryl Chase, Kristen Edmonson, Holly Keckler): information only, no vote.

What officials said

City Controller Peter Gray said the temporary loan ordinance is a standard tool to cover timing differences as tax levies arrive in June and December and summarized the maximum loan amounts for the relevant funds.

Fire Chief Jeff Need described the fire merit ordinance as the next step in creating the city's fire merit commission and said the department is preparing nominees for commission seats.

Next steps

The ADU zoning amendment (Ordinance 1-20-25) will return to the council in March following planned community meetings; the other ordinances take effect per their statutory procedures.