TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. — The Wabash Township Fire Department Association is suing a township trustee in an effort to save firefighters' jobs in Tippecanoe County.
Wabash Township Trustee Jennifer Tiesing wants the full-time firefighters gone by Tuesday, June 29, in favor of a part-time or volunteer fire department.
Tiesing says there's no money to pay the firefighters, despite the board recently transferring money to pay them through 2023. But critics say it's political and people who live in the township, located near West Lafayette, say it leaves homeowners vulnerable and puts lives at risk.
Now, the local firefighter's association is suing to try to stop Tiesing. The association's lawyers are asking for a preliminary injunction to keep those firefighters on the job until the court can hear the case.
They also want to see Tiesing forfeit her elected position because she faces 20 theft charges for allegedly living outside the township last year while still collecting her salary.
Court documents allege she had sold her property within the township, failed to maintain residency within the township and bought a travel trailer that she parked in multiple locations outside the township including Anderson, which is about 80 miles from Wabash Township.
The documents accuse Tiesing of using the Wabash Township credit card to pay for overnight shipping so that the documents she had received in Anderson would make it back to Wabash Township in a timely manner.
The documents also accuse Tiesing of parking her trailer in Florida for "numerous" months.
With just three days to go before the full-time firefighters get terminated, the court will have to make a quick decision on whether it wants to intervene.
There are two more emergency meetings with the firefighters' future on the agenda. Those are set for Friday and next Tuesday, June 29.