Elkhart City Council members gave tentative approval Sept. 22 to the majority of department budgets for the 2026 fiscal year while pressing staff on several cross-cutting issues: rising credit-card processing fees, delays getting new police cruisers into service, staffing and recruitment in public safety, and the fiscal outlook for some city-funded cultural institutions.

The committee approved tentative budgets across most general-fund departments and related funds after brief discussion of specific lines. Council members repeatedly flagged credit-card processing fees, which several departments reported as materially higher year-to-date. Councilors also pressed public works staff and Central Garage leadership about a backlog of new vehicles that are on-site but not yet upfitted for service.

Why it matters: The tentative approvals move the city one step closer to finalizing proposed spending levels but leave unresolved a set of operational pressures that could affect final allocations. Several items discussed 26mdash; notably public-safety staffing, vehicle turnarounds, and recurring fees for third-party services, such as payment processors and digital evidence platforms 26mdash; are likely to influence the council27s final decisions and any interfund transfers.

Budget votes and follow-ups
- The committee repeatedly used the meeting27s consent-style process to give tentative approval to departmental budgets including City Council, City Clerk, City Court, Probation, Controller, Information Technology, Police, Fire, Central Garage, Streets, Engineering, Building/Code Enforcement and numerous enterprise and special funds. Those tentative approvals carry without final appropriation until council acts to adopt the full city budget.
- Councilors asked staff to return with clarifications on several items before final adoption, including the full-year effect of credit-card fees, the schedule for getting new police vehicles into service, and operating forecasts for the Railroad Museum and Lerner Theatre.

Key discussions and details
- Credit-card processing fees: Multiple departments reported elevated fee totals from online permit sales, ticketing and other transactions. Building/permit staff said online permit and rental-registry transactions now generate most permit revenue and related processing fees; the department said it plans to switch to a lower-fee vendor. Councilors asked administration to study whether, and how, the city can or should pass fees to payers or otherwise reduce net cost to taxpayers.

- Police fleet upfits: Central Garage director Josh Holt told the committee that a significant number of newly purchased police cruisers are on Central Garage property but remain at the upfitter awaiting installs of cages, lights and other kit. Holt said the delay stems from vendor and contract issues with the specialist that installs police equipment; he said staff are working to clear the backlog and put vehicles into service. Council members pressed for a timeline to reduce the bottleneck; Holt said the vehicles should be placed in service by year27s end.

- Public-safety staffing and contracts: Police and fire leaders described recruitment efforts and payor-side revenue. Police Chief Dan MIlanese said the department has 14 sworn vacancies and has begun using a city-funded lateral recruitment program and digital advertising to attract candidates. Fire Chief Robert (surname on record) asked for five additional firefighters to staff the new Fire Station 6; the fire department reported increased ambulance collections this year (discussed at the meeting as approximately $2.5 million collected in 2025-to-date).

- Central Garage and life-cycle policy: Central Garage leaders said preventive maintenance and in-house repairs kept heavy equipment running this year and reduced tows. Garage staff reiterated their vehicle-replacement policy and argued the long-term savings of replacing equipment on schedule versus reactive repairs.

- Arts and tourism entities: Railroad Museum director Brent Holloway and Lerner Theatre general manager Carl Thompson briefed councilors on attendance and fundraising. Holloway said the museum has increased visitorship but asked the city to help explore longer-term revenue models to reduce reliance on the general fund. Lerner staff reported higher earned revenue and asked for a larger promotions budget to boost outreach and ticket sales.

- Court, probation and records: City Clerk Deb Barrett and City Court leaders described operational changes and revenue from the state tax-intercept program for unpaid court fees; Barrett said the city had collected amounts in the low millions since joining the program. Probation staff sought funding for mental-health assessment contracts and a proposed front-desk position (a part-time post proposed to become full-time); councilors questioned sustainability and tracking of contract-service lines.

What27s next
- Administration and staff were asked to return with clarifying schedules and vendor quotes: (1) a credit-card fee analysis across departments and options to reduce or reallocate those fees; (2) a timeline and contract-resolution plan to get upfitter work completed on police vehicles; (3) updated revenue/expense projections for the Railroad Museum and Lerner Theatre; and (4) a reconciliation of professional-services encumbrances that appear in year-to-date actuals but not in the next-year budget.

Votes at a glance (selected items)
- Tentative approval: City Council departmental budget (motion/second recorded in minutes and carried)
- Tentative approval: City Clerk budget
- Tentative approval: City Court and Probation budgets
- Tentative approval: Controller and Finance-related budgets
- Tentative approval: Information Technology (including capital development allocation)
- Tentative approval: Railroad Museum (discussion noted museum revenue concerns)
- Tentative approval: Central Garage and Streets budgets (committee discussed fleet backlog)
- Tentative approval: Police and Fire department budgets (public-safety staffing and Axon/Taser contract costs discussed)
- Tentative approval: Building and Code Enforcement and associated new rental-inspection program (discussion about startup costs and where supplies/printing will be charged)
All listed tentative approvals carried at the meeting as recorded in the minutes; staff were asked to return with requested clarifications before final budget adoption.

Ending note: The committee advanced the bulk of 2026 budgets but signaled several cross-department issues 26mdash; payment-processing costs, vehicle upfit capacity and public-safety staffing 26mdash; will shape final amendments. Councilors asked administration to provide reconciled schedules and vendor quotes before the final adoption vote.