Elkhart County planners propose budget increases for legal services, GIS and TIF commitments

May Crancer, planning and development, walked Elkhart County Council through a series of proposed increases affecting planning, code enforcement and redevelopment funds during a council budget work session.

Crancer said the planning division’s personnel lines reflect HR’s recommended pay adjustments and that an “other professional services” line that was previously zero now shows $20,000 to cover weed-and-nuisance work rather than asking separately for appropriations. She also noted an increase in legal services tied to a change in the county’s board attorney vendor, saying the new firm is more expensive and the shift adds roughly $45,000 annually.

The nut graf: these changes are framed as cost‑recovery and continuity moves, but council members pressed staff on where recurring costs could be absorbed, and on whether centralized IT purchasing should pick up small departmental software charges.

Crancer explained smaller items in the planning budget: a $400 telephone increase to cover…