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Council approves budget amendments to fund downtown âPortland Looâ and mobile-home relief
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Summary
Ordinance F-2026-03 (amended) passed 8–0; the comptroller moved $15,000 from ARPA interest to a Mobile Home Relief Fund and allocated $33,000 from a casino payment toward a downtown restroom and related maintenance (about $28,000/year). The Downtown Evansville Improvement District will manage daily cleaning.
The Evansville Common Council unanimously adopted the amended budget ordinance F-2026-03 on April 27, which includes two targeted amendments presented by the comptroller.
Robert Guncher of the Comptroller's Office told council the first amendment moves $15,000 from ARPA interest to the Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) to create a Mobile Home Relief Fund for residents on Oak Hill Road and Trejo Park. "The first one is moving 15,000 from the ARPA interest to DMD so that they can use that for the Mobile Home Relief Fund for the residents at Oak Hill Road and Trejo Park," Guncher said.
The second amendment repurposes $33,000 from a prior payment the city received tied to a Terre Haute casino distribution (Guncher said the city received $900,000) to complete the downtown restroom project and to pay the Downtown Evansville Improvement District roughly $28,000 annually to maintain the facility. Council members asked about the ongoing cost after the casino payments cease; the comptroller said the city expects one more payment this year and that future funding sources will need to be identified.
Downtown Improvement District representative Adam Trinkle told council the district documents incidents of human waste downtown and said an accessible public restroom is a public-health and dignity measure. "Until you bring an accessible restroom to the community, you know, this is the solution ... we're ready to do our part to do the daily cleanings on this, to be open 24/7," Trinkle said.
Corporation Counsel (identified in the record as Sarah Dower) added that the restroom addresses public-health and sanitation issues downtown. Council voted 8–0 to adopt the amended appropriation ordinance.
The ordinance moves existing city funds rather than creating a new recurring appropriation; council and staff noted the maintenance contract will be paid to the Downtown Evansville Improvement District and that the city will need to decide long-term funding once one remaining casino payment is received.
