The city of Elkhart is shrinking its budget in 2026.
The budget adopted by the city council Thursday totals just under $119 million. The city says that’s a reduction of about $6.7 million from this year’s spending plan.
But one council member thought the cuts should go even further. David Henke proposed a series of amendments designed to bring certain line items closer to recent years’ spending levels, focusing mainly on professional services and gasoline costs. He also proposed removing two code enforcement positions. Each of his amendments failed.
“It’s getting to be a theme,” Henke commented.
Council members did approve a smaller reduction to the council’s professional services line item, cutting it in half.
Council President Arvis Dawson noted that just because money is budgeted doesn’t mean it will get spent. “I know that the administration realizes what we’re facing, and I know they’re going to be good stewards of that,” Dawson said.
Elkhart’s 2026 budget includes the addition of five firefighters. City officials say the budget was impacted by Indiana’s property and income tax reform, which, they say, will shrink local revenue over the coming years.
