City of South Bend kicks off 2027 budget hearing sessions 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- South Bend Mayor James Mueller and City Controller Kyle Willis presented an overview of the city-wide budget for 2027 at city hall on September 2.    

Heading into the next fiscal, Mueller says hasn’t changed much since last year, showing just a one percent increase across the board.  

But the challenge for Mueller and officials around the Hoosier state is planning a budget while something else may be eating away at it like Governor Braun’s Senate Enrolled Act 1 (SEA 1).  

Senate enrolled act one slashes tax revenue for cities, schools, and much more statewide.  

“There's always talk of replacement revenue in mechanisms, but if they do it like they proposed in the original SB 1 (SEA 1), the income tax was supposed to help offset the losses in property tax,” Mueller says. “Well, the income tax was actually worse for us than the property tax reform was, so. We’re nervous when they say there’s going to be a replacement revenue that’s going to solve the problem, when the last time the replacement mechanism ended up being the cause for greatest concern.”  

Although there are many uncertainties, Mueller says he doesn’t expect to see any decline in what the city provides.  

“Don't expect residents to see any decrease or decline in city services, so they can continue to depend on what the city provides in 2027, and we’re just having to make some adjustments that hopefully, most residents don’t realize,” Mueller says.  

We can expect to see the full impacts of SEA 1 in 2029, according to Mueller.  

The City of South Bend will continue with their budget hearing sessions September 3, looking at the innovation and technology for the area.    

The hearing sessions will continue until the final 2027 budget is voted on October 12, at 7 p.m.  

For the full budget hearing sessions schedule, click here.