Benton Harbor commission adopts 2026–27 budget after hours-long hearing

BENTON HARBOR — The Benton Harbor City Commission voted June 1 to adopt the city’s fiscal 2026–27 budget and to approve year-end amendments for 2025–26 after more than two hours of questioning from commissioners about travel reimbursements, staffing levels and projected revenue sources.

City Manager Mr. Little opened the budget hearing by explaining that the FY2025–26 amendment balances line items where spending exceeded estimates and that, overall, the modification left the year ‘‘about $63,890 to the good.’’ Commissioners then methodically pressed staff for detail on several items before taking a final vote.

The discussion focused on three recurring concerns: mayoral travel and how reimbursement is recorded, rising overtime and possible vacancies in public safety, and revenue assumptions tied to parking expansions at Jean Clark Park and proposed downtown enforcement. Commissioner Fields pressed for clearer reporting on travel and reimbursement, saying commissioners were told earlier they could not attend training because travel budgets were overrun; manager Little responded that reimbursements appear on the revenue side and that some travel is paid by outside hosts and later reimbursed to the city.

Deputy Clark, speaking for public safety, described staffing as ‘‘managing’’ but not fully staffed, noting minimum safe staffing needs for shifts and OSHA requirements for fire responses. The manager and finance staff said some apparent overtime increases are offset by grant revenues recorded on the revenue side (FEMA and other grants were cited).

On parking, staff described plans to add parking attendants, expand paid parking downtown and rely on QR-code payment kiosks rather than deploying a large number of costly parking meters. Manager Little said previous years’ parking operations generated significant revenue and that properly run attendants should be revenue-neutral or positive.

Commissioners also asked for changes to two budget draft assumptions: reducing the planned overlap of a new finance director’s training from 10 months to six months, and clearer line-item reporting for commissioner travel. The commission voted to approve the budget and related ordinances; the clerk recorded six votes in favor and two opposed on the final adoption vote.

The commission and staff noted the budget is a living document that can be amended in the coming months. Several commissioners requested a scheduled committee review in roughly three months to reexamine line items and monitor whether proposed revenue increases (parking, civil infractions) materialize.

The commission’s next regular meeting is scheduled for June 15, 2026.