Mister Beatry, a member of the Finance Committee, opened the Sept. 24 budget workshop saying the mayor had presented a proposed 2026 budget that included a 2% pay increase for city employees. The finance committee spent the evening reviewing department requests and the mayor’s recommended adjustments and made recommendations that will go to the full council. "...the city of Michigan City employees, there will be a 2%, pay increase for all city employees," Beatry said during the workshop.

The workshop reviewed department budgets line by line and the committee recommended accepting the mayor’s proposed budgets for multiple departments, including the attorney’s office, human resources, controller, airport, cemetery, engineering and others. Committee members repeatedly noted that the committee can reduce items but cannot increase department budget requests before they go to the council for final action.

On council pay, committee members discussed a motion — originally made out of order at a prior meeting — to keep city council salaries at the 2025 level rather than give councilors the 2% increase included in the mayor’s recommendation. Councilman Milton said he expected Dr. Cora would recommend that the council "be paid the same amount they were paid in '25 or '26, and forego the 2% increase." The committee recorded a recommendation that council salaries remain at the 2025 rate and that the 2% be removed from the council salary line prior to consideration by the full council.

Committee chairs and department heads said most proposed adjustments from the mayor were minor technical changes or reassignments of line items; department heads repeatedly confirmed the only automatic change to salary lines in the mayor’s proposal was the 2% increase. Human Resources director Melissa Jones Henderson and other department heads said they had no major new requests beyond the proposed 2% salary adjustment.

The finance committee scheduled the recommended ordinance and any amendments to appear at the council’s public hearing and second reading on Oct. 7, with a possible third reading Oct. 21 only if needed.