Mayor Stephanie Terry is inviting residents to have a say in shaping the 2026 city budget at a Community Budget Forum on Tuesday, April 15, at 5:30 p.m. in the Browning Room at EVPL Central Library.

The program will begin with a short presentation from Mayor Terry and City Controller Robert Gunter about the budget process, including explanations of where city funds come from and the way city officials make decisions about how to allocate those funds.

Attendees then will break into groups for moderated discussions about their own priorities for funding in the 2026 city budget.

“When my administration went through our first budget process last year, I saw that public input often comes too late—after the full budget is presented to City Council,” said Mayor Terry. “We want to change that by creating opportunities for real dialogue early in the process. A transparent budget builds trust, and the best way to serve our residents is by listening to them.”

Mayor Terry emphasized that community engagement is key to responsible budgeting. “Taxpayer dollars should reflect community needs,” she said. “This forum ensures residents have a direct role in shaping how we invest in our city’s future.”

Mayor Terry and her team will bring the information gathered at the Budget Forum into the city budgeting process, which will begin in May with meetings between Mayor Terry, Controller Gunter, and individual department heads across the city.

Members of the public can find more information on the city’s 2025 budget at tinyurl.com/EVVBudget.

• By Schyler Altherr, TheStatehouseFile.com
• According to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, “There are 814,438 renter households in Indiana, paying a typical rent of $1,044 per month. If a landlord chooses to file an eviction, they need to provide their tenants with at least ten days notice (in some cases more) and pay a $100 filing fee on average to the courts.” 

  Photo by Chait Goli: https://www.pexels.com/photo/building-and-garden-scenery-2083844/

  On Monday morning, the Indiana House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that looks to reform eviction filings in the state. The bill saw support in committee from multiple organizations that work directly with eviction cases. 

  In February, the StatehouseFile.com traveled to the Wayne Township Small Claims Court on the west side of Indianapolis to get a look at Indiana’s “eviction epidemic.” There we saw firsthand the sheer scale of the issue. The court in Wayne Township deals with up to 400 eviction cases a day. 

  SB 142 as written would “require the court to order an expungement in a qualifying eviction case and allow the court to issue the order without a hearing. Permits an expungement in an eviction case if a money judgment related to the eviction action is entered by the court against the tenant and the tenant has satisfied the money judgment.”

  According to those who testified, this bill seems to be a continuation of a 2022 bill that allowed for the expungement or “sealing” of an eviction on someone’s record upon request of the court. The 2025 legislation would make these expungements automatic instead of a tenant having to go through a process to have their record expunged.    

  One of the advocates who showed support for the bill was David Pruitt, director of the Eviction Clinic at Notre Dame Law School. He brought a team of legal students who work for the eviction clinic and who all voiced their support for the bill and how it would positively affect Hoosiers. 

  “Many counties around the state won’t seal a case even when a judgment has been satisfied, and I think this bill would improve upon that situation,” said Pruitt. 

  Robert Simcurl, one of the legal students who works for the Notre Dame Eviction Clinic, testified to how harsh the burden of an eviction can be on someone. 

  “What I have seen is dockets full of dismissals but cases that haven’t been sealed. As a result, tenants are having to pay more than the market rate for mortgages or for housing elsewhere during a period in their lifetime where they’re looking for housing and they only have two weeks to find it,” said Simcurl. 

  The bill’s author, Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, hinted at the bill needing minor fixing in its specific wording, but it looks poised to reach Gov. Mike Braun’s desk. It passed the Senate unanimously in January and passed the House committee 10-1. It is now on its way to the House Chamber for second reading.  

  Schyler Altherr is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students. 

AGENDA

VANDERBURGH COUNTY COUNCIL –

APRIL 2, 2025 – 3:00 PM

CIVIC CENTER COMPLEX, ROOM 301

1. OPENING OF MEETING

2. ATTENDANCE ROLL CALL

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

4. INVOCATION

5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

A. County Council Meeting – March 5, 2025

6. PERSONNEL REQUESTS:

A. Circuit Court

1. Request to fill vacancy or resulting vacancy if filled internally for Probation

Officer 10001360-136164

B. Clerk

1. 2. 3. C. Sheriff

Request to fill vacancy for Jury/Expungement Clerk 10001010-101125

Request to fill vacancy for Circuit/Superior Counter Clerk 10001010-101134

Request to fill vacancy for M/T Subpoena Summons Clerk 10001010-101158

1. Request to fill vacancy for Deputy Sheriff 10001050-105107

D. LIT – Jail

1. Request to fill vacancy for Clerk III 11701320-117090

E. Prosecutor IV-D – Child Support Division

1. Request to fill vacancy for Deputy Prosecutor 10001400-140033

F. Cumulative Bridge

1. Request to fill vacancy for Laborer 11350000-113515

2. Request to fill vacancy for Truck Driver 11350000-113518

G. County Highway

1. Request to fill vacancy for Heavy Equipment Operator 11760000-117631

2. Request to fill vacancy for Laborer 11760000-117646

H. Health Department

1. Request to fill vacancy for Public Health Nurse I 11590000-115920

2. Request to fill vacancy for Environmental Health Specialist I 11590000-115936

I. Local Public Health Services

1. 2. 3. Request to fill vacancy for (2) Community Health Worker I 11610000-116111

and 116112

Request to fill vacancy for Client Advocate I (Pre to 3) 11610000-116113

Request to retitle and reclassify Environmental Health Specialist II 11610000-

116120Page 2 of 2

J. Health Dept – WIC

1. Request to fill vacancy for WIC Local Agency Director 84030000-840325

2. Request to create the position of Interim WIC Local Agency Director 84030000-

199000 (Extra Help) and then fill vacancy

K. Health Dept – Evansville Promise Neighborhood Grant

1. Request to fill vacancy for Community Health Worker I 84390000-843902

L. Health Dept – TANF

1. Request to fill vacancy for Community Health Worker I 84420000-844205

7. PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS:

A. Superior Court

1. Court Reporter 10001370-137121

2. Court Reporter 10001370-137122

3. Court Reporter 10001370-137123

4. Court Reporter 10001370-137124

5. Court Reporter 10001370-137125

6. Court Reporter 10001370-137126

7. Court Reporter 10001370-137127

8. Court Reporter 10001370-137158

9. Court Reporter 10001370-137174

10. Court Reporter 10001370-137197

8. APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE:

A. Sheriff

B. Jail

C. Public Defender

D. LIT Public Safety-Jail

9. REPEALS – None

10. TRANSFERS:

A. County Commissioners

B. Prosecutor IV-D Child Support Division

C. County Highway

11. OLD BUSINESS – None

12. NEW BUSINESS:

A. Deputy Sheriff Recruitment – Sheriff Noah Robinson

13. AMENDMENTS TO SALARY ORDINANCE

14. PUBLIC COMMENT

15. REMINDER OF UPCOMING MEETING DATES/TIMES:

A. B. Personnel & Finance Meeting – April 30, 2025 – 3:00 PM

County Council Meeting – May 7, 2025 – 3:00 PM

16. ADJOURNMENT