It's the mayor versus the council in Elkhart, as they navigate a contentious budget battle.
Tuesday, the Council held the first in a series of hearings, with the goal of giving the budget a thumbs up or a thumbs down.
Council members looked at seven budgets and all did pass preliminary votes.
But all the yes votes seem only on the surface.
Some council members say they wanted to participate a little more in budget talks, before having to make decisions.
"We are not brought to the table. We're handed a book, our hands are fairly tied. we are expected to not be a participant, but be a representative of the people," says Council member David Henke.
Others, like Council member Dave Osbourne say the Mayor has done a good job and while no one is excited about furlough days for 600 employees, there wasn't much of a choice.
"The mayor cut almost $3.5 million out of the budget the last three years and with this budget we're almost $5 million in reductions, so we're continuing to make the cuts and being as thrifty as we can," says Osbourne.
Henke says he's looking for bigger changes.
Changes in the way budgets are built, rather than just trimming.
He wants the city to do a lot of outsourcing.
"Five of us brought 44 suggestions, we now have more than 48 but most of it has to do with greater efficiencies and how to generate more revenue as opposed to reductions," says Henke.
But Osbourne says, the city is already looking at outsourcing options, like the Oak Hills Golf Course for instance, but in some cases, it's just not possible.
"We're under contract on a lot of things so we just can't negate a contract because someone's telling you they got a better deal," says Osbourne.
Budget hearings continue Wednesday at 6pm at Elkhart City Hall.
On the agenda are departments like aviation, information technology and human resources.
