FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- From the possibility of new positions across city departments to riverfront funding, Fort Wayne City Council sifted through monetary cuts and compromises Tuesday to approve the City of Fort Wayne's budget for 2025. Tuesday's meeting served as the final discussion about the city's budget, which started in early October and consisted of several city departments pitching everything from more positions, new equipment and pay raises. In total, councilmembers proposed 27 different cuts that totaled more than $4 million, and the government body spent hours Tuesday deciding which ones to approve or shut down. By the end of the budget discussions, City Council only made just over $600,000 in cuts. Following the City Council meeting, Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker issued a statement regarding the passage of the first city budget under her supervision: Fort Wayne is a city that continues to grow and achieve positive results for residents and neighborhoods with fiscal discipline at the forefront. City Council's passage of the 2025 civil budget shows we're a community on the move with a bright future ahead. With this being my first budget as mayor, I was impressed with the attention to detail that was demonstrated by the City's division and department heads. We share a common commitment to protecting taxpayers and meeting the needs of the community that expects and deserves excellent services. Continued investments in neighborhood infrastructure, parks, and public safety will be top priorities to help make Fort Wayne viable and sustainable as a desirable place for individuals, families, and businesses. While I’m disappointed by a number of party line votes on certain budget cuts, the 2025 budget is forward thinking and positions Fort Wayne for current and ongoing success. Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker Here is a full list of the proposed budget cuts from Tuesday's meeting before any amendments and withdrawals: Updated-2025-Council-Budget-CutsDownload Riverfront Development Funds The biggest proposed budget cut came from 2nd District Councilman Russ Jehl -- who accounted for a vast majority of the budget cut proposals -- regarding local income tax (LIT) funds for riverfront development. The budget is asking for more than $4 million for riverfront development, and Jehl proposed cutting roughly half of that funding. However, Jehl decided to withdraw the budget cut and felt it would be best to save the topic for another meeting. "This is going to be a long night, and I'm convinced that there is a better night to have this discussion," Jehl said. Adding a "Chief of Staff" One of the largest proposed cuts involved the Mayor's Office wanting to add a new position called the "Chief of Staff," which would act similarly to the deputy mayor position currently handled by Karl Bandemer. Jehl and At-Large Councilman Marty Bender wanted to cut half of the proposed $202,368 salary that would go to the position, but City Council President Tom Freistroffer did not want to create the position at all. "I need to see why we need to spend over $200,000 for this type of position, how quickly this position would go into the deputy mayor position and what's going to happen as this evolves down the line, so that's why I gave it a cut," Freistroffer said. Some councilmembers, including 5th District Councilman Geoff Paddock, supported creating the new position and felt that due to Fort Wayne's continued growth, having another leader to support Mayor Tucker would be beneficial. "I have spoken with Mayor Tucker about this, and I want to support this," Paddock said. "I feel that the city is involved in a lot of fast-moving growth." After further discussion, City Council voted 6-3 in favor of not creating the new role. New Fire Department Building The Fort Wayne Fire Department (FWFD) currently has 18 fire stations scattered across the city, and the department spoke to City Council at a previous meeting about adding another FWFD building in Waynedale. It would not be another fire station, but the department has budgeted to build a new building to hold a small bobcat vehicle. “We get a really good deal,” Chief Lahey said. The company the FWFD gets the Bobcat from replaces it with a new one each year. “We’re storing that piece of equipment outside,” Lahey said while explaining the need for a $200,000 expenditure. “I was raised to return something in better condition than you borrowed it in.” Constructing a new building to hold the vehicle is something Lahey considers responsible to the leaser.  Council didn’t agree as the cut passed 5-4. "In my opinion, this is a want not a need," Jehl said. Other New Positions Aside from the Mayor's Office, other city departments also hoped to add new positions to their workforces through the 2025 budget, and City Council made partial cuts to those positions during Tuesday's sometimes heated discussions. The first position came from Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control (FWACC), which looked to add a part-time veterinarian to its ranks in order to decrease animal intake, which the department claimed would also decrease costs. Jehl initially wanted to shut down the proposed position completely, but during Tuesday's discussions, he said he worked out a compromise with FWACC Director Amy-Jo Sites to have the department find some of the funding elsewhere. As a result, Fort Wayne City Council passed a partial cut of $67,029 at a 5-4 vote. The FWFD also went before City Council for money to hire a new finance employee, but Jehl proposed cutting the new position entirely. “We’ve given the fire department so much money they can’t count it anymore,” Jehl said while staring down the proposed $76,461 expenditure. However, the department completely disagrees.  According to Lahey, the Fort Wayne Police Department has three people who handle finances, while the fire department only has a single person.  The motion to cut the position failed to get a second, meaning the department will start looking to fill the position soon. The other new position involved adding a "homeless advocate" staff member for Community Development. While everyone on City Council agreed that finding a solution to the number of homeless people in Fort Wayne is important, Jehl -- who co-authored the proposed cut with Bender -- was concerned that creating this position would not be an effective way to handle it. Despite Jehl's concerns, most of the other councilmembers expressed their support of the position since it would be a move from the city to tackle homelessness. "I saw an encampment behind Mathew 25 that looked like skid row," 6th District Councilwoman Rohli Booker said while describing a recent commute she took from southeast Fort Wayne to downtown. "We can't wait to take care of this." Toward the end of the discussions, Jehl said he was privy to the desires of other councilmembers to see the homeless advocate position created because of the situation and worked out a deal with Community Development to cut roughly $38,000 instead of the entire position. "I'm convinced with the passion in this room that this is something we should let the mayor try," Jehl said. While some councilmembers were still opposed to even a partial cut for the position, the amended cut passed 5-4.