Fishers officials have started preparing the city’s 2027 budget, with the process expected to follow much the same schedule as last year’s budget cycle.

Department heads are meeting with the mayor’s office to outline their funding needs for 2027, the City Council Finance Committee was told Wednesday night.

The Finance Committee will begin its detailed review of the proposed spending plan in late August or early September. That work will include projections of expected city revenue and presentations from department heads explaining their budget requests for the coming year.

The proposed budget is scheduled to go before the full City Council in September. A required public hearing will be held before council members consider final approval in October.

Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren also provided the committee with an update on the financial arrangement for the planned Fishers Fieldhouse.

Hultgren said the “high-water mark” for the city’s annual Fieldhouse-related expense is expected to be $4.5 million. Once the facility is operating, revenue generated by the Fieldhouse is expected to offset a portion of that expense.

Under the planned arrangement, Buckingham Companies will finance, construct and own the Fieldhouse, with the city leasing the facility. Hultgren described the agreement as a landlord-tenant relationship between Buckingham and the city.

The lease will run for 30 years. At the end of that period, ownership of the Fieldhouse will transfer to the City of Fishers.

The $65 million, 180,000-square-foot Fieldhouse is planned as part of the continuing expansion of Fishers District. It will accommodate youth basketball and volleyball leagues and tournaments while serving as the headquarters and practice facility for the Indy Ignite professional women’s volleyball team.

Construction is expected to begin this fall, with the Fieldhouse projected to open in late 2027 or early 2028.