He knows there will be tough decisions ahead, but he also hopes there won’t be a “huge amount of pain.”

Those words from Mayor Pete Buttigieg during Monday night’s South Bend Common Council meeting. Buttigieg says the city will need to make some changes in order to stay financially afloat, according to ABC 57.

One of the major needs facing the city is the water infrastructure in the city. The council has postponed a vote on a possible rate hike for water utilities for months, and Buttigieg says the time for waiting is over.

“If we don’t make it soon, we’ll be penny-wise and pound foolish because we’ll be paying for major repairs,” Buttigieg pointedly said. “The city needs about $88 million in new investment, in order to really do what we got to do when it comes to providing clean safe drinking water.”

Another looming issue for the city is the Circuit Breaker. Another piece of that legislation kicks in in 2020, and that will kick out several million dollars in revenue for the city’s general fund, according to ABC 57.

Buttigieg warned that some programs could be cut.

“That has to be a community conversation because those kinds of conversations have to have a lot of input,” Buttigieg said.

The Mayor did tout job growth and growing population in the city as positives going forward.