ELKHART — Money may be tight, but these days parts of Elkhart are looking pretty sharp. It’s all thanks to a project that has saved the city $15,000 since August.

“Hardly a week goes by somebody doesn't say, 'What did you do to those riverbanks? The river banks look better than they ever have,'” said Elkhart Mayor Dick Moore.

Confused yet? City workers aren't responsible for the brush cleared off the banks and these new rocks put along the Riverwalk to prevent erosion — inmates are.

“It’s working out fabulously well,” Moore added.

In July, the county started bringing about a dozen Elkhart County inmates in the work release program to the city. About half go to the Street Department, the other half to the Buildings and Grounds Department.

“Usually we have part-time people that we hire for this,” Street Commissioner Marty Morgan told WSBT. “But our budget is really low and we really don't have any part time people.”

All the workers are non-violent offenders — in trouble for things like driving under the influence, not paying child support and other crimes not considered serious enough for prison time.

“It’s all voluntary. They don’t have to do this,” Morgan explained. “They’re supervised by our people and they have an officer that travels around checking on everything anyway. But we haven't had any problems.”

The program does more than help the inmates serve a sentence, it also gives them good skills and work experience for the future.

“We’ve been telling them we'll have money next year for some part-time [positions] and we'll be glad to hire them part time,” added Morgan.

It’s a good goal to work toward. Because everyone knows these days, a good job can be tough to come by.

Both Moore and Morgan say they hope to keep some of the work release inmates on through the winter to help shovel sidewalks.

This isn't the first time the city has used offenders from the work release program. Mayor Moore said he remembers doing it about 12 years ago when he served as the city street commissioner.