The Lawrence City Commission’s budget hearings are coming up Tuesday. City staff members asked residents to help inform the budget process. Did they listen to what people said?
If the request was simply a blanket “lower my taxes,” then no. But the city used an online program called A Balancing Act to gather more specific, quantifiable feedback from respondents about areas where the general fund budget should be decreased, maintained or increased.
Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens and members of the city finance department staff on Tuesday will present Lawrence city commissioners with the latest draft of the 2025 proposed budget.
We took a look at the proposed general fund budget, which line items increased or decreased between the adopted 2024 budget and proposed 2025 budget, and compared them with the results of the 508 total Balancing Act submissions the city received in May and July of this year, as reported in the City Commission’s meeting agenda.
Not every line item in the general fund budget was included as an option in Balancing Act — for instance, the city attorney’s office budget was not on the table. But there were almost 40 items that people could vote on. Respondents also could not vote to completely defund a program, double its budget or go to other such extremes, and they had to end up with a balanced budget.
The three items that received the largest percentages of votes to decrease spending were the Lawrence Police Department’s Office of the Chief (72.4%), Sports Pavilion Lawrence (67.1%) and Parks and Recreation’s recreation and wellness programming (63.8%). The proposed budget decreases spending in the office of the chief by 10.5% but increases spending on Sports Pavilion Lawrence by 6.2%. It also increases spending on recreation, health and wellness programs by 1.3%.
Three of the items that received the largest percentages of votes to increase spending were police patrol (13.8%), street maintenance (13.4%) and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical operations (11.6%). The proposed budget increases patrol spending by 8.3%, street maintenance by 1% and LDCFM operations by 1%.
The most polarizing issue, as reflected in the Balancing Act submissions, was the city golf course. It ranked fourth in percentage of the vote to decrease spending, at 63.8%, but also received the most votes of any line item to increase spending, at 19.1%. Just 17.1% of respondents indicated that they thought current spending levels should be maintained. The proposed budget sided with the majority, trimming golf course spending by 16.1%.
Here’s a chart to give a glimpse at more of the line items and where their budgets are proposed to go alongside what people told the city via Balancing Act. Data came from the Lawrence City Commission’s meeting agenda. (Click here to open the chart in a new tab; if you’re on a mobile device, try turning it sideways for a better view.)
Some other items to compare:
• Altogether, from the submissions to Balancing Act, 9.8% of respondents’ imagined budgets would decrease property taxes; 63.4% would maintain current levels; and 26.8% would increase them.
• The median values for all line items in Balancing Act: Decrease spending, 40.9%; maintain current spending, 56.1%; increase spending, 4.3%. Averages were 41.1%, 54% and 4.9%, respectively.
• Just 28.4% of respondents indicated they’d like to see a decrease in spending for the Lawrence Police Department’s Professional Standards office, but its budget is proposed to be cut by 32.6%.
• 7.1% of respondents indicated they’d like to see increased spending on Prairie Park Nature Center, and just 33.5% indicated they wanted to see the center’s spending cut. The proposed budget increases spending on PPNC by 5%.
• The proposed budget increases general fund spending on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act by 5.7%. About 6.9% of respondents indicated they wanted to see spending increase on that line item, and just 24.4% wanted to see it decrease.
• Community members online and offline have called for more support for animal control services. 7.28% of Balancing Act respondents indicated they’d like to see more spending for animal control; 51.8% said they’d like to see spending maintained; and 40.9% said they’d like to see it decreased. The proposed budget increases animal control spending by about 8.1%.
Here’s all the budget line items available in Balancing Act and how the 508 respondents voted on them (click here to open this chart in a new tab):
The general fund is a large part, but only one part, of the overall city budget. Read more budget basics at this link.
The Lawrence City Commission meeting, which will include the annual budget hearing, is set to begin at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. in Lawrence. Find the full meeting agenda at this link.
Meetings are open to the public. They’re also livestreamed on Midco Channel 25 and the city’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/lawrenceksvideo.
City commissioners take written public comment received at ccagendas@lawrenceks.org until noon the day of the meeting. They also hear public comment live in person and via Zoom; click here to register for Tuesday’s Zoom meeting.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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