Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday had their first of multiple discussions with the proposed 2026 budget in hand. The proposal included a flat mill levy, but commissioners might want to increase some expenditures.
Tuesday’s meeting was a work session, meaning the commission would only discuss rather than take a vote on the proposal.
The budget was released late Thursday ahead of the holiday weekend. It indicated that departments had broad discretion to recommend funding cuts. Some proposed cuts aligned with community feedback, and some countered it. Read more about that in this article.
The budget, approximately $431 million across all funds, keeps the property tax rate flat; however, most property owners will still see tax increases as the city’s assessed valuation rose 5%.
Based on the commission’s discussion and some items that members of the public have pushed for increased funding, though, commissioners may still consider increasing the property tax rate. There will also likely be utility rate increases proposed later this year.
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Commissioners heard comments from about 25 people, including leaders of the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical and Lawrence Police Department employee unions.
Jon Inman, president of the Lawrence Police Officers Association, said despite the city’s growth, “we will have lost nine police officers (positions) in the last decade.”
And Seamus Albritton, president of the firefighters union, asked commissioners to reconsider any proposal that would cut the number of firefighters and paramedics on duty. He suggested that the city use less money from the general fund and rather use more funds from the affordable housing sales tax — which voters chose to double in the November 2024 election — to support homelessness initiatives, for instance.
Some members of the public asked the commission to revisit adding bike lanes along Kentucky and Tennessee streets and elsewhere, and several members of the Coalition for Collaborative Governance spoke about issues they have identified in the proposed budget and the way some numbers are presented.
During the commission’s discussion, Vice Mayor Brad Finkeldei said he thought the budget proposal was “a great starting point” for commissioners to consider. He said anytime the city needs to make $6 million in cuts, it’s going to be difficult.
Few people spoke about the Lawrence Loop during the meeting, but commissioners received almost 125 pages of written public comment, the vast majority of which encouraged them to fund trail improvements as part of their 2026 budget. Finkeldei said he wanted to at least include a placeholder in the budget until the commission can make a final decision about spending on the Loop.
Commissioner Bart Littlejohn said he was interested in talking about funding the Lawrence Loop and street maintenance — “I think we can hopefully figure out a little bit of both, obviously more street maintenance than Loop,” he said. Commissioner Lisa Larsen also said she was interested in seeing how the city could maintain any funds it gets from another entity, such as the state, to put toward the Loop.
Mayor Mike Dever said completing a certain segment of the Loop would also require the city to acquire the land.
“Based on where we’re at, it just doesn’t seem like something we can do right away anyway, unless we come up with another — you know, whatever that large sum of money is to buy the land,” he said.
Some other written comments asked commissioners to give funding to neighborhood associations as the city has in years past. Littlejohn also said he was interested in looking at that.
Commissioner Amber Sellers said she thinks the city should put more funding into economic development. She also emphasized code enforcement with regard to healthy homes and housing initiatives.
Commissioners didn’t discuss public safety spending in depth, but Littlejohn indicated he was interested in “furthering the conversation regarding fire and police, figuring that out a little bit more.”
Next week — Tuesday, July 15 — commissioners will agree to set the maximum property tax (mill levy) rate and determine dates for public hearings on the 2026 budget. Once set and published, the property tax rate can be decreased but cannot be increased.
Rachelle Mathews, director of finance for the city, told commissioners that during their Aug. 5 meeting, the city’s independent auditor will present to the commission about the 2024 audit and financial report.
Commissioners will likely hold public hearings about the budget during their Tuesday, Sept. 2 meeting and consider adopting the budget on Sept. 16.
City commission meetings are no longer livestreamed on YouTube. A recording of the full meeting will be posted on the city’s YouTube channel sometime Wednesday. Last week’s meeting was posted around 4 p.m. the following day.
Read more about the city budget process in the articles linked below and on this page.
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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.
Lawrence city budget coverage
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