Following months of budget discussions, Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday voted 3-2 to approve a 2027 budget that will increase the property tax rate.
City staff members proposed a final budget with a mill levy, or property tax rate, of 35.178. That’s an increase of 1.466 mills over the 2026 budgeted mill levy of 33.712. The increase includes raising the property tax rate for the Lawrence Public Library to 4.5 mills, which is the maximum allowed under city ordinances, up .407 mills from 4.093. Home valuations have also increased 5% on average countywide.
The median sale price of a home in Lawrence over the past two years was $325,000, according to a recently completed housing study. Under the approved budget, the owner of a home valued at $325,000 would owe the city about $1,315 in property taxes in 2027, an increase of about $55 over 2026.
Property owners also pay taxes to the county, school district and state. In Lawrence, property taxes break down to about 41% to Lawrence Public Schools, 32% to the county, 26% to the city and 1% to the state.
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The final budget includes scaled-back Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical staffing — 12 positions, as opposed to 15, as part of adding Fire Station 6. It also reduces the employer contribution to healthcare.
The budget maintains fee-free access to the Community Building, adds some open swim sessions for seniors, and adds 18-year-olds and disabled veterans to people who qualify for free memberships to the city’s rec centers, all at commissioners’ requests. (Read more about the rec center fees in the articles at this link.)
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Several community members spoke to the commission. Many questioned whether they had been heard throughout the months of budget discussions. Some said they thought some people had proposed lots of good ideas but they did not feel they were seriously considered. Simon Stephenson, president of the firefighters union, thanked the commission for prioritizing public safety and asked them to approve the budget.
Mayor Brad Finkeldei said the budget process is about finding a balance between competing values, and that he could support this one as presented. He said the process will start over again soon for the following year’s budget.
“It’s an ongoing process, and it’s the biggest thing that we do,” he said.
Commissioner Kristine Polian raised concerns about the bond market and the city’s issuance of debt to pay for capital improvement projects. She said she could not be in favor of raising the mill levy and could not support the budget as it stands.
Vice Mayor Mike Courtney said he’s heard from many community members who “are not living; they’re just surviving.” He shared some anecdotes from people who are struggling to support their families and said he could not support the budget, though he could support the capital improvement plan.
Commissioner Amber Sellers said there will always be a portion of the community that thinks they’re not listening or not doing enough, or they’ll think some commissioners “get it” and others don’t.
“We can give those anecdotal stories and share that,” Sellers said. “But I also recognize that the power and the authority that I have here — I know what I have, and I balance that understanding what Topeka is doing, as well as what the federal government is doing.”
She said she’d challenge each of the other commissioners to “not stay in your echo chamber” and to stop presenting the commission as a divided governing body.
“The infrastructure of this city is powered by the citizens of Lawrence, and it is our goal, our responsibility, our sworn duty to ensure that we build an infrastructure that allows that to happen, so that all can thrive,” Sellers said.
Commissioner Mike Dever said he was not comfortable with the budget and was trying to do his best not to raise the mill levy.
“I really would like to see us find ways and cut things that the community are willing to give up in order to see that happen, but so far, I haven’t seen a lot of other cuts other than the staff of our community, who provide these services,” he said. “And I think that’s a really interesting conversation, one that I want to have together, about how we want to pay our employees.”
He said it would have been good to have conversations in the six months leading up to this point whether, for instance, the city wants to continue paying negotiated workers the same as regular pay workers.
But he said unless he changed his feelings about increasing the mill levy, the city would not have a balanced budget because it sounded like there were two “no” votes, and the commission needed three “yes” votes. The city must pass a balanced budget by Oct. 1.
Finkeldei, Dever and Sellers voted in favor of adopting the budget and capital improvement plan. Polian and Courtney opposed, though both said they would have voted for the capital improvement plan if the items were separate votes.
Polian also said she looked forward to the next budget process and working collaboratively.
See the complete budget proposal and capital improvement plan at this link.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Lawrence city budget coverage
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