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Calling all Lawrence voters! Voting in the city commission primary is open. Advance vote from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, or from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, Aug. 4, at the County Elections Office at 23rd and Louisiana. Vote at your polling site from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
The Coalition for Collaborative Governance wants a city commission that listens to our community’s opinions, responds to our concerns, and represents our interests. We want commissioners who are allied with you — Lawrence’s residents, taxpayers and voters — and who work with all of us to make decisions that best serve our community. And we encourage Lawrence voters to elect commissioners who will usher in this culture of collaboration.
Our coalition’s vision aligns with our city’s own strategic plan that commits them to collaborate with our community. Unfortunately, we find that our current commission’s actions sometimes seem out of touch with our community’s concerns, which currently include
- Possible Parks & Rec fees,
- High property taxes, and
- High utility rates.
Two weeks ago, the city commission moved forward with considering fees for Lawrence’s recreational facilities after
- 81% of 2,632 survey respondents opposed these fees,
- 37 residents submitted written comments and others spoke before the commission in opposition to these fees, and
- the city’s own Parks & Recreation Advisory Board opposes the budget cuts that prompted this fee proposal.
In response, community members started a petition opposing these fees that has received nearly 1,300 signatures since July 22.
The city claims to invite “all community members to collaborate and innovate with us,” but ignoring the clear opposition to Parks & Rec budget cuts and fees from the city’s own residents, survey, and advisory board does not seem collaborative.
This illustrates a pattern our coalition observes — our local elected officials regularly approve staff’s recommendations, even when thoughtful, pertinent feedback from community members suggests that different or modified options could be better for our community. (It is worth noting that the commission may consider lower rec center fees than those proposed by staff.)
The city commission is considering these rec center fees and possible higher property taxes because they need to fund significant budgetary increases that have been proposed by staff and approved by the commission over the past five years. The city has doubled its budget in the last five years, from $261M in 2020 to $519M in 2025. They have also taken on almost $200M in new debt in the last two years and proposed another $126M in new debt in 2026.
Though some of the city’s increased expenses have been unavoidable, others have been choices, and they have affected our residents’ finances.
Lawrence residents are paying about 40% more in property taxes than we were five years ago due to increased property valuation, and our city has increased its utility fees 18% in the last two years. The city plans to increase their utility fees close to 10% next year, and they are considering increasing property taxes, too.
The commission’s financial choices have tangible consequences on their constituents’ lives. Many residents couldn’t now afford to buy the homes they currently own; tenants are challenged by high rents; potential homeowners can’t afford starter homes; and low- and fixed-income individuals struggle to pay their increased property taxes and utility fees.
We believe that it is the commission’s responsibility to represent our residents’ interests and responsibly manage our city’s finances. Balancing an understanding of our community’s strained financial capacity with our community’s needs for services and infrastructure improvements is challenging, and we hope our new and old commissioners will take care of our community well.
Two city commission seats are up for election this year*, and these new commissioners could help change our local government’s culture to be more collaborative and community-oriented. So we suggest that you learn about the field of city commission candidates and vote on or before Aug. 5!
* Lawrence would be electing three commissioners this year if it weren’t for a significant decision the city commission made in February 2023, without informing or consulting our community, that changed our electorate’s power. Previously, the third-place candidate got a two-year term each election cycle to ensure “that every election has the potential to replace a majority of the Commission.” In February 2023, the city commission voted to give the third-place candidate a four-year term during one election cycle, while the third-place finisher in the next election cycle does not get a position at all. Now, Lawrence voters can no longer replace a majority of the commission every two years.
About the writer
Holly Krebs (she/her) is the lead organizer of the Coalition for Collaborative Governance. She has a background in public policy and was a Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commissioner before changing career paths to become a health care practitioner. She is a longtime Lawrencian who operates Kinetikos Healing Collective and is the mother of three children.
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