Lawrence’s Environmental Sustainability Advisory Board will ask city commissioners to beef up the sustainability department’s budget in 2027 after its operating budget was slashed 89% from 2025 to 2026.

Kathy Richardson, the city’s sustainability director and staff liaison for ESAB, is the sole employee in her department. During a Thursday board meeting, she said commissioners cut her annual operating budget from around $35,000 in 2025 to $4,000 in 2026. 

“I do want to clarify that when we talk about environmental sustainability and the true picture of what the city is spending on environmental sustainability — don’t think about it as the $4,000 of the general fund,” she said. “Sustainability work is currently occurring in multiple departments.”

She said she works closely with Municipal Services and Operations plus Parks, Recreation and Culture, which both allocate considerable money to sustainability initiatives. For example, she said that MSO handles solid waste, recycling, composting, hazardous waste disposal and clean water.

Richardson also pointed to a $200,000 grant the city won from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The grant needs to be used by mid-2027 for planning around climate pollution reduction.

“That’s huge, because that allows us to do work that, you know, some of that $35,000 would have done,” she said. 

She said nothing is set in stone, but the city could use the money to generate a feasibility study for electrification or solar in city facilities.

ESAB members on Wednesday discussed drafting a letter to commissioners with their sustainability funding recommendations for the 2027 budgeting process.

Board member Chris Reimer said he thought it would be reasonable to ask for commissioners to retain Richardson’s position while bringing the department’s 2027 budget levels closer to the 2025 levels.

He referenced a conversation with Mayor Brad Finkeldei from earlier in the meeting, when Finkeldei asked for the board and city staff to compare and prioritize sustainability goals.

“Not to get on my soapbox, because I don’t think it matters for the letter, but if the mayor and the commission want a substantial amount of labor and expertise put into a comparative analysis of the solutions that will help us achieve (pollution) reduction targets, I don’t think you can do that on $4,000 and seven volunteer commissioners who can’t meet outside of a one-hour meeting on a monthly basis,” he said.

ESAB Chair Nancy Muma said she would draft a letter asking to retain Richardson’s position and for increased funding for the sustainability department. She said she would present the letter at the next meeting for edits. Once the board finalizes the letter, they will send it to commissioners for consideration during the 2027 budgeting process.

In addition, ESAB members said they wanted to meet with advisory boards from departments that also spend money on sustainability.

They already met with the Connected City Advisory Board, tied to MSO, so they decided to ask representatives from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to join one of their meetings. They hope to discuss how to leverage the two departments’ resources toward shared sustainability goals.

The next ESAB meeting will be Thursday, April 23.

Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.

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