Our Vision

City of Lawrence 2027 Budget

The City Commission votes on the City's final 2027 budget Tuesday, Sept 15. If you want to share your opinion, you can submit written comments before noon Tuesday, or speak at City Hall or on Zoom Tuesday evening.

The City's proposed budget requires increasing the City's property tax rate in order to pay for the new fire station's operations, continued 2.5-7.5% raises for staff, and substantially larger contributions to their employee healthcare program. The proposed budget includes a 1.1 mill increase for the City and 0.4 mills for the library for a total 4.5% increase in the City's property tax rate in one year.

City staff originally proposed a 3 mill increase in March, which got lowered to 2 mills in June when the City and County renegotiated their joint fire funding agreement. In just the last couple of weeks, staff found even more reductions to reduce the proposed mill increase to 1.1. We believe our and other residents' advocacy for the City to examine other budget solutions before raising the property tax rate contributed to this reduction in the proposed increase. 

On the other hand, this increase continues a trajectory of increased City revenue, which has increased 52% in the last six years, significantly outpacing inflation. Substantial increases in property tax valuations and City utility fees have greatly outpaced average wage increases, so the cumulative impact of those increases and this proposed property tax increase is financially significant for residents. 

Options for Budget Solutions

The Commission has discussed the budget at more meetings than usual this year, yet staff did not propose some of their most substantive budget reductions until eight hours before their public hearing two weeks ago. Our coalition had suggested some of these changes, as well as others, four months earlier, and we had hoped that staff would have considered more of these options earlier in their process. To see the many suggestions for possible budget solutions, check out our chart at the end of our full post on this issue.

The Reasons for the City's Budget Increases
Since March, all of the City’s public communications have credited new fire station operation as the reason for a tax increase, but the fire station operations actually account for only about 14% of this year's major increased costs. The City expects $16 million in increased expenses for employee health insurance and pay increases and saving to make up for millions they used to cover shortfalls multiple years in a row, while the fire station operations will cost $2.6 million in 2027.

Property Taxes and Affordability
The 1.5 mill increase is a 4.5% increase in the City's property tax rate in one year. For a $300,000 home, that's only about $55 more per year. But it lands on top of an average 45% valuation increase since 2020. Since valuations rose an average of 5% this year, residents would pay roughly 9.5% more in City taxes in 2027 than this year. Some residents now report property taxes that exceed their mortgage payments.

Our nation faces an affordability crisis, and many households are strapped by housing, utilities, medical care, and groceries. The Commissioners can't address most of those costs, but they control the City's budget, taxes, and utility fees. One of the City's Strategic Plan goals is affordable housing, yet raising property taxes reduces affordability. We continue to ask the Commission to weigh how their budget decisions affect residents, many who may already be at their financial capacity.

For more details, read our full post here.