Our Research

Lawrence Budget Analysis

  • Graph of City of Lawrence total budget from 2018 to 2025

    Budget Analysis: Capital Investment, Debt, and Deficit

    The City of Lawrence’s total budget almost doubled in the last five years. It has increased from $260.9M in 2020 to $518.7M in 2025. 

    Our City has also taken on significantly larger amounts of debt over the last two years while simultaneously facing budget deficits.

    Analysis Available Now!

  • Screenshot of a question from a community engagement survey asked by the City of Lawrence.

    Budget Analysis: Community Engagement and Transparency

    The City’s Strategic Plan commits them to fiscal transparency, but our coalition researchers did not find that their budget data met this commitment.

    Our coalition believes our community deserves more opportunities to learn and provide feedback about the City budget, but the City is not providing these opportunities.

    Read more about our findings.

KU Graduate Student Research on

Recent Lawrence City Issues

Affordable Housing

Brick Streets and Sidewalks

City Hall Relocation

Commission Term of Office

Homelessness

Kaw River Pedestrian Bridge

Land Development Code

Lawrence City Hall Relocation

Lawrence Transit Center

New Boston Crossing

Ninth Street Road Diet

Tax Abatements in Lawrence

Outdoor Swimming Pool Analysis

  • Outdoor Swimming Pool Analysis

    In Aug 2024, the City approved a pool renovation plan that would have eliminated more than a quarter of the total water area in our pool. The Commission passed this plan because the Parks & Rec department and their consultants didn’t present substantial data from their community surveys showing that residents wanted a larger facility. (The good news is that our advocacy efforts saved the size of our pool!)

    Read our summary about how community input was omitted and ignored through the planning process.