City of Lawrence 2027 Budget
City Expenses and Revenues
Here is some historical and current City budget information.
The City' expenditures have increased considerably since 2020, starting with inflation, which has increased 28% in six years.
Payroll - Employee compensation is one of the City's largest expenses, accounting for about a quarter of their budget, and there have been many additions to this expense.
The City has added 77 full-time-equivalent employees since 2020. At an average cost of $120K, those 77 additional employees could account for more than $9M in expenditures.
The City increased many employee's salaries in 2021-2023 to bring them to market rate.
In the last two years, the City Commission approved annual wage adjustments of 2.5% and 1%, but the vast majority of the City’s 250 top-paid, union and non-union, employees received raises of 6% or more each of the last two years. Many received similar increases the previous two years too.
The City spends more per capita on personnel expenses than any other large city in Kansas.
Health insurance costs have increased substantially for the City.
Additional Programs - The City added the Homeless Solutions program, which now has a $4.8 million annual budget. The City also stopped charging fees for buses, which previously only brought in about $200K. To generate more revenue, the City also started charging fees for recreation facilities and sports tournament at the beginning of this year.
Revenues - The City will be collecting 52% more revenues in 2026 than it collected in 2020. In spite of these increased revenues, their annual budgets have not been balanced, and they have stabilized their budgets by using federal Covid funds; making significant budget cuts; and using millions of dollars from their reserve funds.
2027 Budget Issues
Two of the most significant issues for the City’s 2027 budget is funding a new fire station and our community recreation facilities. The City is collecting resident feedback on these specific issues, so here is some additional information about them.
Fire Station
Our community has long needed a new fire station in northwest Lawrence, and its operational costs are estimated to be $4.5 million per year. City staff proposed raising the property tax rate to pay for this fire station. Because residents' property taxes have already increased substantially over the last six years due to increased property valuations, the City Commission also requested that City staff develop budget options that do not include raising the property tax rate.
City staff’s proposal is based on the assumption that the City needs the total $4.5 million next year, but this fire station will not be operational until 2029. The fire department will need some funding in 2027 and 2028 to start training new staff, but will not need the full $4.5 million in the next two years.
City staff is optimistic that new economic development from CostCo and the KU Gateway project will increase sales tax revenues in the upcoming years. The City could fund the fire department’s 2027 budgetary needs and gather data in 2027 and 2028 about how much the fire station’s costs could be covered by our community’s new business developments.
Recreation Facility Fees
Commissioner Mike Courtney presented a proposal for increasing Parks & Rec funding based on the City's own Parks & Rec Master Plan's many suggestions for cost savings and revenue generation. These options were not included in the City’s survey materials, so we’re glad to have community members know about these budget options too. For more details on this issue, see below.
