Streets, parks and city employees appear to be winners in a recommended city budget that commissioners largely praised on Wednesday.

But whether it will make taxpayers winners too is still up for debate among some commissioners.

City commissioners at a study session gave general approval to a budget recommended by City Manager Mike Wildgen that would raise city spending to $126.1 million but would decrease the city’s property tax rate by 0.523 mills. A mill is $1 in property tax for every $1,000 in assessed value.

“I’m really pleased that we’re able to accomplish a lot of our goals and still have a mill levy decrease,” Mayor Boog Highberger said.

But City Commissioner David Schauner said he thought this year’s budget could be setting city residents up for tax increases in future years because it uses nearly $3 million in one-time money to fund expenses that will require funding in future years.

“I think we’re not being honest with ourselves about how we’re going to fund our operations in the future,” Schauner said.

The one-time funding comes from the use of the city’s fund balances, the amount of money the city carries over from one budget year to the next. Currently, the city operates with about a 30 percent fund balance, which gives the city a cushion to adjust to downturns in the economy. The proposed budget would drop the balances to 22 percent of the overall budget.

“I don’t think I would feel comfortable going any lower than that,” City Commissioner Mike Amyx said. “I think we could be setting ourselves up for some trouble if we do.”

Other details

Among the highlights of the proposed budget, which isn’t scheduled for final approval until early August, are:

¢ $1 million in additional funding for city street maintenance. The new funding will allow city maintenance crews to aggressively begin sealing cracks in the city’s roadways to prevent the roads from deteriorating further.

¢ New bonds that would provide financing for $2 million worth of new park projects. Among the park projects included in the 2006 capital improvements budget: Renovations to Clinton Park near Fifth and Alabama streets; creation of a new park near Peterson Road on property immediately west of the Hallmark Cards plant; and development of a 40-acre greenbelt park near Langston Hughes School in west Lawrence.

¢ A 3 percent cost-of-living increase for city employees. Schauner argued against the increase, saying a 2 percent adjustment would better fit the city’s financial situation. But Highberger and City Commissioner Sue Hack lobbied strongly for the 3 percent increase.

“We hear how our salaries are low in Lawrence and how people can’t afford to live here because they aren’t making enough money,” Hack said. “If that is so, then why wouldn’t the city take the lead on that?”

More for downtown

Wednesday’s study session did produce one addition to the city manager’s recommended budget. Commissioners told Wildgen to add $90,000 to the Parks and Recreation Department’s budget for additional landscaping for downtown.

Hack said she had heard from several merchants who thought improved plantings – especially some that would add more color throughout the year – would boost the number of retail shoppers coming to the area.

Hack said she did not envision spending the entire $90,000 on the project, but said the budget number could be reduced once more specific plans were developed.