Current city services likely can be maintained, and city employees even can receive pay raises in 2016 without increasing taxes, city commissioners were told at a Tuesday afternoon study session.

But to add mental health and social workers to more Lawrence public schools likely would require a property tax increase. To add requested employees to ensure the Lawrence Police Department has a nighttime detective staff may require a tax increase, too. And commissioners were presented a host of other requests that also may require an increase in the amount of property taxes levied by the city.

Commissioners on Tuesday, though, were told it’s unclear whether a new state law will allow for any property tax increase for the 2016 budget. Interim City Manager Diane Stoddard said her department still was working to understand how a local property tax lid would impact the city’s 2016 budget.

“It has been confusing to watch,” Stoddard said of the legislative action, which came out of the record 113-day session in Topeka.

Many cities were surprised by a bill in the Legislature that imposes a property tax lid that prohibits cities, counties and other local governments from increasing the amount of property taxes collected by a rate greater than inflation, unless a public election is held. The bill was approved without going through the standard legislative hearing process.

Cities, however, were told the lid would not begin until January 2018. But a conflict between the bills passed by the Kansas House and the Kansas Senate was found, and now cities are being told by the League of Kansas Municipalities that it is very possible the property tax lid could begin July 1, which would impact the 2016 budget processes that are underway currently. Legislators still have the chance to change the effective date to January 2018 when they meet for a “sine die” wrap-up session Friday. But it is uncertain whether the Legislature will change the effective date.

City commissioners on Tuesday were concerned about how the issue may impact the 2016 budget. Commissioners were urging legislators to at least delay the property tax lid until January 2018.

“Hopefully ‘sine die’ is not a synonym for unfathomable stupidity,” Mayor Jeremy Farmer said.

Commissioners agreed to reassess the budget following Friday’s legislative session. Commissioners have to finalize their budget by mid-August.

City commissioners are scheduled to receive Stoddard’s recommended city budget near the July 4 holiday. Commissioners then will have about a month to modify that recommended budget. Stoddard released several figures and proposals about the budget at Tuesday’s study session. Here’s a look:

• Stoddard said her office is optimistic it can craft a “baseline” budget that maintains current city services without seeking a tax increase. The baseline budget also would include about $1 million for increased city employee salaries, or about 3 percent more than the city is budgeted to spend in 2015. The budget, however, technically would be about $800,000 out of balance. Stoddard said she is comfortable with the deficit because the city is now projected to finish 2015 with about $1 million more in revenue than expenses. That has occurred, in part, because sales tax collections have come in greater than expected in 2015.

• A majority of commissioners indicated they want to add funding to the city budget for the WRAP program, which puts mental health and social workers in Lawrence schools. The idea of $350,000 in funding was mentioned. Stoddard noted that amount of funding is not in her baseline budget. Farmer said he wants the commission to consider a small property tax increase to fund the WRAP program.

• Stoddard’s baseline budget does not include any funding for a multimillion dollar police headquarters project, but she said her office will recommend that the project remain a high priority. She said her office can craft several scenarios that would include funding for a a police headquarters without increasing taxes, but such plans would require cuts to some other areas of city funding.

• Stoddard’s baseline budget does not include new funding for several new positions that city department heads have said are needed. The largest request comes from the Lawrence Police Department, which is seeking about $1.2 million in funding to create an evening shift for detectives and investigators.

Police Chief Tarik Khatib said the department has been trying to staff a nighttime detective unit with current resources but has been unable to sustain it. Without the nighttime unit, the department must call in detectives during certain nighttime investigations and pay the detectives overtime pay.

Other requests for new employees include: $125,000 for three full-time firefighters; $90,000 to reinstate two parks and recreation maintenance positions that were part of seven positions cut since 2007; $76,000 for an additional municipal court prosecutor; and $76,000 for a telecommunications specialist that was cut in 2008 from the city’s information technology department. You can see the full list here.