photo by: Nick Krug

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured on May 3, 2016.

Before the 2017 budget is adopted this summer, the Lawrence City Commission will face the decision to either raise property taxes or cut costs from the city’s budget, which would mean eliminating some city staff.

City Manager Tom Markus told commissioners about the dilemma Tuesday during a budget work session. Without a change, the city’s general fund, the main fund for city services, will operate at a $1.3 million deficit in 2017, he said.

“I have more demands than I have funds to provide those things,” Markus said. “There’s the option of raising taxes, cutting expenses, or some sort of hybrid. We need to do it one way or another. I need to have a balanced budget.”

Approximately $42 million, or about 59 percent, of the general fund is used to pay city employees, according to information provided Tuesday. Another $5.5 million, nearly 8 percent of the general fund, is used for employee health insurance.

“A huge portion is personnel; it’s 70 percent of the general fund,” Markus said. “That’s why I say to you there are some tough decisions. If you’re looking at cuts, I think you’re really looking at personnel. And this isn’t to make your job more difficult. It’s difficult for all of us when we go through these things.”

To fill the entire $1.3 million deficit, the commission would have to pass a mill levy increase of 1.3 to 1.4 mills. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed valuation.

Mayor Mike Amyx suggested Markus come up with a combination of a “slight raise” to property taxes and cutting costs.

“When we hired a new city manager, a lot of it included bringing in a new, fresh set of eyes… someone to help steer the ship,” Amyx said. “I think we should give you some flexibility at this time. You’ve been here a short time, but you’ve got pretty good ideas of where we need to go.”

Markus will develop a recommendation and bring it back to the commission, he said. He added that he would not propose cuts to staff at the police or fire departments.

Vice Mayor Leslie Soden asked that a property tax raise not be part of the solution.

Soden noted Lawrence school district administrators have also proposed an increase for 2017. The district’s budget committee will submit a budget proposal to the school board in July. Douglas County starts its budgeting process later this summer.

“If we could not raise taxes… I heard the county is looking to raise them and the school district is looking to raise them,” she said. “I don’t want to add to that burden.”

Markus responded: “Just so that we’re all realistic, there’s nothing magic about this.”

Also during the work session Tuesday, commissioners heard 2017 budget projections from all of the city’s 14 departments.

Together, the amount requested from departments totaled nearly $198 million. About $65 million of the total would come from the general fund.

The Lawrence Police Department requested nearly $24 million, about $4.5 million more than in 2016. Most of the increase is for personnel. Funds will be spent on over-hiring police officers, which the City Commission voted in March to allow, as well as salary increases and overtime.

The Lawrence Public Library requested slightly more than $4 million, an increase of $300,000 over 2016. If approved, most of the increase would be used to raise employee pay.

The budget for the city attorney’s office came in at slightly more than $1.9 million, about 7 percent less than in 2016.

In a draft of Lawrence’s five-year capital improvement program released last month, the attorney’s office included $114,600 to install security equipment at City Hall, Lawrence Municipal Court, the Lawrence Public Library and the police department’s Investigations and Training Center. The installation was meant to fall in line with a new Kansas law that requires concealed firearms in public buildings unless they’re equipped with security measures such as metal detectors and armed guards.

Money for that initiative was not part of Tuesday’s budget. Brandon McGuire, assistant to the city manager, said, “We ended up, after some deliberation, backing that out of the CIP.”

Public Works is seeking a $13 million increase from 2016, for a total $43 million in 2017. Nearly $8.5 million will go toward street maintenance and bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Kasold Drive and Wakarusa Drive. Another $2.7 million was requested to complete a new solid waste facility on Kresge Road.

Parks and Recreation’s budget for 2017 is $13.6 million, about $1.9 million more than in 2016. The department’s budget now includes maintenance and repair of its infrastructure, money for which had been taken from the city’s sales tax reserve fund in previous years.

The increase also includes a rise in debt payments to finance Eagle Bend Golf Course clubhouse improvements. Amyx said he was “apprehensive” about whether the course could afford to pay any new debt.

“Just because it’s included in the budget doesn’t mean it’s a forgone conclusion,” Markus said. “Major projects will be reviewed by us.”

In other business:

• Amyx read a statement on behalf of the commission about the mass killing Sunday at a gay nightclub in Orlando, offering condolences and saying, in part, Lawrence “affirms our commitment to uphold equality for all members of our society and wholly believes in the importance of acceptance and inclusion…”

Commissioners voted to send a letter to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, which reads the shooting was “cowardly” and “fueled by hatred and intolerance.”

Commissioner Lisa Larsen voiced her exasperation at the lack of response to this mass shooting, and previous shootings, from elected officials.

“I say shame on them,” Larsen said. “I implore our state and national representatives to wake up. The blood of your citizens will continue to run because of your intolerance, your blatant hatred for those who are not like you, and your lack of will.”

• Commissioners unanimously approved a site plan for a retail, restaurant and office development southeast of the Clinton Parkway and Inverness Drive intersection.

• Former city commissioner Terry Riordan asked commissioners to reject a request from the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods to end the city’s contract with the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.