photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured on Jan. 31, 2023.

At Tuesday’s Lawrence City Commission meeting, commissioners are expected to take the next steps toward approving the budget for 2025 — and possibly toward putting an affordable housing sales tax question on the November ballot.

The commission at its weekly meeting will be holding the public hearing on the recommended budget, which according to the agenda materials totals $520.7 million.

As the Journal-World previously reported, the commission last month set the maximum mill levy for the 2025 budget at 36.807 mills after an initial failed vote and a lengthy debate about whether the maximum property tax rate should be higher than that. The maximum would be an increase from the 2024 rate of 33.207 mills; at this point in the budget process, the commission can choose to go lower than the maximum rate, but cannot increase it.

The proposed mill levy increase in the 2024 budget would be the largest for the city at least 50 years, and much of the money generated would go toward rebuilding the city’s equivalent of a rainy-day savings account, as the Journal-World has reported. The budget proposal also recommended making cuts to services in some areas, including fire and medical services and parks and recreation.

At Tuesday’s hearing, the commission is also expected to consider whether to put a question on the November ballot about raising the city’s sales tax to fund affordable housing efforts from 0.05% to 0.10%.

The sales tax increase, which was proposed by City Manager Craig Owens in July, would add an extra nickel in tax to every $100 in purchases made by consumers in Lawrence. State law requires that all city sales tax increases be put to a citywide vote.

A large amount of the new money would fund programs for homeless services, which the city created with temporary federal funding received during the pandemic. Most of that federal funding, however, is scheduled to end in 2025.

Owens previously told the Journal-World the increase in sales tax would double the money the city currently gets to address housing issues from $1.25 million to $2.5 million, and that it would be critical if the city wanted to maintain those services without federal dollars.

One more step is required by state law as the city holds its budget hearings — a public hearing on its intent to exceed the so-called “revenue-neutral rate,” or the property tax rate at which the city would collect the same amount of money as it did in the previous budget year. That hearing will also take place at Tuesday’s meeting.

Based on the direction from the commission on Tuesday, city staff will put together a final budget resolution, which will come back to the commission for final consideration on Sept. 3.

In other business, commissioners will consider adopting on first reading the most recent version of the Standard Traffic Ordinance prepared by the League of Kansas Municipalities.

The ordinance allows for the prosecution of most traffic offenses in municipal court. One change amends the current requirement that all fines, court costs and penalties be paid in full or considered a failure to comply with a traffic citation. Instead, it will allow the court to require a payment and give it the ability to waive or reduce fees, fines and court costs, as well as allow payment plans.

It further limits license reinstatement fees to a single fee of $100, rather than a separate fee of $100 for each charge associated with the citation with which the person did not comply. Finally, it requires the municipal court to consider alternative requirements in lieu of restriction or suspension of driving privileges, such as alcohol or drug treatment or community service.

Once adopted, those changes will go into effect in the new year.