photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall

The revised version of the 2025 budget that Lawrence city commissioners will vote on Tuesday night will now feature a mill rate of 33.197 — about the same as last year’s rate of 33.207 — and will cover the additional expenditures by dipping into the general fund balance.

This proposed budget features marked changes from the initial budget proposal in July that would have raised the mill levy from the 2024 rate of 33.207 mills to 36.807 mills — a 3.6-mill increase that would have amounted to about a $120 per year increase in city property taxes for the owner of a $300,000 home.

The revisions came after the commission’s Aug. 20 public hearing on the budget, at which dozens of public commenters spoke out against the potential tax burden of the initial plan and city commissioners made some recommendations to address those concerns.

As the Journal-World previously reported, the commission recommended postponing the allocation of money for the construction of two new fire stations by a year while restoring firefighter staffing to four people per truck, adding a deputy fire chief position, restoring some police positions that would have been cut, reducing a cost-of-living raise for city employees by 1% for non-union workers, and using reserve funds in place of some of the tax revenue that would have been generated by a mill levy hike.

Specifically, the revised budget calls for the city to spend $1.6 million of its general fund balance. According to city projections, that would put the city’s reserves at $22 million for 2025.

The budget presentation included with Tuesday’s meeting agenda materials, however, acknowledges that regularly dipping into the general fund to patch holes in the budget is not sustainable. For that reason, the presentation says the city plans to develop a process to create a long-range sustainable budget plan to confront the challenges of increased demand for certain services, decreases in revenue and increases in expenditures.

At the public hearing, City Manager Craig Owens said that the city would eventually have to rethink the service levels it provides — and be able to propose service cuts without “being so emotional” — because spending down the fund balance would be “unsustainable over time.”

“This is going to have to be a top-to-bottom study of operations,” Owens said. “We shouldn’t act like this is a temporary thing and use a temporary solution.”

Commissioner Lisa Larsen agreed, saying during that same meeting that there might need to be “wholesale cuts.”

Other aspects of the budget have changed since the initial July proposal, including authorizing the Parks and Recreation Department to use Special Recreation funds to repair or replace aging playground structures.

The initial budget would have removed funds set aside to improve or get rid of older playgrounds structures. Four structures at Park Hill Park #1 and Chaparral Park were closed off with tape and “No Trespassing” or “Keep Out” signs, as the Journal-World previously reported. Three other parks could have had their structures go as well.

Now, playground replacements will be funded using reserve money from the city’s Special Recreation fund.

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

The ordinance, which was approved on first reading on Aug. 20, 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.

If approved Tuesday night, those changes will go into effect in the new year.