photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall is pictured on Oct. 11, 2024.

The City of Lawrence announced the members for its seven-person Community Budget Committee on Monday.

As the Journal-World reported, the city announced in November the creation of the committee, with the goal to help the city make budgeting decisions for its 2026 budget. The new members who will serve on the committee are:

Sarah McGreer Hoyt

James Bowen

Sheri Ellenbecker

Erik Sartorius

Jacob Fowles

Whitney Lang

Paul Carttar

The committee will meet approximately six times over eight months, beginning in December of this year. These meetings will not be open to the public, and some confidentiality may be required during the process. An additional cross-departmental team of City employees will serve on the City Employee Budget Committee, offering additional perspectives and questions to increase knowledge of and familiarity with the budget.

City staff and city commissioners said after the 2025 budgeting process that the city would need to take a deep review of the budget for potential cuts or changes because the current budget was considered unsustainable.

In a press release, city manager Craig Owens said considering the significant financial pressure the city is under, the committee will help the city make the hard decisions needed for the 2026 budgeting process.

“Our process is better when informed community members work together on solutions that account for what our fellow neighbors want and need,” Owens said. “Collaboration and compromise will be necessary.”