photo by: Bremen Keasey

Lawrence's City Hall, located at 6 E. Sixth St., shown during June 2025.

The City Commission on Tuesday will consider setting public hearings for its budget and setting its maximum mill levy for the 2026 budget, which is a slight decrease compared to last year.

The city needs to declare its intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate as defined by state law and set its final hearing for the 2026 budget. The resolution that the commission will consider during its meeting will set both those hearings for Sept. 2, and it will establish the maximum mill levy at 33.186 mills, according to a city memo. Last year, the mill levy was at 33.232 mills.

The revenue neutral rate, as defined by state law, is the mill levy required to raise the same amount of property tax revenue as the prior year, using the current year assessed valuation amount. According to a city memo, that rate would be 31.379 mills.

Once the city sets its maximum mill levy, which it has to do by July 20, the mill levy can be lowered but can no longer be raised. Commissioners will vote on setting the maximum rate during the Tuesday meeting.

In other business, commissioners will consider approving a street mural in the Old West Lawrence neighborhood at the intersection of Alabama and Seventh streets.

The project, which is being led by local artist Dave Loewenstein, was approved in May by the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission for a mural that will be painted directly into the intersection near the Lawrence Community Nursery School, 645 Alabama St., as the Journal-World reported.

The mural, which was designed with the input of students at the nursery school and other local residents, will feature an ornate box turtle — the state reptile of Kansas — surrounded by a border circle that would feature images based on youth and neighbor drawings during design workshops.

If the city approves the project, the mural team plans to paint the mural later in the summer. Sam Zipper, the secretary for the Lawrence Community Nursery School, previously told the Journal-World that work would be done by volunteers with the school. According to a city memo, the work will be painted in a single day as long as there is good weather, and the team will coordinate with the city about the potential dates and warn neighbors about road closures.