photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Lawrence's City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., as seen on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Lawrence’s 2027 budget process is nearing the finish line, and on Tuesday the City Commission will hold its public hearings on the budget and consider an increase in stormwater rates for 2027, 2028 and 2029.

As the Journal-World has reported, the city manager’s proposed budget is just over $415 million and would feature a nearly 2-mill property tax rate increase. City leaders have said the increase is necessary to fund priorities like the expansion of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical staffing and raises for city workers, as well as to cover the increasing costs of the city’s employee health care plan.

However, some commissioners have expressed interest in budget adjustments to make the mill levy increase smaller, or even to keep the mill levy flat.

Earlier this month, they asked staff to bring back some adjustments for their consideration. According to a presentation included in the commission’s agenda materials, those include some suggestions from an alternative budget plan that Vice Mayor Mike Courtney created:

• Making the performance-based “step” pay increase for staff 2.5%, instead of the 5% that some employees would have received in the recommended budget.

• Not adding two internal, non-emergency responder personnel that were originally proposed as part of LDCFM expansion.

• Maintaining free access to the Community Building for 2027, expanding youth memberships at rec centers to cover 18-year-olds and adding open swim sessions for seniors.

• Adding a position for either economic development or code compliance.

The commission has two public hearings on its agenda for Tuesday; one is for the budget itself, and the other is the state-mandated public hearing on its intent to exceed the “revenue-neutral” property tax rate. That’s the rate at which the city would collect the same amount in property tax as it did last year when this year’s property valuations are factored in.

Tuesday isn’t when the commission will actually vote to adopt the budget, however. That vote is scheduled to take place on Sept. 15.

In addition to the budget hearings, the commission will consider establishing its stormwater rates for 2027, 2028 and 2029 on Tuesday.

Stormwater service is billed based on the impervious surface area of a property, or the area that water can’t pass through. That’s measured in “equivalent residential units,” or ERUs; one ERU is 2,800 square feet of impervious surface.

Currently, the city’s monthly stormwater rate is $10.71 per ERU, but city staff proposes raising the rates by 7.5% in each of the next three years. That would make the rate per ERU $11.52 in 2027, $12.39 in 2028 and $13.32 in 2029.

The City Commission meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.