While water rates are set to go up 8% next year, the city is sitting on a huge pile of cash in its utility fund. How much cash? So much that city officials aren’t entirely sure where it all came from. A review of financial documents by the Journal-World found that the city’s water/sewer ...
City of Lawrence leaders will soon take the next step in approving the city’s 2020 budget, which, as currently proposed, would hold the property tax rate flat and would increase utility rates, parking rates and commissioner pay. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission ...
The City of Lawrence has fixed an equipment failure at a wastewater treatment plant that had forced the release of sewage into the Kansas River and other streams. The Kansas River Wastewater Treatment Plant, 1400 E. Eighth St., was brought back into operation and the sewage releases were ...
In many progressive circles, the most hated tax in the land is a sales tax on food. Kansas is one of the few states that charges it, and opponents decry it as extremely regressive because it forces low-income people to pay tax on a product that is necessary for life. But now questions are ...
City leaders will soon consider a new growth policy that encourages infill development as the most cost-effective way for the city to grow, but some local organizations are concerned the plan’s growth restrictions would make housing in Lawrence even more expensive. The Lawrence City ...
Updated story - Aug. 4 — City fixes sewage treatment equipment, stops releases into local waterways An equipment failure at a Lawrence wastewater plant had not been fixed as of Friday afternoon, and sewage releases into nearby streams and rivers were continuing, the city said in a news ...
Updated story - Aug. 4 — City fixes sewage treatment equipment, stops releases into local waterways Heavy rainfall has caused equipment failure at the Kansas River Wastewater Treatment Plant, causing the plant to shut down and sewage to be deposited into the Kansas River, according to a ...
Three Lawrence City Commission candidates have broken away from the pack in raising money for their campaigns. Candidates were required this week to turn in receipt and expenditure reports that list contributions to their campaigns so far. Of the six candidates in the race, three candidates ...
Representatives for the City of Lawrence and the local firefighters union will soon begin mediated negotiations in an attempt to resolve disagreements regarding pay increases and other changes to the union’s contract. The first meeting with a mediator from the United States Federal ...
With about one month on the job, City Manager Craig Owens already has made some observations about his new community. For one thing, we have plenty to say in public meetings. Owens has been to three City Commission meetings, and booked about 12 hours as part of them. The long meetings ...
The city’s Outdoor Aquatic Center will be closing two weeks early this summer because of staffing and financial issues. “We typically have gone from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” said Roger Steinbrock, marketing supervisor with the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department. However, this ...
TOPEKA — Jurors heard two stories on Wednesday of events surrounding the renovations at Lawrence's Alvamar Country Club, when developer Thomas Fritzel is alleged to have disregarded regulations for handling hazardous materials. Fritzel is charged with illegally disposing of ...
After city leaders rejected a controversial proposal to build a five-story apartment and retail building downtown, some local elementary students were so inspired to come up with alternative plans that they’ve spent their summer working on them. In May, the Lawrence City Commission rejected ...
The City of Lawrence is denying claims that it acted unlawfully when it rejected a proposal to build a five-story apartment and retail building in downtown Lawrence. In May, the Lawrence City Commission unanimously denied a certificate of appropriateness to Chicago-based developer Core Spaces ...
City leaders have approved funding for four affordable housing projects, including a development that will create the city’s first neighborhood of small homes. The Lawrence City Commission recently voted to award $250,000 from the city’s affordable housing trust fund to four projects, ...
One of Lawrence’s ongoing road projects could be complete as soon as next week, and most of the rest are on track to finish around the start of University of Kansas classes in late August, the city says. Crews were finishing work Friday on a new asphalt surface for 23rd Street between ...
The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday voted to publish a 2020 budget with a 0.5 mill property tax increase, but commissioners said they were still planning to make cuts later to hold the mill levy flat. During a work session last week, the commission agreed to make hundreds of thousands of ...
A new ordinance will soon require some bar and restaurant workers in Lawrence to undergo sexual violence intervention training in order for the establishments to keep their local liquor licenses. Despite opposition from several local bar and restaurant owners, the Lawrence City Commission ...
The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday will consider allocating funding to continue design progress on the Lawrence Loop, a planned trail system that will someday encircle Lawrence. The commission will consider increasing spending by $75,000 on conceptual design fees for two new portions of ...
The Lawrence City Commission is considering making cuts of hundreds of thousands of dollars to a proposed $236 million budget to make sure its tax rate remains flat next year. But the tradeoffs will include a possible financial squeeze for the city's lone homeless shelter, and less money for ...