Lawrence council reviews $420.8 million FY2026 budget; debate focuses on tax increase, police and fire line items

The Lawrence City Council held a public hearing June 16 on Mayor Brian A. De Pena’s proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget, a plan that the administration and city finance staff say would appropriate $420,801,026 for the general fund and $23,778,191 for enterprise funds.

The administration’s package was read into the record by Mayor Brian A. De Pena and certified for legal sufficiency by acting chief administrative and financial officer Ramona Caraballo. Caraballo read a required certification under Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2010 and later clarified the administration’s revenue assumption: the budget as proposed reflects a tax increase equal to Proposition 2½ (2.5%) plus $1.2 million in new growth, producing a net proposed tax increase of about 3.58%. “Tax increase is what we currently have in the budget,” Caraballo said when asked to confirm wording that appeared in a distributed memo as “override.”

Why it matters: the council’s vote on the appropriation will set tax revenue assumptions and the level of funding for public safety, schools and other city services. City leaders told the council they face uncertainty from recent federal funding reductions and other state and federal policy changes that could alter grant support for infrastructure, housing and public health programs.

Major budget numbers and context - Total general fund budget listed in the published order: $469,611,865; after permitted deductions (state and county assessments) the amount to be appropriated for the general fund was stated as $420,801,026. Enterprise funds were shown at about $23.78 million. - The proposed tax increase was described to the council as approximately 3.58%, the sum of a 2.5% levy limit increase and $1.2 million in new growth, net of an…