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Library, Bellevue Cemetery and Airport present mostly level-funded budgets; councilors press for transparency on salary increases
Summary
Directors of the Lawrence Public Library, Bellevue Cemetery and Lawrence Municipal Airport presented largely level-funded FY26 budgets. Councilors questioned salary increases at Bellevue Cemetery and asked for documentation on past legal issues; library director highlighted increased patron use and added meeting rooms.
Directors for three smaller units—Lawrence Public Library, Bellevue Cemetery and the Municipal Airport—presented their fiscal 2026 budgets to the Budget & Finance Committee on May 29 and answered council questions.
Chanel Abreu, director of the Lawrence Public Library, described a level-funded request with targeted increases for energy, custodial supplies and modest postal/maintenance costs; she told the committee library traffic rose to roughly 75,000 patrons this year and the library added five meeting rooms. Abreu said most salary increases reflected collective-bargaining agreements and a new full-time custodian hire.
Carmen (Bellevue Cemetery superintendent) presented a level-funded cemetery budget but defended a proposed salary increase for the cemetery director that the cemetery’s board recommended; councilors asked for justification and historical context. Councilor Luzon and Council President Rodriguez emphasized the need to balance salary adjustments against citywide fiscal constraints and asked the cemetery director and city staff to provide the board’s recommendation and documentation linking the increase to duties and comparable pay.
Airport manager Francisco (name per transcript) presented a small enterprise budget increase tied to prepaying a planned project from retained revenues and noted the department’s salaries and contractual obligations. Councilors accepted the smaller departments’ presentations subject to follow-up documentation: cemetery salary-comparison data and any pending legal claims, library custodial/energy usage detail and airport prepay project paperwork.
