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Councillor Johns urges review after controller said leave ordinance would 'bankrupt' the city
Summary
Councillor Johns criticized a prior statement by Controller Terry Faulkner that changing first-responder leave policy would 'bankrupt' the city, said the council had unanimously approved Proposal No. 3, 2025 to align leave with prior agreements, and pledged further oversight to clarify the city's fiscal position.
At the June 1 meeting of the Common Council of the City of Lawrence, Councillor Johns read a prepared statement clarifying the council’s unanimous approval of Proposal No. 3, 2025, which amends the city code to provide leave benefits for first responders in line with terms the administration had previously agreed to.
Johns said the administration had provided financial data before the vote showing the city could support the changes, but he criticized remarks made by Controller Terry Faulkner on April 15 in which Faulkner reportedly told the council the ordinance would cause the city to become, in her words, "bankrupt." "She did not provide any documentation or financial information to support this assertion," Johns said, and he said the council is "deeply concerned" by that statement.
Johns also referenced Mayor Deborah Whitfield's state-of-the-city remarks the next day, in which she said the city is in "strong and stable financial position" because of sound budgeting and reserve growth. Johns said the council "looks forward to the Whitfield administration's cooperation" and plans to use its budgetary, legislative and investigative authorities "in the coming months to gain a clearer and more transparent understanding of the city's fiscal health."
The statement is a council-member account of earlier remarks by the controller and references a mayoral assurance given in a separate state-of-the-city address; neither Controller Faulkner nor Mayor Whitfield spoke during Johns' statement at this meeting. The council did not take a formal vote on additional investigatory steps during the June 1 meeting.
