Lawrence City Council approves mayor's amended FY2027 budget after debate on fees, housing and school transportation

The Lawrence City Council reconvened a special meeting and approved Mayor Brian De Pena's amended fiscal year 2027 municipal budget after a series of motions, roll-call votes and floor discussion.

Octavian Spanner, the mayor's senior adviser, presented an amendment package the administration said trims line items and balances the budget while preserving essential services. Spanner told the council, "The amendments before you this evening reflect a good-faith attempt to address council concerns while maintaining a balanced budget," and outlined cuts including $20,000 from advertising, two $30,000 reductions in purchases and services and IT salaries, a $100,000 reduction in planning (including elimination of one position), a $150,000 reduction in fire related to an assistant-chief position and emergency-management funds, and smaller cuts in DPW parks operations.

The council split the approval into separate motions for specific departments. The council approved the finance and inspectional-services portions of the budget on a roll-call vote (one councilor recused), then approved the water-and-sewer portion (one different recusal), and finally approved the remaining departmental budgets, completing the mayor's amended FY2027 package.

A councilor speaking on the floor urged the council to pursue additional inspectional-services revenue and stronger enforcement of unlawful apartments, calling the budget document "more than just numbers" and "a book that talks about policy." The same councilor cautioned against using excess levy capacity without asking voters: "If we're going to tax people beyond the 2 and a half, we need to go to the taxpayers and ask them that question," he said. That speaker also praised the budget committee's process and thanked the mayor for submitting cuts that the council said avoided the need for additional taxes beyond the levy and new growth.

School transportation was a recurring topic. The chair announced that the administration had allocated funds to restore transportation for Lawrence Fuller School that had been the subject of earlier public concern. A councilor asked the school department whether the district's contract with NRT could be renegotiated; Jason Cabern, speaking for the school department, said the district is in the first year of a three-year contract, that the first-year contract included a 2.25% rate increase and that staff plan to consider inspector-general recommendations (including earlier bidding timelines and geographic bid splits) to improve competition and costs.

Humoyun Mali gave public comment before the budget discussion, praising the Lawrence Police Department, public works and school staff and urging the city to hire two positions for the veterans department and create a commission for elders.

Formal votes were taken by roll call for specific departmental approvals. The clerk recorded individual councilor responses during each roll call; the motions passed as recorded. Where recusal was announced, the clerk noted it in the roll call. Following the approved motions, the council adjourned.

What happens next: The mayor's amended FY2027 budget, as approved by the council in this session, moves into implementation under the administration and the departments involved; individual department actions and any procurement changes will follow according to department procedures and applicable state oversight.