Lawrence faces sweeping budget cuts as Fire Station 6 costs loom

Lawrence residents are facing a budget season that could touch daily life in plain sight: fewer downtown police foot patrols, a summer shutdown at the Indoor Aquatic Center, and less money for homeless services and housing stability as city staff try to close a gap tied to Fire Station 6.

City staff laid out a wide-ranging list of possible reductions for the Lawrence City Commission, including cuts across Parks, Recreation and Culture, Homeless Solutions, Planning and Development Services, Fire Medical, Police, Municipal Services and Operations, and Internal Services. Among the most concrete ideas are eliminating downtown foot patrols, reducing police staffing and school resource officer coverage, trimming community service technician programs, cutting neighborhood traffic management and alley rehabilitation work, and shifting some personnel costs into money that had been reserved for affordable housing.

The pressure is coming in part from Fire Station 6, planned for 555 Stoneridge Drive in northwest Lawrence and expected to be online in 2029. City staff said operating the station would cost about $4.5 million a year, and a 3-mill property tax increase was estimated to add about $104 a year on a $300,000 home. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical first identified the need for an additional northwest station in the 2020 Station Optimization Analysis.

The city’s budget choices are not limited to one tax or one department. Lawrence says sales taxes provide almost half of the revenue for general city expenses, and staff also warned that employee health care costs could rise to about $20,000 per employee from $12,000, with premiums increasing 20%. That means the commission is weighing not only program cuts but also the city’s current pay structure, whether to support a mill levy increase for Fire Station 6, and whether to put a Lawrence Transit sales tax question on the November ballot.

Housing policy is on the table too. The city’s current affordable-housing sales tax was approved by voters in November 2017, started collection on April 1, 2019, and runs through March 31, 2029 unless replaced. City officials say November voters could be asked to repeal the current 0.05% tax and replace it with a 0.10% tax that would also fund emergency shelter facilities and related services for people experiencing homelessness.

Commissioner Kristine Polian said she supported Station 6 but not a mill levy increase, while other commissioners have pushed for different mixes of cuts and revenue changes. Mayor Brad Finkeldei has said he does not want to cut roads, police or fire, underscoring how few easy options remain. Residents can weigh in through A Balancing Act and the city’s 2027 budget survey, which focus on Fire Medical Station 6 and Parks, Recreation and Culture membership fees, as Lawrence heads into a budget fight that will determine what it can keep, what it must shrink and what voters may be asked to pay for next.