Lawrence police urge commissioners to reject budget cuts to patrols, school officers

Lawrence police officers and supporters warned city commissioners that the proposed budget cuts would be felt first on neighborhood streets, at schools and in downtown Lawrence, where fewer patrol officers could mean slower response times, less school resource officer coverage and the end of downtown foot patrols.

The cuts under discussion included 10 positions, along with reductions to police patrols. Other proposals in the wider budget debate included closing the aquatic center for the summer and shifting housing funds to personnel costs, a sign of how many city services are being pulled into the same fiscal squeeze.

City budget materials said the 2025 plan was shaped by slower-than-expected sales tax growth after the post-pandemic surge. Lawrence also said it depends heavily on property tax and sales tax to keep daily operations running, which leaves commissioners choosing between basic services now and broader long-term goals later.

In its 2025 budget presentation, the city said community input through Balancing Act pointed toward more police patrol, stronger street maintenance, better ADA compliance and tighter code compliance. But the same budget scenarios also showed substantial reductions in street maintenance, LKPD patrol and parks and recreation, with some versions restoring more police funding than others. City staff said the challenge was balancing those demands against softer revenue growth while still preserving infrastructure, competitive pay, fire and EMS expansion, and housing and homelessness services.

The scale of the decision was clear in the numbers. Lawrence’s 2025 requested budget totaled $520,815,540 across all funds, up from a 2024 revised budget of $467,558,854. City leaders also said they planned to maintain 2024 service levels in outreach, case management and emergency shelter, including 125 beds at the LCS campus, 50 beds at The Village and 32 new beds with Pallet 32, for more than 200 total beds.

Police planning documents had already emphasized the need for patrol officers, supervisors, investigator positions and additional civilian support. Those materials said deployment should be guided by crime response, community education and environmental design, and they noted earlier additions of two neighborhood resource officers, one detective for domestic violence crimes and four patrol officer positions.

The city’s 2024 adopted budget tied funding assumptions to memoranda of understanding with the Lawrence Police Officers Association and the firefighters’ association, adding another layer of sensitivity to any staffing cut. Lawrence has also framed its long-term budgeting around being a safe and secure community, which puts any reduction in patrols or school resource officers squarely in the path of residents who expect to see officers on the street, in schools and downtown.