Lawrence City Council unanimously adopts fiscal year 2027 budget

The Lawrence City Council unanimously approved the city's fiscal year 2027 budget, the council chair announced, after the mayor's office and city finance staff helped close a transportation shortfall.

The chair, speaking from the council chamber, said the package includes about $1.5 million in new growth for equipment, construction and housing and that non-union employees will receive modest raises described in the meeting as approximately 1.5% to 2.5%. She said the budget had been introduced May 15 and was approved by the council on June 17.

The chair credited Stephanie Fante, identified in the meeting as the chair of the budget and finance committee, and Ramona Sevayos, identified in the meeting as the city's CAFO, along with the mayor's office and department staff, for helping the council analyze the proposal and speed the approval process. "We were able to analyze every section of the budget and more importantly improve the process of the budget approval," the chair said, thanking staff and committee members.

A key issue during deliberations was transportation for Lawrence High School students. The chair said the council found a deficit of about $600,000 tied to that service; according to the chair, city administrators and the mayor's office made targeted reductions that produced a balanced budget "as is required by law." The budget therefore preserves student transportation while maintaining funding for essential city services, the mayor said when accepting the adopted budget.

The mayor, speaking after the handoff, thanked residents, parents, educators and staff who participated in the process and said the outcome reflects collaboration and compromise. "This budget is not perfect. Budgets rarely are. But we listened. We worked together," the mayor said, adding that essential city services will continue uninterrupted through fiscal year 2027.

The council approved the package unanimously; the meeting record given in the transcript notes the approval but does not state individual roll-call votes or the numerical tally. The chair and mayor framed the adoption as the product of cross-department collaboration and administrative adjustments to close the transportation deficit. The council presented the adopted budget to the mayor at the meeting and marked the formal adoption in the chamber.

The council did not record any amendments in the transcript and no separate motions or roll-call tallies were provided in the meeting text. The next procedural step referenced in the meeting was the formal transmission of the approved FY2027 budget to the mayor's office for implementation and departmental execution.