The City budget affects our entire community – every single person – which is why it’s important to our organization that we’re hearing from Lawrence residents about what you prioritize. We take all of this input and figure out how to create a single budget that best fits the needs of our entire community and moves forward the goals we’ve identified in our strategic plan.
Balancing Act
The City of Lawrence is kicking off another budget season — and we want your input! For the third year in a row, we’re using A Balancing Act, which is an online budget simulation tool, to gather community feedback on funding priorities for the upcoming year.
The City budget affects our entire community – every single person – which is why it’s important to our organization that we’re hearing from Lawrence residents about what they prioritize. With A Balancing Act, community members are able to make decisions and reallocate funds among departments. But keep in mind, anyone using the tool will need to balance their interests and priorities against competing priorities from other community members as they determine how to create a budget that fits the needs of the entire community.
A Balancing Act will be live and available for the community to use from February 1 – February 28, 2025. A Balancing Act can be accessed at https://lawrenceks.abalancingact.com/preliminary-2026-general-fund-budget-february.
City staff will take all the input gathered from A Balancing Act and create a single budget that best fits the needs of our community while moving forward the goals in the City’s strategic plan.
2026 Budget Process
This year’s budget schedule is below. Dates are subject to change:
- June 17, 2025: Presentation of City Manager’s Recommended 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan
- July 8, 2025: Presentation of City Manager’s Recommended Budget
- September 2, 2025: Budget Public Heating and Revenue Neutral Rate Hearing
- September 16, 2025: Budget Adoption