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.
The City of Lawrence is creating a Community Budget Committee to bring in additional perspectives earlier in this year’s budget process. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the City’s budget and make recommendations to the City Manager to create a balanced, sustainable plan. The Committee’s work will focus on aligning the budget to the City’s priorities. This committee is not intended to set policy direction or reset priorities.
This committee is likely to meet approximately 6 times over 8 months for 2-3 hours at a time. These are likely to be mostly during the regular business day, but some accommodation may be made for schedules of those selected. These meetings will not be open to the public and some confidentiality may be required during the process.
Applications will be open Friday, Nov. 1 – Friday, Nov. 15. City Manager Craig Owens will select committee members from the submitted applications. The City anticipates announcing members of the Community Budget Committee on Monday, Nov. 25.