LAWRENCE — The City of Lawrence has approved its 2026 budget after months of debate and controversy, but some city leaders are raising concerns over cuts to public safety funding.
Mayor Deb Whitfield told WRTV the budgeting process was particularly challenging this year.
“For the 2026 budget, the process was a little difficult this year due to the fact that every city and municipality had to make some cuts because of the SEA1 bill,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield said the city initially faced about $7 million in cuts before reducing that number significantly.
“As a city, before we proposed the budget, had cut it all the way down to $1.5 million,” she said.
The current budget estimate spends more than the city will earn in revenue.
Where those cuts were made raised red flags for some members of the Common Council.
“My take was I'm not touching public safety at all. It's just not going to happen, and that was my option. That's why I voted no,” Common Council Member Sherron Freeman, who's been serving on the council since 2008 and represents district 3, said.
She was one of two councilors who voted no for the approval of the budget that passed 7-2.
One of the biggest impacts could be felt at the Lawrence Police Department.
The approved budget eliminates funding to hire three additional officers.
“Three officers mean a lot to us,” said Chief Curtis Bigsbee. “When you're starting to go backwards instead of forwards, that's gonna have a negative impact.”
Initially, the city's five-year strategic plan looked to bring in an additional five officers for a total of 68.
The department currently has 63 officers — far below what Bigsbee said the city actually needs.
“There should be at least, for a city of our size, about 120 police officers,” he said.
Although major crimes, including homicides, have dropped by nearly 77% over the last year, Bigsbee said he’s concerned about maintaining staffing levels.
“So what happens if we have an officer on FMLA, if we have an officer injured, if we have an officer sick? That's very taxing and creates a lot of voids,” he told WRTV.
Bigsbee added that those voids could affect community safety.
“Enforcement with traffic violations. It can also impact our investigations division, allocating our resources to combat some of our city ordinance violations… that's going to have a huge adverse impact on our citizens and our community,” he said.
When asked about next steps, Bigsbee said the department is considering how to shift existing resources and talking with the council about adding back funds for those additional officers.
Bigsbee added that the budget also cuts funds for technological advances for the department.
“We're looking at different things that we might have to shift our resources and manpower to, with our numbers,” he said.
Bigsbee plans to meet with the FOP to see where they can make adjustments, as well as making sure they are keeping morale high and protecting the mental health of officers.
Cuts were also made to the controller's and the mayor's offices.
Whitfield said her administration will continue to work with department heads to meet the city’s needs.
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Naja Woods is the In Your Community senior reporter for Lawrence/Hancock counties. She started her journalism career in 2019 after graduating from Knox College in Illinois. She’s always looking forward to making a difference by empowering the diverse communities throughout the area and helping share their unique perspectives through storytelling. Share your story ideas and important issues with Naja by emailing news@wrtv.com.
