City Council - Regular Meeting

So Elijan, Good evening and welcome to the special meeting of the Lawrence City Council. Today is Monday, June 15, 2026. Pursuant to Chapter 20 of the Act of 2022, this meeting will be hybrid, allowing participation both in person at the city council chambers as well as remotely. We have two links that was provided to anybody that requested for the Zoom meetings. This meeting is also being transmitted live through the YouTube Lawrence City Council page as well as the Facebook Lawrence City Council page. Madam Clerk, Rocco.

Present. Please join me for a moment of silence. Now join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now we are going to open public participation. The rules for public participation are as follows. You're gonna have two and a half minutes to speak. At the two-minute mark, you're gonna hear a beep or an indication that you still have 30 seconds to go. Please refer to this council as a whole. The first person that we have on the list is H. Malik. Name and address for the record, please.

The next person that we have is Mayor Ortiz. Name among others for the record.

Thank you, Councillor Ortiz. The next person that we have is Mercedes Hernandez. Name and address for the record, please.

Thank you. The next person that we have is Nicole Spring. Name and address for the record, please.

Thank you. The next person that we have is Jaylee Perez. Name and address for the record, please.

All right, the next person is Angel Dominguez.

Thank you. The next person that we have is John Regal. Hold for the end, please. Hold.

All right, the next person is Luani Germán. Luani. Luani.

The next question. Let's hold to the end with applause. Justin Tan is the next person. Name and address for the record, please.

Wow. All these names are gonna be submitted for the record. So now we are going to public hearing. Madam Clerk.

Madam Clerk, please read the notice for item 22826, which is the proposed fiscal year 2027 municipal budget. Madam Clerk, please read the notice.

Public hearing is now open for the item 228-26, the proposed fiscal year 2027 municipal budget. Anybody that wishes to speak, now you have the opportunity. Please make a line. Name and address for the record, please.

Order. Let's hold to the end, please, so we can move on. It's easier. The next person, name and address for the record, please.

Thank you. The next person. Order. Order. Next person, please.

Thank you. The next person. Order, order, order. The next person. Order. The next person, please. Then my orders for the record.

Do you mind stating your address, please? I'm sorry, what? Do you mind stating your address, please? Your address. My address, oh yeah.

Thank you. Thank you. The next person. Name and address for the record, please.

The next person. The next person, please. Name and address for the record.

Thank you. The next person, name and address for the record, please.

Thank you. Next person. Name and address for the record, please.

Thank you. All right. Next person, please. Name and address for the record.

Thank you. Next person. Name and address for the record, please.

THANK YOU. THE NEXT PERSON, PLEASE, NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD.

Thank you, next person, please. Name and address for the record, and title.

Thank you. Anybody else that wishes to speak? Name and address for the record and title, please.

Thank you. Next person, please. Name and address for the record.

Anybody else from the public that wishes to speak?

Name and address for the record, please. Thank you.

Council President, the reason why we have interpreters is WHEN PEOPLE ARE HERE, IT'S A PUBLIC HEARING AND A PUBLIC MEETING, AND THEY'RE SPEAKING TO THE COUNCIL.

OKAY. THAT'S WHO THEY'RE SPEAKING TO. THAT'S YOUR INTERPRETATION. I'M GOING TO ALLOW HIM TO TALK TO THE PEOPLE. THE PEOPLE ARE HERE. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT.

AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT, WE ALSO WOULD HAVE HAD THE TRANSLATION SERVICES. WE WOULD HAVE HAD THAT IN THE AIR. WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THEM HERE TONIGHT. Yeah, we don't have it today. That would have been the fix.

We have a city employee that is actually helping out with their translation. And the people are here, the people that we're doing the public hearing for.

Did you get a public hearing? Did you get a public hearing, then? Is it still open? Name and address for the record, please.

Anybody else from the public that wishes to speak? Name and address for the record, please.

Thank you. Anybody else from the public that wishes to speak? Anybody else from the public that wishes to speak?

Thank you. Anybody else from the public that wishes to speak? I'm going to repeat it two more times. Anybody else from the public that wishes to speak? Anybody else from the public that wishes to speak?

Thank you. At this point, public hearing is now closed. Thank you, everybody, for your comments. Madam Chair, from the Budget and Finance Committee. Mr. President.

Motion to accept this item as a committee report. Properly second. Discussion. Discussion. On the committee report, Madam Chair from the Budget and Finance Committee.

Thank you Anybody else before we call the vote for that? Call me to report Council of Marmot

Anybody else? Any other councillors before we go for the vote for the committee report?

We have a memo that was given to us by email and on our desk. And I just think it's important, before we actually have a motion, after we do this motion, after this vote, someone's gonna make a motion to support whatever the motion is. I just think it's important now that we at least acknowledge that there's this information here.

Yeah, we will go through that in a second. That's part of the plan.

Anybody else? I wasn't aware of the plan.

Well, I do have a plan as a chair. So that's gonna be part reading in a second.

We're going to read that memo to the record in a few seconds.

Oh, you're going to read it before the vote?

Yes. Thank you. Because we're taking the vote on the committee report, not on anything else. And then eventually we're going to entertain a motion for the purpose of discussing the budget.

Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Rosario. Anybody else? Any other councillors, second round? Councillor Malmo.

Thank you. Any other councillors before we call for Councillor Infante?

All right. Madam Clerk, please read the memo that we received regarding the budget process.

To accept the committee report. That was the motion.

Yes. Now we have this item and we accept that as a committee report. Any motions?

There is a motion to approve with the purpose of discussion. It's been seconded by Councillor Rosario. And the motion was made by Cancellors. Before we proceed with the discussion and potentially any cut or anything to the budget, I would like to read us the following. We, as Council, can only reduce the budget by cutting it. approving the budget or a denial of the budget. When it comes to a specific allocation, we are only allowed to discuss and make those three that I just mentioned to what was presented on the budget. We are not allowed as a council to add anything to the budget. When it co

Thank you. Now let's put away some numbers. Ms. Caffo, do you mind putting this in perspective when it comes to numbers?

So tell us what that means that the advisor just read.

Today, we have a different number when it comes to what is specific from chapter 70.

So usually, typically, we use the governor's budget to be able to do our budget. Yes. So we're changing it now to the House budget?

So, Ms. Calfo, do you mind just repeating the number? 318-

451, 163. Minus this one. And then you have a negative of.

Yeah, that's the discrepancy. Give us one second. ALL RIGHT. SO NOW, CAN YOU KEEP ON GOING ON THE DIFFERENT CHERRY SHEETS AND THE BUDGET THAT NOW IS GOING TO BE USED?

There's a motion to pass then, properly second. Discussion? There is none. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. The ayes have it. Go ahead.

So just to go over a few things here that you just mentioned. Last year when we went over the budget, the budget of fiscal year 2026, later on when the budget was approved for the State House, we have a deficit of $1.4 million because that amount of money, the charter reimbursement increase. So what is the difference between this budget that we have today and what happened last year? I mean, what happened if same situation occurred in fiscal year 2027?

All right, what I see here is that we have new numbers. that reflect different needs perhaps that we might be able to cover with the current budget that we discussed for three weeks. So if that means that we're going to have to look at the new numbers and analyze everything and be able to figure it out, that 594,794 that is missing? That's what we're discussing here?

Yeah, we can come up with a solution. Councillors, any questions?

Well, essentially they can, but I think that we should look at the numbers once they present it. So right now we received an email today. and essentially we have analyzed the budget for three weeks with different numbers. So what are the implications of those numbers and if there is a missing amount of 594, 797, 794, so are we gonna be able to fund that amount to fully budget for the needs? So the administration need to come up with a plan if this council decide to make a determination on the budget.

What you're saying is that, yes, we are increasing the taxes for 2.5%, and we also have the new growth of $1.5 million.

All right, so, councilors, any other questions?

I just want to, I got two sets of numbers, one with the 590, what is it, the 594, 794, and one without. So, if we had, just as it is, with the two and a half plus the new growth, what's the additional amount that the taxpayers, an average single-family taxpayer would be paying? What is that number?

And on the flip side, there's where the $201 come in. If there's an increase in taxes, if I had a 594 or 794, then that's going to be a 201 total additional taxes? That's correct. There we go.

Councillors, any other questions? A lot of numbers, a lot of saying, and a few documents. So I think that, you know, we should receive that information and read it through and potentially analyze it.

I got a question as well. Councilor LeBlanc. Councilor LeBlanc. Thanks, so the assertion that we've heard is because of the new numbers that were given to us by the school department is that we have the busing's been taken care of, and the school lease issue has been taken care of, but there is a deficit of 594, almost $600,000. If we were to pass this budget today, would it be unbalanced? Because there's a deficit of almost $600,000?

That's important to say. So that bears repeating, so I'm going to interpret it the way that I heard it, which means that maybe it's fully funded, the leases, maybe the transportation, or maybe you do most of it, but you're going to still be a little short on those amounts of the $600,000. And that's where... If we vote on this, that's where we have to be creative, I think, again. You know, I think that if we're, and I don't know what's the priority here. The people in this room would probably say the bus is the priority. Other people may say it's the leases. It's all, so I understand the diffe

I see, we don't know. That's an important question to have answered.

Yeah, I agree. They need to figure it out once they get to us, and then we analyze it. We reduce, approve, or deny. But we're not here to allocate. So if we start going into other directions, and then we're going to start doing something that is not within our prerogative. We have a budget that have a need of about $600,000 to support the need of the community. So we have the decision to make whether we approve this budget, we deny the budget, or we reduce the budget. And then after that, the administration will figure it out as to what they need to do when it comes to that specific amount tha

And we have a meeting on two days. So we can reconvene. in two days, making a decision today, because we're not leaving without making a decision. And then we can proceed. Any other questions?

Chancellor, either or, it's the same thing. Chancellor Malmo.

No, and Councillor Mahmoud, it is important to recognize the following. We don't know what is they're going to present to us if we get to that point. The first thing we need to do is make a determination on this budget so the administration can proceed with the next option. Potentially they can come out in front of us with another budget that is not what we're discussing because we cannot cannot say this is what I want to do because it's not on paper. So it's the same one then, and then eventually they might find another way. So let's allow them to do that. So a vote yes to this budget means t

AND THEN IT WILL BE THE SAME TIME. because then when we approve it, if we approve it, that's when the split need to happen. Okay. Councillors, any other questions? Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

A vote yes means approving. A vote no means denying. Exactly. With the new numbers. With the new numbers. With the old numbers. Because the budget is presented right now. They haven't presented the new budget. The numbers that were just read to us. That's not part of it? That's not a budget. Once they present it, we analyze it.

That's not part of that. This is not part of it yet. Once they present it to us and then we analyze the new numbers, then we make a determination at that point.

What's the count? I need to do the process. I need to do the process. Motion fails. So that means that this budget that it was presented, fiscal year 2027, has been denied. And a new special meeting for the budget fiscal year 2027 will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Wednesday or Thursday? Wednesday.

So at this point, I will entertain a motion to recess. Motion to recess. Second. Second. Discussion? There is none. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. The ayes have it.