Lawrence Mayor Deb Whitfield presented next year’s proposed budget to members of the Lawrence Common Council in a meeting that lasted about 11 minutes.
And after finishing the presentation, the Democratic mayor walked away from the podium as councilors called out, asking if she would answer questions. Whitfield declined.
Council President Betty Robinson, a Democrat, acknowledged to Mirror Indy that the mayor also didn’t answer questions at last year’s budget presentation. But, Robinson said, members of the council want the mayor to be more available at public meetings.
“She never engages in questions at all in public and not even in a group setting,” Robinson said. “She will talk to us one-on-one, but not in a group setting.”
Whitfield told Mirror Indy that she wasn’t trying to be “rude or disrespectful.”
“I wanted them to hear the material, I wanted them to grasp those numbers,” Whitfield said, “so when they go into the workshop and they have their books, they could be prepared to start looking and talking to the department heads, understanding where we’re headed.”
The tension at the Sept. 30 meeting is the latest disagreement between the council and mayor, who have been at odds about city finances for the last two years. Councilors say the Whitfield administration has not been transparent and is not giving councilors enough time to review the proposed budget before a Nov. 3 deadline.
But Whitfield said her presentation this year came only 10 days later than the one in 2023.
“No one is being rushed and nothing is being hidden about this process,” Whitfield said during this week’s meeting. “It has been steady, deliberate, fully transparent and very consistent just as the residents of Lawrence deserve and have experienced in the past.”
Plus, Whitfield told Mirror Indy, Lawrence went two weeks without a city controller in office after the previous controller resigned shortly after the budget process began. That slowed down the process.
Lawrence budget challenges and hiring freeze
During the meeting, Whitfield did not go into much detail about her spending priorities in the proposed 2026 budget.
She went into greater detail about the challenges, though, such as the loss of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds next year, the impact of the state’s new property tax law, an increase in liability insurance and the state’s requirement to increase retirement contributions for public safety personnel.
Whitfield said that all amounts to about $7.1 million that her administration had to take into consideration when creating the 2026 budget.
Whitfield also announced a hiring freeze for all vacant city positions.
And Whitfield told Mirror Indy that she asked departments to “run flat” and not increase spending.
Pushback from Lawrence council
Councilors chose to caucus immediately after the meeting to review the proposed budget.
Vice President Zach Cramer, a Democrat, said the budget packets were inconsistent, though. Some packets were missing pages, he said, others were out of order.
“That made it impossible for us to collaborate and review the budget as a team,” Cramer said in a text message to Mirror Indy.
Whitfield told Mirror Indy the issue was brought to her administration’s attention and has since been resolved.
But Robinson, the council president, said the council still feels rushed.
“We are up against the clock,” Robinson said. “It’s going to take a lot of time for this council to go through the budget, but we’re going to do the best we can. It’s scary knowing where we are and the time frame that we have.”
What’s next
You can find a copy of the proposed Lawrence budget online.
Budget workshops are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 3, 6, 9 and 10.
You can offer public comment at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15.
And the budget adoption meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 3.
All meetings will be held in the public assembly room of the Lawrence Government Center, 9001 E 59th St.
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Mirror Indy reporter Darian Benson covers east Indianapolis. Contact her at 317-397-7262 or darian.benson@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @HelloImDarian or on Bluesky @darianbenson.bsky.social.
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