LANSING — With money proposed for new police officers and firefighters, road and sidewalk repairs, the city of Lansing’s next budget is likely to be set early next week.
Since late March, the Lansing City Council has been hearing budget presentations from department heads. Council is expected to vote on the budget during its 7 p.m. meeting on May 18 at City Hall, during which amendments could be discussed before council finalizes the next budget.
On May 11, council received a status report for general fund under the current budget. Through the first three quarters of the fiscal year, the city had collected 72.6% of its general fund revenue and made 74.3% of its planned expenditures, according to the status report.
The city’s 2026-27 fiscal year begins July 1, and the budget proposal submitted by Mayor Andy Schor includes $182 million in the general fund, up from the current $173 million general fund budget. The overall budget, as it currently stands, is $307 million.
The proposed budget includes some increased fees or fines, with some of the largest increases for building code violations. The fines for first and subsequent violations could double, going from $150 to $300 for a first offense, $250 to $500 for a first repeat offense and from $500 to $1,000 for a second repeat offense, according to city documents. Earlier this year the city made other changes to its building inspections process, including a revamped system for tagging residential properties considered unsafe.
Information technology costs were one item that increased in most budgets, which department heads attributed to rising IT costs in general.
Schor highlighted new firefighters, police officers in budget
Among the aspects that Schor highlighted in March after he submitted his budget proposal to council was three new firefighters, new call center agents in the city’s 311 center and new detention officers, which will allow five Lansing Police Department officers to move to patrol work.
The mayor’s budget also includes $800,000 for the pod community to shelter people who are homeless, $1.5 million for sidewalk repairs, $4 million for fleet vehicle purchases and continued support for community violence intervention programs and the city’s Office of Neighborhood Safety. The budget also includes $100,000 for permanent speed bumps, which City Council had requested, and while installation could happen this summer officials said the exact locations have not been determined.
Budget could include $41.4 million for road work
The budget also contains some bigger ticket items, including about $41.4 million for road work, including about $17.3 million for local streets, all part of the $145 million proposed budget for the public works department, one of the largest in the city. The department’s responsibilities include snowplowing, road repairs, sidewalks, sewers, garbage collection and property maintenance.
Inflation caused many of the changes in the year-to-year budget, Public Service Director Andy Kilpatrick told council in April. The proposed public service budget for the upcoming fiscal year is down about $7 million, or 4.2%, from the current budget, according to the proposal.
The police department’s proposed $63.7 million budget is a 3% increase from current. Police Chief Rob Backus told council on April 6 that the budget priority was hiring.
“We have vacancies. We have deficiencies in our staffing. Hiring has been our priority; it will continue to be our priority,” he told council, adding that he’s “encouraged” by progress made this year.
When Lansing Fire Chief Carrie Edwards-Clemons gave her first budget presentation to council in late March, she said the 7.7% increase to $48.8 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year came, in part, from inflation and an increase in call volume, particularly with medical calls.
There have been more than 7,900 medical calls so far this year, according to department data online, and at least 199 for a fire.
Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at mjmencarini@lsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing City Council to vote on $182M budget. Here’s what’s in it
Reporting by Matt Mencarini, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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