The City of Lawrence Common Council Administration Budget and Finance Committee voted unanimously July 7 to recommend that the full council approve Resolution No. 6, 2025, to retain Stone Municipal Group as the council’s municipal adviser.

Committee members said the municipal adviser would provide education and support during the budget review process, a role the council has filled in previous years with outside financial advisers.

Committee chair, City of Lawrence Common Council, opened discussion by noting the resolution and the accompanying statement of work and said the council has historically retained a financial adviser before budget season. He said Stone Municipal Group is new to the council but that having an adviser during budget review is not new to the council. He also warned that “this will require an additional appropriation,” and urged that the adviser be included as a line item in future council budgets rather than funded through separate appropriations.

A committee member who reviewed the materials said the presentation to the caucus was helpful and supported the retention. “I feel comfortable with what he has helped us with so far,” the committee member said, adding that the caucus presentation was “incredibly helpful and eye opening.”

The committee voted on a motion to recommend full council approval at the council’s meeting later that night. The motion was made by the committee member and seconded by the committee chair. The committee approved the recommendation by a show of hands; the committee chair stated the vote was unanimous.

The committee’s discussion emphasized two points: that retaining a municipal adviser is a recurring practice tied to the budget season, and that council budget planning will need to account for the adviser’s cost through an appropriation. The committee did not set a specific funding source during the meeting.

The resolution will move to the full City of Lawrence Common Council for consideration at its meeting later the same day.