City leaders agree that the coin-fed meters and other outdated devices used to enforce parking rules downtown need to be modernized, but how much parking rates and tickets should increase next year to fund that modernization is up for debate. City Manager Tom Markus’ recommended budget for 2020 proposes increasing parking meter, garage and permit rates, as well as the fine for parking tickets. If ultimately approved by the City Commission, the increases would help replace pay stations in the city’s parking garages and the technology used by parking enforcement staff for writing tickets, which would also give downtown visitors the [...]

If a proposed pay raise for Lawrence city commissioners is approved, it would move commissioners from among the lowest-paid elected city leaders in the state to among the highest, trailing only Wichita, which has about four times the population of Lawrence. An increase in pay for Lawrence’s five city commissioners is on the table after commissioners have gone 20 years without an increase in pay. City Manager Tom Markus’ recommended budget for 2020 is proposing the first salary increase for city commissioners since 1999, but commissioners disagree on how much salaries should go up, the Journal-World previously reported. Read more: LJWorld.com.

Junction City officials will look to renew a special sales tax for debt relief purposes. City Finance Director Lindsay Miller presented an option to place a special question on the Nov. 5 general election ballot during Tuesday night’s city commission meeting. The city’s 1 percent sales tax for debt services is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020. If the sales tax is approved by voters, it would be renewed for 10 years. The sales tax brings in an estimated $3.5 million annually, Miller said. “If it does not pass, the city will need to pursue other sources of revenue,” Miller [...]