Saying private agencies can’t do all the work, The Salvation Army is asking the city to take responsibility for helping shelter Lawrence’s homeless population.

The Salvation Army, which runs a wintertime homeless shelter, will tonight ask the city for $20,000 to keep the shelter open this summer. And the organization is preparing to ask for $30,000 from the city’s 2003 budget.

“The plight of homeless individuals in Lawrence is a problem that cannot simply be relegated to various agencies,” Capt. Kirk Schuetz said in a letter to the Lawrence City Commission. “Housing the needy of our community is a concern that must be shared and addressed by our city’s government and leaders.”

City officials said they’re interested in helping, but have recession-driven budget problems of their own.

“I think they’re right, it is a community problem,” Mayor Sue Hack said. “I think the city commission will do what it can within the unknown budget picture.”

The Salvation Army has operated its cold-weather shelter for 15 years, opening in October and closing in April. The organization hasn’t received city money to do the job, although it has received a mix of federal and state funding that is largely administered by the city. The charity received a little more than $47,000 in government aid in 2002, plus another $3,000 last fall to install air conditioners in its building at 946 N.H.

After a series of hot-weather deaths of homeless people during the summers of 2000 and 2001, the city gave The Salvation Army $10,000 last fall to open the shelter early.

In March, the organization announced a $60,000 fund-raising drive to keep the shelter open all summer. It spent $147,792 to be open in the winter. So far, Schuetz said, the Army has raised $25,000 from private donors toward meeting the $60,000 goal.

If the goal isn’t met, Army officials have said they won’t be able to keep the shelter open all summer.

“With the limited funding sources available, I don’t see how we can’t ask the city to help fund a year-round shelter,” Schuetz said.

A census in December showed 134 homeless people living in Lawrence, though advocates believe the number is higher. Schuetz said an average of 34 people stay at the shelter every night, with the population occasionally exceeding 50 during the worst weather.

The city commission will hear the $20,000 request for this summer at 6:35 p.m. today at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.