A common theme emerged Thursday as social service advocates spoke to Douglas County legislators: More money is needed.

Bob Mikesic, advocacy coordinator for Independence Inc., asked lawmakers to push for funding to provide in-home health care to more than 2,000 poor and elderly Kansans who are on waiting lists.

He said the Legislature should at least provide enough funding to reduce from 18 months to three months the amount of time Kansans have been on the waiting lists.

“Try to get it within a manageable amount of time because the services they receive are critical,” Mikesic said.

Lawmakers will start the 2004 legislative session on Monday facing a host of funding demands amid tight revenues.

Douglas County legislators invited area groups to discuss with them what they needed.

State Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, said the annual meeting, which was conducted at the Lawrence school district administration building, 110 McDonald Drive, made it easier for advocates to discuss their issues with all the local lawmakers at once.

“It’s a way of saying, we want to hear from you. This is what we take with us to Topeka,” Ballard said.

Members of the Douglas County legislative delegation, from left, Reps. Barbara Ballard, Tom Sloan, Paul Davis and Roger Toelkes listen to a presentation from Sharon Spratt of Cottonwood Inc. The legislators met Thursday at the Lawrence school district headquarters with members of the public and advocacy groups to discuss their needs for the upcoming legislative session.

In addition to Ballard, Sen. Mark Buhler, R-Lawrence, and Reps. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, Tom Holland, D-Baldwin, Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, and Roger Toelkes, D-Topeka, attended the meeting. Toelkes’ district extends into southern Douglas County.

Nikki King, executive director of Health Care Access, which provides health care to low-income residents who are not insured, said the organization had endured a tough year.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment cut a $10,000 appropriation to the organization, while health care needs continue to increase.

“We’re doing what we can to continue to hang on,” King said.

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Charlotte Marthaler, director of policy and planning with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said the department had received the same amount of funding from the state for each of the past several years, but costs continued to increase.

“Somewhere we have to make up the costs, and when we go to the city and county, they say, ‘Our pot is dry,'” she said.

Members of the Kansas University Classified Senate asked lawmakers to push for a pay raise and for legislation that would remove KU classified employees from the state civil service system.