Local officials are facing some difficult decisions as they seek to set their funding priorities.

It’s always been necessary to pick and choose among the projects that are presented to the Lawrence City Commission, but with major infrastructure challenges on the horizon, it is especially important now that commissioners carefully consider not only what the city can afford but also the difference between what Lawrence residents want and what the city needs.

At tonight’s meeting, commissioners will consider whether to approve $2.4 million worth of additions and renovations to the city’s park system. The plan includes developing a park at Peterson Road and North Iowa Street, adding improvements to an undeveloped park near Kasold Drive and 31st Street and developing a 40-acre site near Langston Hughes School.

Parks and open space are at the heart of Lawrence’s quality of life. Neighborhood parks like those in the current plan provide a gathering place for children and families. They offer trails and a destination for people who want to walk with family or pets. They are peaceful havens in an often-crowded lifestyle.

But, that being said, other demands on city funding may lower the parks proposal on the current priority list. The park improvements would be financed by borrowing money that would be repaid using receipts from the countywide 1-cent sales tax. The city’s share of that tax has been dedicated to parks and recreation since it was approved by voters in 1994. It has helped fund many recreation projects, including the popular outdoor aquatic center. Because the aquatic center debt was retired last year, that money now can be dedicated for other uses.

Should that sales tax revenue continue to be an assumed part of the city’s Parks and Recreation budget, or should it be considered for other community enhancements such as a new library, a homeless shelter or a new sports center for local youngsters? Or should the city divert those funds to infrastructure projects, such as city sewer improvements or street repairs, that may not be as popular but are nonetheless essential to the long-term quality of life in Lawrence?

Development delays triggered by questions over sewer capacity in the northwest part of Lawrence as well as a report that deemed 31 percent of the city’s streets as beyond repair seem to indicate that Lawrence’s needs may sometimes have taken a back seat to the wants of its residents. Hence, the difficult decisions now facing city commissioners.

The parks proposal on tonight’s agenda is a good plan for projects that will enhance Lawrence, but it would behoove city commissioners to look beyond that plan at a broad range of projects that will compete for taxpayer funds over the next several years. It’s becoming clear that, at least in the short term, Lawrence can’t afford to do everything it wants to do. It’s the duty of city commissioners to make sure the city can meet the basic needs of our growing community.