Faced with major infrastructure needs and other expenses, Lawrence city commissioners are starting to look for new sources of revenue.

One possibility that has been raised more than once by Mayor Mike Amyx is to seek approval for a new city sales tax.

“I know we will hear comments that it is a regressive tax and that it may hurt some businesses,” Amyx said at Tuesday’s meeting, “but if we really look at how you can use a sales tax and how you can sunset it, a sales tax really can be one of the greatest tools we have.”

Amyx is right; the sales tax is not a popular tax because it applies to the necessities of life, like groceries, but higher property taxes also raise house payments and rents for Lawrence residents and are particularly hard on homeowners with fixed incomes.

A sales tax, for a specific purpose and for a finite period of time, would be one way to finance capital improvements for the city. If the city asked voters to approve a 1-cent sales tax for 10 years to pay for a library or rebuild streets, the proceeds from that tax couldn’t be used for other purposes. At the end of 10 years, the tax would go away unless voters approved an extension.

If the tax parameters were drawn closely, it could provide some accountability to voters that goes beyond what was included in the current local sales taxes. The 1-cent countywide sales tax was sold partially on the basis that the city would use its share of the tax revenue to fund recreation programs. Voters approved an additional half-cent in sales tax in 1990 to meet police and fire protection needs and lower the property tax levy.

Those taxes now have been absorbed into the budget. Some of the revenue may still be used for its intended purpose, but it essentially has been folded into the city’s overall budget pie. Theoretically, a targeted sales tax with a specific sunset could be different, but there certainly is reason to wonder what will happen when the tax is slated to depart. Will city voters be told they must renew the tax because that revenue now is essential to city operations or that without the sales tax, property tax rates will have to rise?

Commissioners also need to consider the impact of increased sales taxes on local businesses who must compete with businesses in other cities in Kansas and across the state line.

The ultimate answer to raising revenue for city government, of course, is to broaden the city’s tax base through economic development efforts. Until that happens, the local tax burden on residents and existing businesses will continue to increase. A sales tax with a sunset provision may be slightly more palatable than some other taxes, but it still has drawbacks that keep it from being a panacea for the city’s budget woes.