To the editor:

It was no surprise to learn from the Tax Foundation today that Kansas is in the top third of states in the country for combined state and local tax rates. It ranks 15th in placing this kind of burden on its citizens. Having spent some time considering for whom I would vote in the last election, then reading about the mayor’s proposed sales tax increase for Lawrence and finally reflecting on suggestions for a skating rink, a new library and more parks, I wondered when street repair at the corner of Michigan and Fourth streets would be put into the mix for consideration.

Perhaps this corner and the other pitted streets in the city won’t be placed in the immediate budget. Perhaps when I go twice a week to the hospital and the front end of my car is finally destroyed in the holes, the proposed tax will pay for its repair or I will be able to leave my broken vehicle in one of the parks.

I find it nonsense that we are discussing refinements when the basics are not addressed adequately and still we are among the most highly taxed states in the union.

Barbara Cook,

Lawrence