In May, when my wife, Sara, and I moved to Lawrence from Stillwater, Okla., I swore my local daily newspaper op-ed column writing days were over. All my attention would be devoted to our 2-year-old grandson who lives in nearby Topeka.

No more broadsides against Oklahoma State University and the decision by wealthy alumnus Boone Pickens to build a $165 million athletic village adjacent to campus, displacing hundreds of residents in the process. Boone U my glutami maximi.

No more jabs at President George W. Bush and the Project for the New American Century, a chilling foreign-policy manifesto. No more spoofs on dog fighting. No more barbs at former Gov. Frank Keating’s ill-fated efforts to water down Oklahoma’s famous vocational-technical school system.

And no more praise for the city and the people Sara and I grew to love after 37 years in residence. Like Lawrence, there’s something about Stillwater. :

But observing Lawrence with fresh eyes compels me to comment on the obvious: the need to lower the property tax and increase the current 7.3 percent sales tax by a penny to 8.3 percent. Half a penny would help cover street repairs, subsidized bus routes, subsidized swimming pool admissions, raises for city workers and other grave budget issues. Half would be kept in reserve. The reserve fund would grow to the point it could be spent down to a set level by paying cash for such big-ticket capital items as sewer expansion – a key, I’m told, to growth in south Lawrence.

Sales tax increases have a habit of becoming permanent; hence, labeling one temporary when it likely would face a number of ballot extensions would be tantamount to lying in advance. Call it a permanent tax increase from the get-go; advertise it as such; use clear and precise ballot language so there can be no mistaking its permanence.

The more cautious route, of course, is to offer a quarter-cent raise to voters and see if it passes; if it does pass, then try another and another until the 8.3 percent level is reached. Or until voters have had enough and twice reject the latest proposed increase.

Lower property taxes could mean lower house payments and rents. More people could afford to live here, including some of those who work and/or attend university here but live elsewhere in more affordable towns. This influx would translate into more retail sales, which in turn would lead to more public improvements.