COLUMBUS ? A trust fund set up to help people move out of the southern Kansas town of Treece wants more flexibility to offer residents more money.

The Joplin Globe reported Friday that the Treece Relocation Assistance Trust will ask Gov. Sam Brownback to allow changes to its bylaws and program plan.

Currently, the trustees are required to use the average of three appraisals to determine how much to offer homeowners for their houses, and many Treece residents have said the offers are too low. The trustees also have adjusted several buyout offers to correct mistakes by appraisers.

The Environmental Protection Agency allocated $3.5 million to relocate Treece residents who want to leave the town to escape contamination from decades of lead and zinc mining.