It’s good to see Lawrence city commissioners showing some resistance to a $42 million plan to provide a new building and dozens of new staff positions for the Lawrence Police Department. There are many issues to be discussed before the city signs off on such an expensive idea.

The initial request from the police department was for $30 million to build a new police headquarters. The department currently is split between the downtown Judicial and Law Enforcement Center and additional offices near Bob Billings Parkway and Wakarusa Drive. After commissioners asked for a more comprehensive report on what it would take to address the department’s most pressing facility and staffing needs over the next four years, another $12 million was added to the total to create 46 new positions for the department.

One scenario put forth to finance the improvements was a property tax increase of nearly 5 mills for four years AND an additional 1 percent sales tax that supposedly would sunset after about 14 months.

That kind of tax increase should cause both taxpayers and commissioners to think twice about this proposal.

Police officials and some commissioners contend that police department needs have been put off too long and the city needs to catch up. There may be some truth to that, but the idea that the department needs $42 million in new staff and facilities in the next four years would seem to indicate that the department currently is in dire shape, unable to even come close to meeting the community’s needs. That doesn’t seem to be the case.

If the city is going to consider such a major injection of funds into the police department, they owe it to taxpayers to investigate the possibility of a combined city-county law enforcement agency. If the city goes ahead with construction of a new $30 million police headquarters, any discussion of consolidating the police and sheriff’s departments probably will be off the table for 20 or 30 years. Before that happens, the city and county need to look seriously at the possible efficiencies and savings that might come with a consolidated force. If they turn out to be insignificant, at least taxpayers will know that up front.

If the city commissioners decide to go forward with major police expansion, they need to look at ways to spread out the expenses. Allowing any significant increase in the city’s debt limit to finance this project shouldn’t be on the table, especially with the current uncertainty about state finances and the additional burden it may place on local property taxes to fund basic services. Architects may recommend that the city build a bigger headquarters than it needs to in preparation for assumed expansion, but the city can insist on plans that call for a smaller building now that can be expanded later. The same goes for adding police positions. Forty-six positions is a lot and may be far more than the city needs if the city’s population doesn’t grow faster than it has in recent years.

One thing is certain: At this point, the price tag for what this city thinks it needs is growing far faster than the tax base that is available to support that wish list. The city must make sure its appetite for new projects isn’t exceeding what its taxpayers can stomach.