As Lawrence city commissioners firm up the details for funding a new police headquarters building, they need to understand that voter approval of this project is not a slam dunk.

Even people who generally are convinced that the Lawrence Police Department needs some new facilities have reservations about this project.

Some may vote against the project primarily to signal their displeasure about the level of city spending on major projects in the last several years. They think the city should have considered the need for a new police facility before moving forward on other projects like the Lawrence Public Library or the Rock Chalk Park recreation center.

Others remain disappointed that the city and county haven’t worked together to meet the needs for law enforcement facilities. It only makes sense to many voters that efficiencies could be found through stronger cooperation between Lawrence police and the Douglas County sheriff, but the two entities seem to have taken a step backward from that collaborative spirit since the joint Judicial and Law Enforcement Center was opened. It seems reasonable to believe the police and sheriff’s departments eventually will merge. Why not take that into consideration with the current police plan?

Most of all, anyone who votes for this project wants to believe they are funding a necessary, but not extravagant, facility. City officials are on the right track by insisting on revisions that have trimmed $5 million from the project’s price tag, but the remaining $25 million cost still is steep. At Tuesday’s commission meeting Commissioner Bob Schumm urged architects to look for more ways to cut the costs, which voters would appreciate.

However, a majority of commissioners continue to favor the highest-priced option for land on which to locate the police headquarters: a 47-acre site on McDonald Drive near the West Lawrence interchange on the Kansas Turnpike. The city needs only about 15 acres for the police headquarters and might be able to offset the $3.2 million price tag for the land by selling off parcels, but that adds an element of potential financial risk for the project.

Commissioners prefer that site to other options, including two sites already owned by the city on Kansas Highway 10 on the east edge of Lawrence and another at Overland and Wakarusa drives on the west side. Voters need to understand why the city needs to buy additional land instead of using property it already owns. Any land costs will be on top of the $25 million estimated construction cost.

City commissioners looked at several funding options for this project and seem to be leaning toward levying an additional 0.25 cents per dollar of sales tax for nine years (or fewer years if the project is paid for earlier). Many voters probably find that preferable to additional property tax, but in their current state of tax fatigue, neither looks particularly attractive.

That’s why commissioners need to carefully craft this proposal with taxpayers in mind. Even for what they can see as a needed expense, Lawrence voters aren’t inclined to simply rubber-stamp whatever proposal city commissioners put in front of them.