A growing disconnect between the Kansas Chamber and many local chambers of commerce around the state has produced an interesting split message to Kansas legislators.

Although the state chamber has vehemently opposed any and all proposals for increased state taxes to deal with the current budget crisis, a group of 14 local chambers stepped up this week to say they would accept “rational” tax increases if it means the state could avoid damaging cuts to schools, higher education and transportation.

The action of the local chambers drew a strong, and somewhat arrogant, response from Kent Eckles, a state chamber vice president. “When chambers pull these kinds of stunts, it’s a huge boon for us,” he said. “People who signed onto this letter clearly do not represent their business communities.”

How can he be so sure? Why does he think he knows the will of the local business people in those 14 communities better than the local chambers do?

The core mission of any chamber of commerce is to support and promote business, but opinions differ on how best to do that. According to the state chamber, any kind of tax increase hurts business and should be vigorously opposed, period.

That may work for the state chamber, but local chambers tend to take a broader view. They look at their communities and see how important it is to have highways to serve businesses and good schools to train future employees and provide a strong quality of life that will attract new businesses.

Several of the communities also are the homes of community colleges or state universities, so they value higher education. Those schools, their employees and students support many small businesses in those communities and provide many jobs.

Lawrence, of course, is one of those but wasn’t among the 14 chambers that signed onto the tax letter. Local chamber officials said the letter was too general and they haven’t decided whether to support a state tax increase. Their caution may be prudent, but, like the other towns they should carefully weigh the benefits of tax proposals against the consequences of cuts that would occur without those taxes.

There’s more than one way to support business in Kansas. At least 14 Kansas communities think the statewide chamber’s hard-line anti-tax stand takes too narrow a view. The fact that they feel strongly enough to put their names on a letter challenging that view might warrant more than a knee-jerk dismissal from Kansas Chamber leaders.