To the editor:

An article in the Dec. 27 paper detailed fee increases for city services, including increases for water, sewer, trash, recycling, yard waste, local pools, parking meters, garages and even cemetery lots. The article said the increases come as the city moves to modernize its water metering system. Currently the meters are read monthly by city staff; in the future the meters will be automated. Do we really need to make this major change? Any jobs being lost?

Did the city stop to think the increases would cause more hardship for low-income families and the elderly, who are already struggling to make ends meet? And then to say the commission didn’t increase taxes to finance the budget — who are they fooling? In March we got a notice of the valuation of property going up and in November the notice of my tax increase, up from the year before. That means more tax from all property owners. Also I keep reading about new-found money and paying consultants for this and that — makes me wonder if we have any people on staff with good common sense and practical judgment.

I am beginning to understand why some people are moving into rural areas because of the cost of living in the city limits — and even retired people moving out of state for the same reason.

Darlene Hill,

Lawrence