To the editor:

It is time for fiscal responsibility by the city, county and school district by discerning true “needs” versus “wants.” Proof of need should be required for all major expenditures, and questions of cost effectiveness answered before raising the mill levy and increasing utility costs. Some recent expenditures give pause.

Many residents continue to struggle as our economy attempts to recover amid an uncertain financial future. Already, real estate taxes will increase for most because appraisals and assessments have risen significantly (double that increase in monthly payments for escrow accounts). Add to that the forthcoming surcharges to be assessed by Evergy and Black Hills due to the extreme cold this past winter, expected large increases in insurance premiums resulting from the exorbitant medical expenses of the pandemic, and the greater costs for services and goods that will continue to rise.

Perhaps it’s time for our leaders to impose a moratorium on real estate tax increases for homes under a certain valuation for senior citizens and for homeowners of a certain income. With constant increases in taxes, services and cost of living in Lawrence, a new class of homelessness for these demographics may be created.

Please, on behalf of our lower-income residents and many senior citizens with modest and fixed incomes who do own houses, I implore you to exercise some restraint and balance actual needs versus wants, just as many of the people you represent must do.

Vicki L. Julian,

Lawrence