To the Editor:

We finally got a break from the State of Kansas when the legislature saw fit to lower property taxes. The cut was no as much as some had proposed, but at least it was a move in the right direction. The Douglas County commissioners apparently are looking at a new budget proposal that also would lower the mill levy. I appreciate the work of the county to prepare such a budget.

On the other hand, the city of Lawrence staff has proposed a three and one half mill property tax increase for next year’s budget, apparently because city staff overestimated the projected receipts from sales taxes. This is simply not acceptable. The taxpayers of this community should not be held responsible for errors made by city staff. The solution, although complicated, is pretty straight forward. City staff and the city commissioners need to sit down and figure out where cuts will have to be made to resolve the issue. Is it too much to ask that the city commissioners direct city staff to work within the current mill levy?

Once again, Parks and Recreation is being proposed as an area for cuts. Why is that entity always first on the chopping block? Millions of dollars are being poured into the homeless issue, the new facility to centralize all the equipment and people the city has, and re-inventing the city transportation system. In my opinion, these items would be a good place to start looking for cuts.

Mike Dwyer,

Lawrence