To the editor:

Reduce your property taxes. Lawrence voters’ biggest complaints are: 1) High property taxes; 2) Proposed fees at Rock Chalk Park. You can impact this.

Every vote matters in City Commission elections because only about 10% of registered voters vote in the primaries and approximately 25% vote in the general election.

City budget records explain why property taxes increased: Over the last five years:

• The city’s budget doubled from $261 million to $519 million.

• The city added 85 new employees.

• Annual debt payments more than tripled from $26 million to $85 million.

• Annual capital expenses increased from $28 million to $152 million.

• The city approved the $130 million public works (MSO) campus, whose $2 million annual savings requires a payback of 65 years.

If we don’t act on this information, we will continue to pay disproportionately high property taxes plus fees at Rock Chalk Park.

Incumbent city commissioners under whose leadership the city’s budget doubled over these past five years should be replaced with new commissioners who have proven fiscal leadership experience managing multimillion-dollar budgets. Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 5. Make your voice heard!

Randy Swain,

Lawrence