Voice For Liberty

Category: Sedgwick county government

  • From the United Nations to Sedgwick County

    It took from 1987 to 2012, but Sedgwick County has adopted the language of the United Nations regarding sustainability.

    Those critical of sustainability planning are concerned that engaging in sustainable communities planning has the potential to import harmful policies and practices originating from the United Nations. Critics of these critics say this is nonsense and overreacting. Examples as reported in the Wichita Eagle come from Commissioner Dave Unruh and Commission Chair Tim Norton:

    Unruh said he sees the grant simply as an “effort to make decisions about our future for us and our future generations that will save money, conserve resources and be the best solutions for all the folks in our region.” …

    Norton said he sees the grant as a way to “look to the future, try to figure out best possible outcomes and make decisions today that will be good for tomorrow.”

    “We’re all in this together. You may not like the federal government. You may not like the state government. You may not even like the local government. But I like being at the table and being involved in the future.”

    He dismisses any connection to Agenda 21.

    “It was a non-binding agreement passed during the first Bush era,” he said of former president George H.W. Bush. “I don’t rail on President Bush because it happened on his watch. I’m not twitchy about it. I’m not worried about it.”

    The language Sedgwick County uses when considering sustainability comes directly from the United Nations. General Assembly Resolution 42/187: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development holds this language: “Believing that sustainable development, which implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, should become a central guiding principle of the United Nations, Governments and private institutions, organizations and enterprises.” (emphasis added)

    Sedgwick County’s Sustainability Page holds this: Definition of Sustainability for Sedgwick County … Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs … (emphasis added)

    Sedgwick County left out the word “own,” but otherwise the language is identical. This definition was repeated on the county’s 2012 Employee Sustainability Survey.

    The Sedgwick County page — and other county documents — mention economic development, environmental protection, institutional and financial viability, and social equity as “the four core factors that Sedgwick County considers when making community policy and program management decisions.” These goals are often mentioned in Agenda 21 documents, especially social equity.

  • Sedgwick County tower sale was not in citizens’ best interest

    The sale of a radio tower owned by Sedgwick County reveals another case of local government not looking out for the interests of citizens and taxpayers, with the realization that the stain of cronyism is alive and well.

    As a result of system upgrades, the county no longer needs a radio tower located near 77th Street North and Interstate 135. Pixius Communications, LLC made an offer to purchase the tower and the five acre tower site for $280,000. The county proceeded making arrangements for the sale, preparing a sales agreement contract between Sedgwick County and Pixius with a sales price of $280,000, along with several other legal documents necessary to support the sale. These documents are available at the agenda file for this item.

    According to sources, County Manager William Buchanan supported the Pixius offer. So did commissioners Dave Unruh and Jim Skelton.

    But commissioners Richard Ranzau and Karl Peterjohn felt that the best way to sell the tower was through an auction.

    Commission Chair Tim Norton, because of his receipt of campaign contributions from Pixius, Jay Maxwell (owner of Pixius), and Penny Maxwell (spouse of owner), was going to abstain from voting. (Skelton has accepted contributions from the Maxwells, but he was going to vote nonetheless.)

    So there was not a majority of three votes to accept the Pixius offer. Buchanan suggested the auction. All commissioners agreed.

    Now we know the results of the auction: A Florida company offered $610,000. After a sales commission ($55,000) and half of closing costs ($1,128), the county will net $553,872. That’s almost twice the price the county manager and two commissioners were willing to sell the tower for.

    There’s something else: What will be the appraised value of the tower and site for tax purposes? The selling price of a property is strong evidence of its value. As a result of the auction, therefore, this property is likely to be appraised at $610,000 instead of $280,000. That’s good for those who think it’s good for government to bring in more tax revenue.

    This episode is another instance where no-bid contracts and cronyism cost taxpayers. Maxwell, the almost-beneficiary of this sweetheart no-bid contract, has been the recipient of many benefits at taxpayer expense, such as tax increment financing and community improvement district taxes. He’s tried for more, but even the Wichita City Council has a limit to its cronyism, now and then. Although cronyism and no-bid contracts have been a problem at Wichita City Hall.

    Interestingly, a recent KSN Television news story characterized Ranzau and Peterjohn as “hardline fiscal conservatives.” The story went on to report “Incumbent Democrat Tim Norton often sides with the two more moderate members of the commission with many votes being decided by a 3-2 margin.” Those moderate members are, of course, Unruh and Skelton.

    Norton didn’t have to take sides — at least publicly — on this issue, but I’m confident that if this was not an election year for Norton, he would have voted for the original Pixius deal that we now see was a disaster for taxpayers.

    In the KSN story Norton was quoted as saying “I’m a business man of many years in Wichita. I understand the business climate and job retention.”

    Unruh and Skelton are also businessmen. I hope these commissioners look after their personal business with more care and concern than they have shown for the business of taxpayers.

  • Tim Norton commercial: Some context

    A television advertisement for Tim Norton, candidate for re-election to the Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners, contains claims that, while probably true, hide the reality of Norton’s record.

    Tim Norton television advertisement

    One claim in the ad is that “I’ve worked hard to create new jobs, and save what we have.” A graphic in the ad reads “Over 18,000 new & retained jobs.”

    I don’t know the source of the job claims, but the numbers provided by Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition, our area’s economic development organization, must be viewed with caution.

    An example is MoJack, a company which had received a forgivable loan from Wichita and Sedgwick County based on promises to create a certain number of jobs.

    But later MoJack revised its projections of job creation from 53 down to 26.

    A larger example is likely to be reported soon is the case of Hawker Beechcraft. Economic development officials are taking credit for retaining 4,500 jobs there, a dubious claim to begin with. But there have been hundreds of layoffs this year.

    Do economic development officials revise their statistics in response to these later events?

    We ought to also take a look at Sedgwick County employment since Norton took office in 2001. The following chart shows that the number of people working in Sedgwick County is lower now than in 2001. We’ve endured two recessions during that time, to be sure, and these were not the fault of anyone in Sedgwick County government. And while jobs are created, others are lost due to the dynamic nature of the economy.

    But when we talk about creating jobs, we ought to also take a look at the entire employment situation.

    Another look at Sedgwick County employment shows that government employment has grown at the expense of private sector jobs.

    I’m not saying that Tim Norton is responsible for the growth of federal and state employees in Sedgwick County during his three terms as commissioner. But this information provides context to any claims of job creation or growth.

    A recent report from GWEDC shows us that power of government to influence economic development is weak. The organization claimed to have created 1,509 jobs in Sedgwick County during 2011. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor force in Sedgwick County in 2011 was 253,940 persons. So the jobs created by GWEDC’s actions amounted to 0.59 percent of the labor force. This is a very small fraction, and other economic events are likely to overwhelm these efforts. See Wichita economic development isn’t working.

    Tim Norton television advertisement

    Another graphic in the commercial reads “Reduced the mill levy 3 consecutive years.” This is true. But it’s not the entire history of Sedgwick County property taxes while Norton has been on the commission. The chart below illustrates.

    Notice how the property tax rate jumps in 2006? It increased from 28.758 to 31.315 mills, according to Sedgwick County Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports. That’s an increase of 8.9 percent. Tim Norton, along with other commissioners, explicitly voted for this tax increase on August 9, 2006. It wasn’t an accidental increase. It was deliberate.

    While Norton in later years voted with other commissioners to reduce the mill levy — making the claim in the advertisement true — these reductions were not at his initiative. Instead, his attitude, I believe, is revealed by his opposition to initiatives that would require voter approval for tax increases. He prefers to keep the power to raise taxes.

  • Sedgwick County will hold Southfork TIF hearing

    Since the Wichita City Council passed a resolution authorizing the formation of the Southfork tax increment financing district, the affected county (Sedgwick) and school district (Wichita) have an opportunity to veto the district’s formation. They don’t have to take action to approve the district — only silent assent is required. But they can take action, as Sedgwick County did in January, to cancel the formation of the district.

    At Tuesday’s commission staff meeting, commission chair Tim Norton along with commissioners Dave Unruh and Jim Skelton didn’t believe a public hearing was necessary the matter should not be placed on the agenda. That would mean the county gave its silent consent to the district’s formation.

    But after learning of that action, myself and at least two others contacted the county manager’s office and asked to be placed on the public agenda portion of the meeting, where citizens may address any topic.

    Whether we would be allowed to speak was touch-and-go. County policy is that speakers must “provide your request in writing to the Sedgwick County Manager’s Office at least nine days prior to the meeting date.” The emphasis is in the original. (I wonder if email counts as writing?)

    (That lengthy nine day lead time is a problem in itself. I believe that good public policy requires that the lead time be at least one day less than the period between meetings of the body, which is case of this commission, is normally seven days.)

    But late Tuesday someone at the courthouse had a change of heart or mind, and now there will be a public hearing on Wednesday May 9th on this matter. Strictly speaking, it’s not a public hearing, but the item will be on the agenda, and it’s anticipated that chairman Norton will allow the public to address the commissioners on this issue.

    I can understand (but not approve of) the motives of the three commissioners who approve of this district not wanting to hear members of the public speak against this item and their policies. Especially when the public has shown their skepticism on these matters, an example being the vote turning down an incentive for the Wichita Ambassador Hotel. In that election, voters repudiated the big-spending, big-government programs of the liberal Republicans on the Wichita City Council. If citizens could vote on the formation of this TIF ddistrict, commissioners Skelton and Unruh might find themselves in the same situation.

  • Intrust Bank Arena finances: The worst news is hidden

    The true state of the finances of the Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita are not often a subject of public discussion. Arena boosters promote a revenue-sharing arrangement between the county and the arena operator, referring to this as profit or loss. But this arrangement is not an accurate and complete accounting, and hides the true economics of the arena.

    There are two ways of looking at the finance of the arena. Most attention is given to the “profit” (or loss) earned by the arena for the county according to an operating and management agreement between the county and SMG, a company that operates the arena.

    This agreement specifies a revenue sharing mechanism between the county and SMG. Based on the terms of the agreement, Sedgwick County received payment of $1,116,442 for the 2010 year, the first year of operation for the arena. While described as “profit” by many — and there was much crowing last year over the seemingly large amount — this payment does not represent any sort of “profit” or “earnings” in the usual sense. In fact, the introductory letter that accompanies these calculations warns readers that these are “not intended to be a complete presentation of INTRUST Bank Arena’s financial position and results of operations and are not intended to be a presentation in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”

    That bears repeating: This is not a reckoning of profit and loss in any recognized sense. It is simply an agreement between Sedgwick County and SMG as to how SMG is to be paid, and how the county participates.

    The presentation made to commissioners in February for the 2011 operating year said that the arena’s “profit” was $389,659. This is smaller than the threshold for the county to participate, so the county received nothing for 2011.

    While county manager Bill Buchanan and Commissioner Dave Unruh referred to this as a profit, the true facts of the arena’s finances appear — to some degree — in the county’s comprehensive annual financial report for 2011. In this document, we learn that the arena suffered an operating loss of $5.7 million. A large part of that was due to $5.2 million in depreciation expense.

    This is a much better reckoning of the economics of the Intrust Bank Arena.

    Depreciation expense is not something that is paid out in cash every year. Instead, it provides a way to recognize and account for the cost of long-lived assets over their lifespan. It provides a way to recognize opportunity costs, that is, what could be done with our resources if not spent on the arena.

    But some don’t recognize this. Last year, Unruh made remarks that show the severe misunderstanding that he and almost everyone labor under regarding the nature of the spending on the arena: “I want to underscore the fact that the citizens of Sedgwick County voted to pay for this facility in advance. And so not having debt service on it is just a huge benefit to our government and to the citizens, so we can go forward without having to having to worry about making those payments and still show positive cash flow. So it’s still a great benefit to our community and I’m still pleased with this report.”

    The contention of Unruh and other arena boosters such as the Wichita Eagle editorial board is that the capital investment of $183,625,241 (not including an operating and maintenance reserve) on the arena is merely a historical artifact, something that happened in the past, something that has no bearing today. This attitude, however, disrespects the sacrifices of the people of Sedgwick County and its visitors to raise those funds.

    Any honest accounting or reckoning of the performance of Intrust Bank Arena must take depreciation into account. While Unruh is correct in that depreciation expense is not a cash expense that affects cash flow, it is an economic fact that can’t be ignored — except by politicians, apparently.

    Without honest discussion of numbers like these, we make decisions based on incomplete and false information. This is especially important as civic leaders agitate for another sales tax or other taxes to pay for more public investment. The sales pitch is that once the tax is collected and the assets paid for, we don’t need to consider the cost. They contend, as is the attitude of Unruh and arena boosters, that we can just sweep it under the rug and pretend it doesn’t exist. This is a false line of reasoning, and citizens ought not to be fooled.

  • Sedgwick County migration

    Using statistics from the Internal Revenue Service, Kansas Policy Institute has found that Sedgwick County is losing people and income to other states.

    The data is based on IRS migration data, which tracks when taxpayers change addresses.

    From 2005 to 2010, Sedgwick County lost 1,547 exemptions to other states. Exemptions are a surrogate for the number of people.

    For the same period, Sedgwick County lost $163 million of income (adjusted gross income) earned by people who moved to other states.

  • Federal, United Nations planning imported to Wichita

    Yesterday the Sedgwick County Commission voted to participate in a HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant.

    Republican commissioners Dave Unruh and Jim Skelton joined with Democrat Tim Norton to pass the measure. Below, Paul Soutar of Kansas Watchdog explains why this planning process is a bad idea.

    Local Planning Initiative Has Federal Strings, UN Roots

    by Paul Soutar, Kansas Watchdog

    The Sedgwick County Commission will decide Wednesday whether to give a consortium of South Central Kansas governments and organizations broad control over community planning funded by a federal grant and based on a United Nations agenda.

    The Regional Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Consortium for Sustainable Communities seeks to implement a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development (RPSD) for South Central Kansas.

    REAP’s application for a federal grant said the plan will “provide an overall vision and commitment for sustainable growth in South Central Kansas. The RSPD will provide goals, strategies, and action steps to support that vision. Specifically, that RPSD will create a regional integrated transportation, housing, air quality and water infrastructure plan that aligns federal resources and provides for sustainable development and resources (fiscal, human and capital) to support our economic centers.‘

    Much of the language and goals of sustainable communities grants reflect the goals of the U.N.’s Agenda 21, a global environmental agenda for the 21st century revealed at the 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.

    Agenda 21 is a comprehensive framework for global, national and local action aimed at improving environmental equality through massive changes in how resources are consumed and allocated.

    According to Sustainable Development in the 21st century (SD21), a December 2011 UN review of implementation of Agenda 21, “Achieving greater equity requires a significant reduction in consumption by industrialized countries.”

    Continue reading at Local Planning Initiative Has Federal Strings, UN Roots.

  • Sedgwick County should reject planning grant

    Update: The county decided to participate in the grant, with Republican commissioners Dave Unruh and Jim Skelton joining with Democrat Tim Norton to pass the measure.

    Today the Sedgwick County Commission considers whether to participate in a HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant.

    One reason we ought to reject this grant and the planning process it funds is the attitude of planners. A recent example comes from the planning process for downtown Wichita, which is characteristic of government planning processes and planners.

    Consider the attitudes of Goody Clancy, the Boston planning firm the city hired to lead us through the process. At a presentation, some speakers from Goody Clancy revealed condescending attitudes towards the lifestyles that many in Sedgwick County have chosen. One presenter said “Outside of Manhattan and Chicago, the traditional family household generally looks for a single family detached house with yard, where they think their kids might play, and they never do.” In other words, this planner knows the desires of people better than they do themselves.

    David Dixon, who leads Goody Clancy’s Planning and Urban Design division and was the principal for this project, revealed his elitist world view when he told how that in the future, Wichitans will be able to “enjoy the kind of social and cultural richness” that is only found at the core.

    This idea that only downtown people are socially and culturally rich is an elitist attitude that we ought to reject. Considering the members of the Sedgwick County Commission, I don’t see anyone who lives in the core area. Do the commissioners accept Dixon’s criticism?

    These attitudes reflect those of most of the planning profession — that people can’t be relied on to choose what’s best for them. Instead they believe that only they — like the planners at Goody Clancy — are equipped to make choices for people. It’s an elitism that Sedgwick County ought to reject.

    The irony is that when we start to look at what exactly planners like Goody Clancy are selling us, we find that we ought to reject it.

    In January, Dixon used Walk Score in a presentation delivered in Wichita. Walk Score is purported to represent a measure of walkability of a location in a city. Walkability is a key design element of the master plan Goody Clancy has developed for downtown Wichita.

    Walk Score is not a project of Goody Clancy, as far as I know, and Dixon is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of the Walk Score website. But he presented it and relied on it as an example of the data-driven approach that Goody Clancy — and by extension, planners in general — takes.

    Walk Score data for downtown Wichita, as presented by planning firm Goody ClancyWalk Score data for downtown Wichita, as presented by planning firm Goody Clancy. Click for a larger view.

    The score for 525 E. Douglas, the block the Eaton Hotel is in and mentioned by Dixon as a walkable area, scored 91, which means it is a “walker’s paradise,” according to the Walk Score website.

    But here’s where we can start to see just how bad the data used to develop these scores is. For a grocery store — an important component of walkability — the website indicates indicates a grocery store just 0.19 miles away. It’s “Pepsi Bottling Group,” located on Broadway between Douglas and First Streets. Those familiar with the area know there is no grocery store there, only office buildings. The claim of a grocery store here is false.

    There were other claimed amenities where the data is just as bad. But the chairman of the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation told me that Walk Score has been updated. I should no longer be concerned with the credibility of this data, he told me through a comment left on this website.

    He’s correct. Walk Score has been updated. Now for the same location the walk score is 85%, which is considered “very walkable.” The “grocery store” is no longer the Pepsi Bottling Group. It’s now “Market Place,” whose address is given as 155 N. Market St # 220.

    If someone would ever happen to stroll by that location, he’d find that address, 155 N. Market number 220, is the management office for an office building whose name is Market Place.

    Still no grocery store. Not even close.

    Again, David Dixon and Goody Clancy did not create the Walk Score data. But they presented it to Wichitans as an example of the data-driven, market-oriented approach to planning that they use. Dixon cited Walk Score data as the basis for higher real estate values based on the walkability of the area and its surrounding amenities.

    But anyone who relies on the evidence Dixon and Goody Clancy presented would surely get burnt unless they investigated the area on their own.

    And since this January reliance on Walk Score was made after Goody Clancy had spent considerable time in Wichita, the fact that someone there could not immediately recognize how utterly bogus the data is — that should give us cause for concern that the entire planning process is based on similar shoddy data and analysis.

    Anti personal automobile, anti-mobility

    Cato Institute Senior Fellow Randal O’Toole, author of The Best-Laid Plans: How Government Planning Harms Your Quality of Life, Your Pocketbook, and Your Future, writes the following regarding the tremendous boost the personal automobile has given Americans: “Since the dawn of the Republic, no invention has enhanced the quality of life of the average American as much as the mass-produced automobile. Americans today are far more mobile, they earn much higher incomes, and they have access to far more consumer goods than a hundred years ago. It is no exaggeration to attribute most of these improvements to the wide availability of automobiles.”

    This is important to know because the planning process the county is considering is definitely anti-automobile.

    One of the goals for the plan is: “Regional Transportation Plan: Develop multi-modal transportation options/programs for the region and connects housing options to emerging employment clusters.” This sounds like a good and noble idea. But in practice, government transit systems fail to produce what riders truly need, and are very expensive. The last time I checked, only 22.5 percent of the costs of running the Wichita transit system is paid for by riders through the fare box. Taxpayers — most of whom don’t ride the buses — pay the rest.

    But owning an automobile gives people mobility, and that is very important for workers. Some examples:

    “Studies show that car ownership is a significant factor in improving the employment status of welfare recipients.” (Job Access, Commute, and Travel Burden Among Welfare Recipients)

    “Raphael and Rice (2002) found in their study that car ownership has a strong effect on the probability of an individual being employed as well as on the number of hours they work per week. Generally, car ownership better enables job seekers to look for jobs. They can consider work outside of regular transit service hours, and they can travel faster, more safely, and more flexibly than with public transportation.” (Transportation & Work: Exploring Car Usage and Employment Outcomes in the LSAL Data)

    Also from this study: “Overall, car ownership does appear to have an important relationship to employment status, wages, and weeks worked.” And “Having a car as a primary mode of transportation makes a respondent four times as likely to be employed. Car ownership also improves earnings by several hundred dollars and increases weeks worked by up to eleven weeks.”

    In the rankings of factors that are important to obtaining employment, a car was more useful than a high-school-equivalent diploma. We should be working to increase automobile ownership, especially among lower-income people. The planning process you are considering adopting today, with its emphasis on government transit rather than private automobiles, will decrease mobility and economic opportunity for everyone.

    Finally, consider the Wichita transit system. It is in financial crisis at this time. There are proposals floating around city hall for a sales tax to pay for transit.

  • Sedgwick County Commission to have evening meeting

    Tomorrow’s meeting of the Sedgwick County Commission will be held at 7:00 pm, instead of its regular 9:00 am starting time.

    Normally commission meetings are broadcast live on KPTS public television, but this will not be the case for Wednesday’s meeting. Video of the meetings is normally broadcast live on the county’s website, but this will not be the case for this special evening meeting. The meeting will be recorded, however, and video will appear on the commission’s site later.

    The commission’s web page holds information about the board and its members, including a link to the agenda system. The agenda for tomorrow’s meeting is typical of the types of business the commission handles, except that there are a large number of items.