In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: James Franko of Kansas Policy Institute joins Bob Weeks and Karl Peterjohn to discuss education in Kansas and the state budget. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 141, broadcast March 5, 2017.
There’s been much investment in downtown Wichita, we’re told, but the assessed value of property isn’t rising.
Wichita city leaders have promoted public investment in downtown Wichita as wise because it will increase the tax base. Over the past ten years, we’re told that there has been one billion dollars in investment in downtown Wichita, including projects in progress.1
To evaluate the success of the city’s efforts, we might look at the change in assessed property valuation in downtown Wichita over past years. A way to do that is to look at the valuations for property in the Wichita downtown self-supporting municipal improvement district (SSMID). This is a region of the city that pays an additional property tax to fund the activities of the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation. Its boundaries are roughly the Arkansas River east to Washington, and Kellogg north to Central.
Assessed valuation is the basis for levying property tax. The process starts with an appraised value, which is targeted to be fair market value for the property, or for commercial property sometimes an income-based method is used. Then, that is multiplied by 25 percent for commercial property, or by 11.5 percent for residential property. This produces the assessed value. Multiply that by the sum of the several mill levy rates that apply to the property, and you have the total property tax for that property.
Click for larger.With all the new projects coming online in downtown Wichita, we should expect that the assessed valuation is rising. As someone converts an old, dilapidated property into something more valuable, appraised and assessed values should rise. As new buildings are built, new appraised and assessed value is created where before there was none (or very little).
So what has happened to the assessed valuation of property in downtown Wichita, using the SSMID as a surrogate?
The answer is that after a period of increasing values, the assessed value of property in downtown has been declining. The peak was in 2008. The nearby table holds the figures.
This is the opposite of what we’ve been promised. We’ve been told that public investment in downtown Wichita builds up the tax base.
Some might excuse this performance by noting there’s been a recession. That’s true. But according to presentations, there has been much activity in downtown Wichita. Hundreds of millions of dollars over the last ten years, we are told.
Click for larger.A few years ago the city said that the decline was due to the legislature exempting business equipment and machinery from the property tax rolls. Undoubtedly this was true when the law took effect, which was in 2006. It could also explain the some of the drop for a few years after that.
But for the last several years this factor is gone. At any rate, I believe its effect was small compared to the value of real property.
Also: How how does the assessed valuation in the SSMID compare to the city as a whole? Nearby is a chart of the percent change in assessed valuation for each year, comparing the SSMID with the city as a whole less the SSMID. In other words, Wichita minus downtown. The SSMID is underperforming the city.
So why isn’t the assessed valuation rising? Why is it falling during the time of huge successes?
I don’t have enough data to answer this question. But we need to know.
Troubleshoot why you aren’t getting email from Voice for Liberty or other senders.
From time to time people ask me if I’m still sending email newsletters from the Voice for Liberty. The answer is yes, I am. But some people tell me they aren’t receiving them, even though I have verified that the emails are, indeed, being sent. So if you aren’t receiving your email from the Voice for Liberty or other senders, here are some troubleshooting steps. (I usually send Friday morning, but sometimes also on other days.)
Spam. Just what is it?
Most email programs or systems filter spam, that is, unwanted email, so it doesn’t reach your inbox. But there is not a clear definition as to what is spam, and spammers are continually innovating in order to bypass spam detection methodologies, just so you won’t overlook that Nigerian prince who wants to send you ten million dollars. So sometimes email that you want to receive is mistakenly marked as spam, and you may not see it. (Amazingly, sometimes Gmail — a service provided by Google — marks email sent from Google as spam.)
Most systems have a spam or junk folder — or something similar — where spammy messages are placed. If you view that folder, you may find that email from Voice for Liberty, along with other desirable email, is there. If so, you can usually whitelist that email. That’s telling your email system that this email is not spam, and that future email from the sender should not be treated as spam.
How to do this varies among email systems. In Gmail there’s a “Not spam” button. Other systems have a “Safe senders” list. Sometimes your contact list serves as the whitelist, so you need to add a sender to your contacts. (The email address Voice for Liberty emails are sent from is bob.weeks@gmail.com.) This helpful article from Constant Contact, the company I use to send the email newsletter, provides specific instructions for many email systems.
The problem may be that emails you want to receive are being sorted into a tab that you’re not paying attention to. If so, there are several things you can do.
On a desktop browser, you can drag an email to a different tab, like Primary.
Or, you can pay more attention to the tabs other than Primary.
Or — and a lot of people do this — you can switch off the categorized and tabbed feature. This article from Google shows how to do that.
Did you unsubscribe, perhaps accidentally?
It may be that sometime in the past you unsubscribed to emails from the Voice for Liberty, perhaps accidentally. If so, please be aware that I am not able to restore your subscription. (Constant Contact, my service provider, prohibits this in order to reduce spam.) If you think this is the case, here’s what you can do.
Click on this link and subscribe. You should receive a confirming email.
Or, send an email to me, and I can re-send your confirming email.
Has your email address changed?
If your email address has changed, click on this link and subscribe with the new address.
Check your spelling
Sometimes people subscribe by supplying email addresses that I’m pretty sure have spelling errors. So if you’ve subscribed but have never received email from Voice for Liberty, just subscribe again. Click on this link to subscribe. You should receive a confirming email.
If you’ve having other problems, send me an email, and I’ll try to help. If I receive your email, that is.
Considering all state and local government employees in proportion to population, Kansas has many, compared to other states, and especially so in education.
When considering all state and local government employees, Kansas spent $254 per person on payroll (March only).1 This was 15th highest among the states, District of Columbia, and the nation as a whole. There were 14.9 citizens for each FTE (full-time equivalent employee), which ranks fourth highest.
Example from the visualization. Click for larger.In other words, Kansas has many government employees compared to other states, and these employees are costly, again compared to other states. This is data from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2015, the most recent year for which data is available.
When considering all elementary and secondary education employees, Kansas spent $95 per person on payroll (again, March only). This was 12th highest among the states, District of Columbia, and the nation as a whole. There were 34.3 citizens for each FTE (full-time equivalent employee) working in elementary and secondary education, which ranks third highest.
In other words, Kansas has many elementary and secondary education employees compared to other states, and these employees are costly, again compared to other states.
Similar results are found for higher education employees. Fortunately, Kansas has zero employees working in state-owned liquor stores.
In the visualization you may create your own tables. Click here to access the visualization. Source of data is U.S. Census Bureau2 and author’s calculations to derive per-capita figures. Visualization created using Tableau Public.
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Notes
For total payroll (both full-time and part-time employees), the Census Bureau reports a value for a single month, that being March. ↩
The National Association of State Budget Officers publishes spending data for the states. In this interactive visualization, I present the data in a graphical and flexible format.
Data for each state is subdivided by fund (see below for definitions). Data through 2015 is actual, while data for fiscal year 2016 is estimated. The figures for the “state” United States were computed by summing the spending in all states, then dividing by the U.S. population. These figures are not adjusted for inflation.
In the example from the visualization that is shown below, we see general fund spending for Kansas and selected states. Note that general fund spending on a per-capita basis in Kansas is higher than in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Missouri, and approximately the same as Texas. When using the visualization you may select states, funds, and time periods to create your own comparisons. Because the visualization is interactive, you can do things like clicking on legends to highlight data series.
Of note is the tab comparing spending in states that have an income tax vs. those that have no income tax. Click here to access the visualization.
Example from the visualization, showing general fund spending for Kansas and selected states. Click for larger version.
From NASBO, definitions of the funds.
General Fund: The predominant fund for financing a state’s operations. Revenues are received from broad-based state taxes. However, there are differences in how specific functions are financed from state to state.
Federal Funds: Funds received directly from the federal government.
Other State Funds: Expenditures from revenue sources that are restricted by law for particular governmental functions or activities. For example, a gasoline tax dedicated to a highway trust fund would appear in the “Other State Funds” column. For higher education, other state funds can include tuition and fees. For Medicaid, other state funds include provider taxes, fees, donations, assessments, and local funds.
Bonds: Expenditures from the sale of bonds, generally for capital projects.
State Funds: General funds plus other state fund spending, excluding state spending from bonds.
An interactive visualization of Wichita-area employment by industry.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, makes monthly employment statistics available. I’ve gathered them for the Wichita metropolitan area and present them in an interactive visualization.
This data comes from the Current Employment Statistics, which is a monthly survey of employers.
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Dr. James Otteson is executive director of the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism, the Thomas W. Smith Presidential Chair in Business Ethics, and Professor of Economics at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was in Wichita to speak at the Bastiat Society and stopped by the WichitaLiberty.TV studios to discuss capitalism. Thank you to Raul Brito and the Bastiat Society for making him available. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 140, broadcast February 26, 2017.
Some Kansas Senators were refreshingly honest about a recent tax bill: They’re coming back for more.
On February 17, 2107, the Kansas Senate voted to pass HB 2178, titled “Substitute for HB 2178 – Concerning income taxation; relating to determination of Kansas adjusted gross income, rates, itemized deductions.” The effect of the bill was to increase taxes.
The vote prevailed 22 to 18. Governor Brownback vetoed the bill. The House overrode the veto, but the Senate did not, with 24 senators voting to override the veto. Two-thirds, or 27 votes, were required.
In explanations of the February 17 vote, some Kansas Senators were honest about their beliefs and their future plans. Which are: First, the bill didn’t raise enough money to suit them. Second: Despite the passage of the bill, they’re coming back for more. (These remarks were made before the Governor’s veto.) Here’s Lynn Rogers, joined by two other senators (emphasis added):
Mr Vice President: This bill does not solve Kansas’ budget problem. It is the best start we have seen in 4 years. But it does not address our borrowing from the Bank of KDOT or KPERS, nor does it address our school finance needs. I appreciate adding the 3rd bracket and closing the LLC loophole. However, the weight of the bill is still on the backs of middle class families. Many of us campaigned on a platform of “fixing Topeka.” Kansans overwhelmingly asked us to work together. I was sorely disappointed in yesterday’s behavior. I am willing to support this as the best we have today. But I warn us all, we will have to return to this chamber to readdress our fiscal state. — LYNN ROGERS
Senators Faust-Goudeau and Francisco request the record to show they concur with the “Explanation of Vote” offered by Senator Rogers on Sub HB 2178.
Also, Marci Francisco, again joined by two others (emphasis added):
Mr. Vice President: I initially voted “Pass” but change my vote to “AYE” on Sub HB 2178. I appreciate the work done in the House to craft a tax bill to eliminate the non-wage income “loophole”, repeal the future formulaic income tax reductions, and second tier for married individuals filing jointly and earning over $30,000 at 5.25%, higher than the current rate of 4.6%. It sets the third tier for married individuals earning over $100,000 at 5.45%, only .2% higher and a full percentage point less than it was in 2012, putting more of the burden on low and middle income Kansans. It continues to make our Kansas tax form complicated because it does not reinstate the deductions for mortgage interest and property tax allowed for on the federal tax form. The bill does not raise enough revenue to balance the current budget. None the less, I vote “AYE” to support this as a first step in this legislative session. I also pledge to continue to work on proposals to bring fairness to the Kansas tax structure and an appropriate amount of revenue to the state. — MARCI FRANCISCO
Senators Kelly and Pettey request the record to show they concur with the “Explanation of Vote” offered by Senator Francisco on Sub HB 2178.
A look at voting behavior in the Kansas House of Representatives regarding an important tax bill.
Recently the Kansas House of Representatives held a series of votes on HB 2178, titled “Substitute for HB 2178 – Concerning income taxation; relating to determination of Kansas adjusted gross income, rates, itemized deductions.” The effect of the bill was to increase taxes.
There were three recorded votes on this bill. On February 15, 2017, the House, acting as Committee of the Whole, passed the bill on a vote of 83 to 39. 63 votes are required for passage. This is one step a bill takes as it becomes law.
On the next day, February 16, the House passed the bill on final action by a vote of 76 to 48. This is the final step the House needs to take to pass a bill into law. (On the next day, the Senate also passed the bill, sending it to the governor.)
The governor vetoed the bill. On February 22, the House considered a motion to pass the bill notwithstanding the governor’s veto. A two-thirds majority — 84 votes — are required to override a veto. This motion passed by a vote of 85 to 40, thereby overriding the governor’s veto. (The Senate also considered an override motion, but it did not pass, so the veto was upheld and this bill did not become law.)
Of interest is the vote-switching in the House as the bill passed through three rounds of votes. In all cases a vote of “Yea” was a vote in favor of making the bill into law. (This is not always the case.) In the nearby table, I’ve shaded the instances where members switched votes.
Wichita city leaders have promoted public investment in downtown Wichita as wise because it will increase the tax base. Over the past ten years, we’re told that there has been one billion dollars in investment in downtown Wichita, including projects in progress.1
Recently the Kansas House of Representatives held a series of votes on HB 2178, titled “Substitute for HB 2178 – Concerning income taxation; relating to determination of Kansas adjusted gross income, rates, itemized deductions.” The effect of the bill was to increase taxes.
Wichita city leaders have promoted public investment in downtown Wichita as wise because it will increase the tax base. Over the past ten years, we’re told that there has been one billion dollars in investment in downtown Wichita, including projects in progress.
Recently the Kansas House of Representatives held a series of votes on