Icy streets and 15-degree temperatures didn’t dissuade area residents from filling the seats at the first Eggs and Issues meeting of the season Saturday morning at the Sauder Alumni Center.
The Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitors and Convention Bureau sponsor the annual meetings, assisted by the League of Women Voters, to give Sen. Jim Barnett and Reps. Don Hill and Peggy Mast an opportunity to talk about state issues and answer questions from constituents.
Stan Fowler broached the topic of Kansas’ minimum wage, which he said was $2.65 an hour. The state does not fare well when compared against other states.
“It makes us look like we’re backward,” Fowler said.
City commissioner Bob Agler and county commissioner Marshall Miller talked with legislators about restoration of the state’s former policy of returning money to local governments. Elimination of that return has caused local governments to compensate for the loss by increasing property taxes.
Barnett agreed the property taxes have been increased and said that the change has hurt areas of the state that are struggling economically. It has created an issue among the elderly. Some, he said, are having to sell their homes because they cannot afford to pay the property taxes. The situation is not likely to change this year.
“I’m afraid it’s not a priority in the current budget,” Barnett said.
Mast said the House has a proposal to freeze property tax of individuals when they reach 65, which would necessitate that other taxpayers compensate for the difference in tax revenue.
“It has got an up side for the elderly and a down side for the businesses,” Mast said.
Audience member Bill Barnes told legislators he believed that school budgets need to be presented in a uniform format that is easier for citizens to read and comprehend.
“It’s too complex,” Barnes said, adding that Emporia school district budgets are pieced together from several sources and range from 130 to 150 pages. “I think you need something for those of us who are taxpayers.”
Hill said that the 2010 Commission has been looking into that aspect of education. The commission which was formed last year and will sunset in 2010, is to evaluate the system of financial support, reform and restructuring of Kansas public education and to ensure the state’s system is efficient and effective, among other responsibilities.
“They just lack, at this point, a consensus,” Hill said.
Doug Wilson said he believed that the state needs to make sure it is not enabling or encouraging some people to receive taxpayer-finance health care while insured taxpayers picked up the bill. He said that as a business owner, he cannot afford to pay for all of the health insurance costs of his employees. Prospective employees therefore have told him that they are better off financially staying on Medicaid, for example, than accepting a job at one of his businesses, where they would be paying monthly premiums for insurance.
The meeting Saturday was not all questions and constructive criticism.
Chuck Hanna complimented the legislators on the state’s system of roads. As he travels highways in other states, he said, “You especially appreciate Kansas.”