LAST WEEK’S online poll at www.emporiagazette.com asked why the Census Bureau has reported that Emporia is losing population. The results were interesting.
Of the 637 votes cast, only 59 — 9 percent — favored the simple answer: that the Census Bureau was mistaken. It would not be the first time that a Census Bureau estimate was wrong. The bureau has been fiddling with its population equations for decades and still gets plenty of complaints about undercounting, especially from college towns and towns with large immigrant populations. Emporia fits both of those categories.
More interesting in the poll were the answers given by people who assumed that the count was correct.
People could choose among three possibilities: That Emporia had reached some sort of natural growth limit; the cost of living was too high, discouraging people from living in the city; or there are too few good-paying white-collar jobs in town.
Only 6 percent thought the city had reached its natural size limit. It would be hard to know what could be placing a limitation on the city’s growth. Emporia has been spreading to the open hills north and west for several decades and water and power are not in short supply.
About a quarter of the people answering the poll thought people were leaving town or avoiding moving to Emporia because the cost of living is too high.
A majority — 54 percent — thought Emporia’s problem is a lack of high-paying white-collar jobs.
Those last two groups, taken together, accounted for 81 percent of the vote. They are, in a way, a single bloc of votes. They are two ways of looking at the same problem. People do not think the cost of living is too high unless they are earning too little to live the lives they want to live. Give a person a better job with a higher salary, and suddenly the cost of living seems less of a problem.
Shouldn’t Emporia have more white-collar jobs? After all, the university is one of the biggest employers in the town. The faculty and staff positions should act as a counterbalance to lower-wage industrial and service jobs.
But the influence of the university on the city’s average wage has been weakening. Remember the fuss made every year before the Legislature about the slow slide of faculty salaries in Kansas? That slide has eaten into Emporia’s economy.
Also affecting the economy is the university’s increasing reliance on adjunct faculty — people brought in from the community or from outside the community to teach one or two classes. The practice is becoming common as universities in Kansas and elsewhere work to save money on faculty salaries.
More disturbing is the increase in the number of people in well-paid jobs at the university who do not live in Emporia at all. This is not a matter of people choosing to live out in the county rather than in the city, but people whose residences are in Lawrence, Kansas City or elsewhere far away.
People may live and work where they please, but those people are not counted by the census as Emporia residents, and they spend their high salaries in other towns.
There is no question that Emporia could use more good jobs. But it is worth asking why people who hold some of the good jobs the community already has have chosen not to live in Emporia or Lyon County. It is especially worth asking when the city is preparing to take the budget knife to services that affect the community’s quality of life.
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
I completely agree.
The same could be said for the employees of the city & county.....At one time, I thought you had to be a resident of Lyon County and/or Emporia to be employed by them.
M
July 31, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
You have to be a resident of Lyon County to be employed by them.
July 31, 2007 at 5:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
Are you sure?
I could swear that the woman who "authorizes" lagoons lives in Chase County. I forget her title, I'm not trying to demean her position in any way.....but she does not live in Lyon County.
Maybe someone can help me out on this?
Melissa
July 31, 2007 at 9:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
I can say that to work for the city you must live in Lyon County. I was sure that it was the same for Lyon county employees. Check Lyoncounty.org
July 31, 2007 at 9:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
I did. The link doesn't work. But I'll try something else.
Hold on.
M
July 31, 2007 at 9:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
okay. Got it.
Where in www.lyoncounty.org should I look? I appreciate the help.....I was told the woman who does the "lagoon management" lives in Chase County.
M
July 31, 2007 at 9:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
And I already looked under "flood management" but it was no help.
I tried the links listed but there are no codes and/or statutes/etc.
M
July 31, 2007 at 9:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
Ann Mayo, Lyon Cty. Health Department. Lives in Chase Cty.
Thanks!
M
July 31, 2007 at 10:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
You don't have to live in Lyon County to work for the county. I have relatives that live in other countys and work here. I don't know about elected officials though.
August 1, 2007 at 9:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KristieR (anonymous) says...
I saw that poll and wondered about another reason for losing populaton. Families are just getting smaller. My mother has 8 siblings, my father had 10 siblings. They all got married and I ended up with about 60 first cousins.
I have two siblings, my husband has one. My children have 11 first cousins.
That has nothing to do with immigrants or white collar jobs. It's just families getting smaller.
Kristie
August 1, 2007 at 11:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...
There are seriously fewer good paying jobs in Emporia than there were when I moved here in 1980. At that time, there were three good men's clothing stores. Now there are none. Cadillac is no longer sold in Emporia. At one time we had regular commuter air service. Now, we are seeing lower wages and a lack of higher paying jobs. Among my friends, I cannot think of one whose children are staying here, including my own. The reason is lack of jobs that pay well. We have jobs, certainly, but not that many that are competitive with what is available elsewhere.
August 2, 2007 at 12:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
CAFEmporia
That is our biggest problem. Emporia has now developed and honed a reputation as a low wage manufacturing town.. Manufacturers get incentives, come to town and pay low wages. We're on a treadmill.
I'm told the RDA us doing yeoman work to get jobs here, but honestly all I see are manufacturing jobs.
Until we change that and increase household incomes and bring in disposable dollars, it will be difficult, if not impossible to change things here.
I recently saw a spreadsheet from the city that showed that we were really about in the middle of Kansas towns in terms of taxes. What the city didn't say was that there was a relationship between high mill levies, poverty rates, household incomes, and valuations. The higher poverty rates, the lower incomes produced higher tax rates (Ft. Scott, Atchison, Emporia, etc). The higher incomes and lower poverty rates produced lower tax rates (Overland Park, Wichita, Salina, etc).
We need to change that if Emporia has any chance to succeed.
August 2, 2007 at 6:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mythoughts (anonymous) says...
Good job, netloafer!
It upsets me sometimes to know that I could be paid at least $10,000 more a year for the work I do if I lived in the KC area. If I could relocate the whole family and know we would get jobs, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But if I could earn a competitive, equitable wage here I'd like to stay.
August 2, 2007 at 11:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Patrick Kelley also raised the question about why some work in Emporia and live outside the city.
There are a couple of reasons. First, by moving to the county they eliminate the city's portion of the mill levy, about 41 mills, with an increase coming.
Second, appearance is everything. Downtown Emporia is struggling and the housing stock in that area is by and large in disrepair. A significant number of them are rentals, most of which are eyesores. The good part of the development is in the northwest part of town. People in the professional ranks nowadays arent interested in suburban life. They're looking for urban settings with some sense of vibrance. While we do have the Granada resoration going on, downtown has too many shops like Winter Furniture, pawn shops, empty storefronts (Outfitters) and payday loan places to make Emporia a must live in city for the professionals we need to attract.
I'm sure some commenters will think that this is an elitist view. But, that's not true. I just think our mix of jobs right now is tilted too far in the direction of low wage. Like any city, a vibrant Emporia would always have manufacturing, but a vibrant Emporia would not be dependent on manufacturing for its well-being and survival.
August 2, 2007 at 11:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...
Netloafer makes good points here. I agree.
Before I semi-retired from an injury, the majority of my work was out of town as a consultant (information systems - computers). It was a way to live where I want but go to the jobs. University people living out of town do the same thing in an opposite way. KC, Topeka, and Wichita have restaurants, clubs, museums, and other amenities we lack. My wife and I go to KC for the Symphony several times a year, something we can't do here.
I sympathize with them and appreciate them making ESU a good school, but I also lament that they don't contribute to making Emporia a better place to live with their presence. I also lament that I am unable to make a meaningful contribution to changing this trend.
August 2, 2007 at 3:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Renegade (anonymous) says...
Maybe it's just me, but has anyone ever considered that perhaps some of the reason for declining population in Emporia is the weekly odor that emits from Tyson?
I realize that there are many people that depend on Tyson for their living, but, I can't help but wonder if anyone has contacted the EPA regarding the pollution, and odor from Tyson?
Emporia is a beautiful city, with culture, and friendly people, but, it "stinks!" several days a month.
I am not saying that it's the only reason that the population is declining. Several of you have given other opinions, but, maybe the "odor" that emits in the air on a regular basis, is some part of the decision to leave.
I am really trying to think of it as an Aroma, and, not an Odor, but it's not working!
August 3, 2007 at 2:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
treetrunk (anonymous) says...
Several months ago, Fox News did a piece on real estate and the first thing out of the mouth of the expert was, "if you want your home to appreciate, do not buy in a town with a meat processing plant". Something has to be done about Tyson's "aroma".
August 3, 2007 at 7:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Firecracker (anonymous) says...
Something needs to be done about Tyson hiring illegal immigrants, and bringing in workforces that we have to pay for. They don't pay taxes, they get free healthcare. Sorry - that is draining the Emporia economy too. People get sick and tired of it. The comment made by Fox News about "do not choose to live in a town with a meat packing plant" is TRUE TRUE TRUE. As soon as I can sell my home in Emporia I will be relocating to Chase County or Coffey County and doing my shopping in Kansas City Topeka or Wichita. Give Emporia to the illegals and the immigrants and let them finish running it into the ground.
August 7, 2007 at 11:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ksfarmer (anonymous) says...
Does anybody else get the feeling Nebraska is glad to send all the workers here from Somalia?
August 7, 2007 at 11:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
You know Nebraska is happy about it! I would like to know what happened to that big push the government was making to take care of the illegal worker situation - c'mon seriously - it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which employers they should be "raiding". Do I need to make the call and say hey - you might want to check out the Tyson plant in Emporia? Really?
August 8, 2007 at 4:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
imgone (anonymous) says...
Firecracker.......You stated the very reasons I sold out and left Emporia. The city fathers would never admit this is one big reason the population of Emporia is declining. I am just one of the many I know that have left and several more that are going to leave and more that would leave if they could.
August 10, 2007 at 1:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lisag (anonymous) says...
As Paul Harvey says, "the browning of America". Emporia is in the fast lane reaching that goal. Ever notice how it's fewer & fewer white kids when the Gazoo has photos of grade school class activities? Definitely the minority!
August 10, 2007 at 11:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )