Date: 1 Aug. '06
The City Council
THE CITY OF WICHITA
City Hall
455 N. Main
Wichita, KS 67202
RE: City Council Public Agenda
1.5 City/County Mill Levy
& Off-Agenda Resolution of July 11th
August 1st 2006
The following is roughly the presentation made to the City Council on Aug. 1st 2006.
MAY IT PLEASE THE COUNCIL:
My name if Fred Marrs on behalf of the Shocker Black & Golds, and I am here to speak to the issue of the 1.5 City/County Mill Levy for WSU and the Off-Agenda Resolution put at the council meeting July 11th .
Mark Twain once remarked that you are seasoned by experience and reach the age of discretion at age 64. I’m 64, but the fact that I am here today probably evidences that I have not yet reached the age of discretion.
Ten years ago I spoke before this Council requesting Mill-Levy money to save Cessna stadium, when the then KU controlled Board of Regents and WSU were going to tear it down. We fought it through the legislature and won, and eventually saved the stadium at a cost of some 3.2 million, of which 2.2 million was debt serviced on the Mill Levy. As a result, we continued to annually host the state high school track meet. There recently was some 25,000 state high school students at the track meet, and we also had the Missouri Valley track meet, as well as many other events. Shortly this community will be going to see the Rolling Stones in concert at the stadium. I’m a fourth generation Kansan and I was proud I helped make a contribution to the community. But I take no particular pride and no pleasure in being here today to say what I think needs saying.
I. 1.5 City County Mill Levy Budget
As to the Mill Levy issue, because of your time limitation, I have just a few comments and will leave a copy of my comments to the County Commission on the issue at the July 19th Commission meeting.
Additionally I would make the following snippet points:
1. These are the annual 12 page WSU Budget submittals. Taxpayers paid $1,741,900 to WSU to account for the mill levy the last 8 years.
2. WSU has advised they have provided no other documents to either the City or the County, accounting for the WSU Mill Levy Budget.
3. The City Attorney’s Office has confirmed that the City has received no other accounting documents for the WSU Mill Levy Budget.
4. I submit these documents do not account:
A. ‘For how the contingency line item moneys for the last 8 years has been spent, some $4,323,653.
B. No one on this council can say how this $4,323,653 was in fact spent.
C. The Campus Land Acquisition & Facilities Development line item, presently in the amount of $900,000 each year does not specifically identify how much money has been spent, on what project.
D. No one on this council can say how the moneys of this line item have been spent.
E. Carry Overs for line items on the Mill Levy are not fully accounted for on the succeeding fiscal year budget, so far as I can tell.
F. I do not believe anyone on this council can say how the carry over moneys have been in fact spent, for example, some $580,753.44 carried over in FY2002 to FY2003.
5. Since our vote for the Mill Levy in 1963, we have no legal obligation to contribute the Mill Levy to WSU for anything other than to debt service the original capital improvement debt of the university, so that the assets of the university could be transferred to the state debt free.
6. That legal obligation has long since been accomplished.
7. We have no legal obligation to continue to add to the capital improvements debt, which ought to be funded by the state.
8. In my opinion, anything other than the current debt service for capital improvements, is an out right gift for which you have a legal right to designate, and a legal obligation to oversee.
9. I submit the process of rubber stamping the university’s requested budget, ought to stop, if you are to properly represent your constituents.
10. I’ll leave my factually cited presentation to County for your review, should any of you be interested enough to read it.
11. I will also leave a copy of our AlumniShockerBlack&Golds .com web sight bare bones article on the failure of WSU to receive its fair share of the State Capital Improvements budget, as exhibited by the latest FY2007 budget numbers; as it exhibits in combination with the WSU Mill Levy Budget, that our Sedgwick County Taxpayer’s are taxed twice for WSU capital improvements, compared to all other taxpayers in the state. As of FY2007 budget numbers, we have received $145,000 to KU’s $130 million in state moneys for capital improvements, during Don Beggs’ tenure. In 42 years the state has not built a single new building for WSU, while spending hundreds of millions of dollars for new buildings for KU and K-State.
II. Off-Agenda Resolution of July 11th 2006
As to the Off-Agenda Resolution of July 11th, I would make the following snippet points:
1. As you know from my letter to the city attorney that you were provided a copy of yesterday, I believe the Resolution was improperly manufactured, is fundamentally flawed, and is and ought to be legally of no force or affect.
2. The resolution purports to confer jurisdiction on the Board of Regents, when none exists. Just because Don Beggs is willing to tell you the Board of Regents has to make the decision re football, doesn’t make it legally true. The truth is, the Board of Regents has no subject matter jurisdiction over athletics for WSU, WSU-ICAA, KU, or K-State. The Board of Regent contributes not a dime to WSU athletics and has no subject matter jurisdiction over sports at WSU. KU and K-State would scream if the Board of Regents suddenly claimed subject matter jurisdiction over sports at KU and K-State. Accordingly, the proposed Resolution is a fundamentally flawed and otherwise thinly veiled ill-conceived attempt to support Don Beggs, with authority of the Board of Regents, that doesn’t legally apply or exist.
3. The City Council has an absolute role in designating the expenditure of our WSU Mill Levy funds. If we want our representatives to make available Mill Levy moneys for 85 football scholarships, as opposed to 1683 scholarships we are already supporting at a cost of $2,272,236 annually, in order to stop the 20 year old festering loss of traditional students problem, as apposed to just spending our money to buy students, then it is our business. It is our tax money. Except for capital improvements debt service, it’s a gift. Admittedly, Don Beggs is the sole individual with rule by fiat authority over reinstating football at WSU. But we can designate our gift money however we want. True, the president doesn’t have to accept the gift money as designated, but it is our money, not his. Anything other than the current debt service for capital improvements, is an out right gift for which you have a legal right to designate, and a legal obligation to oversee. And the process of rubber stamping the WSU requested budget ought to cease.
4. This City Council has no legal authority to bind any subsequent City Council, and your attempt to do so is out of bounds and of no legal force or affect. Even the Wichita Eagle, sole mates of the folks putting this resolution, couldn’t stomach this rogue effort.
5. This City Council has no legal authority to bind and stifle the Mayor from speaking to an issue of public concern, in violation of his rights of freedom of speech, and his legal obligation to represent some 240,000 citizens at large. When it is the majority can stifle the minority, we no longer have a Republic, but rather a dictatorship by the majority. But then that’s the liberal way. If you don’t like what the other follow says, why then he can’t say it.
6. The Resolution is fundamentally flawed, in that the
Resolution purports to confer budget request rights on the Board of Regents, when none exists. The truth is, the Board of Regents has only statutory legal oversight responsibility for the WSU Mill Levy Budget. They can approve it, or deny the WSU Mill Levy Budget as a whole, but the Board of Regents has a conflict on interest with respect to designating or requesting Budget funds in the first instance, and legally can not get involved in that process. But in fact we know the Board of Regents does involve itself with process by not appropriating WSU’s fair share of the State Capital Improvement Budget, and leaning on the Mill Levy to support WSU for Capital Improvements. As a result, our Sedgwick County taxpayers get uniquely taxed twice for Capital Improvements for WSU, vis-a-vis any other taxpayers in the state. I submit the Resolutions attempt to: “support President Beggs and the Board of Regents for their budget allocations of the WSU mill levy”, is nothing less than an attempt to codify the Council’s rubber stamping of whatever Don Beggs asks for, and is clear evidence of abdicating the Council’s legal responsibility to their taxpaying constituents, both in designating the gift funds in the first instance, and in seeing to it that the funds are properly accounted for in specificity.
7. Nor can this Council preclude all other future City Councils from using tax dollars to help fund a football program at WSU, should some future enlightened president successor of Don Beggs make that decision and request, perhaps precisely because of our festering 20 year old loss of traditional student problem, that is further excuse for the Board of Regents to deny funds to WSU upon the grounds that WSU has less students, and doesn’t need any new buildings, etc.
I would accordingly respectfully request that you voluntarily withdraw the July 11th Off-Agenda Resolution, or in the alternative, not enact it.
I would also submit that based upon the above and forgoing, and based upon:
a. The attempt to confer subject matter jurisdiction on the Board of Regents where none exists;
b. The illegal and improper attempt to bind future City Councils;
c. The attempt to stifle and deny freedom of speech of the Mayor and proper representation of the some 240,000 citizens he represents;
d. The attempt to confer budget request rights on the Board of Regents, when none exists;
e. The attempt to preclude all other future City Councils from using tax dollars to help fund a football program at WSU; and
f. based upon the attempt to rubber stamp whatever it is Don Beggs puts in the Budget request, and to further not properly oversee accounting of Don Begg’s spending of the moneys;
that those folks on the Council that put together the July 11th Resolution, have in my view, by the above attempts demonstrated a lack of fundamental principle, and that you should voluntarily withdraw the Resolution, or in the alternative, not enact it.
I stand for questions, with the only caveat that I not be time constrained in my response.
Respectfully submitted,
Shocker Black & Golds
By:
Fred Marrs
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