Date: 15 Aug. '06
CITY COUNCIL PRESENTATION
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, etc.
The following is roughly the presentation made to the City Council on the 15th of Aug., 2006, by Frank Chappell.
Mr. Mayor, City Council members, thank you for letting me speak this morning.
As a citizen and former broadcaster in Wichita, I have some concerns regarding the direction the council is heading. A direction which I feel is shutting out the voices of the electorate and keeping broadcasters and journalists from reporting pertinent information the public has a right to know.
Why is it necessary to spend $17,000 on a consultant to tell you what is needed for Lawrence Dumont? I’ve played at Lawrence Dumont and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice the bathrooms stink, concession stands are terrible and the dugouts are deplorable and the infield is dangerous. The design for Lawrence Dumont should be a free gift from the designers of the downtown arena. Recently, in one year you spent $24,000,000 on consultants. Do you really feel that there are no creative people in Wichita, one of the most euntrpernual cities in America? If there are no creative city employees, then there should be many staff changes.
Now, your recent actions say you want to keep the citizens and any future council from ever debating the mill levy for WSU. This mill levy was voted for by the citizens of Wichita to pay off Henry Levitt Arena so WU could become part of the State system. This debt was paid off decades ago.
This mill levy was passed by the voters not to pay off future debts or to be used for anything the president wants to. Our tax money goes to Topeka; then Topeka gives it to the State Board of Regents to give back to WSU. In addition, more tax money from Wichita goes directly to WSU. This is double taxation and now you want to make it without representation. History tell all of us there was a war fought over taxation without representation. After watching all that has transpired over the mill levy, the mill levy may not be able to stand an audit, and the council is negligent in doing your homework. When millions of tax dollars are involved, rubber stamp approval is wrong and may be illegal, or at least re-callable. A public budget should never be approved at the golf course or at a private lunch.
I know most of you council members and have helped on several of your election campaigns. Most of you have drifted away from your roots, the people who elected you to office. I have made several calls to my representative and have received no call backs. Other people in other districts report the same thing. Remember, the same people who voted you in can vote you out. Arrogance is never a virtue for elected officials. Sophomoric arrogance against the mayor is the worst. He is the only one of you, with maybe one exception, elected by the whole community. Punishing the electorate just to get back at another official is not “politics”, it’s immoral and childish.
If the media ever does any investigating on the money spent on consultants and the possible misuse of mill levy tax dollars, all of your lives will become very complicated. Remember the furor raised a couple of years ago over a $50.00 dinner at the Scotch and Sirloin? Hordes of tax dollars and multimillion dollar budgets not checked thoroughly are much more significant than a dinner.
The money wasted on consultants or on the WSU mill levy would more than pay for the dash cameras and new officers for the police department.
Before WSU was ordered to drop football, our citizens were paying less than $500,000 to Butler County as a tax for our citizens to go to that school. Today we pay over $6,000,000 and WSU enrollment is smaller and Butler County is larger.
Ladies and gentlemen it’s time you became accountable to those who elected you to office.
There ... I feel better ... I hope you feel better ... All of us should strive to and work together to get this great flower, the city of Wichita, out of the bud stage and into full bloom. We have been in the bud stage for far too many years! It’s time to blossom!
Thank you very much.
Frank Chappell