By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Rep. Barb Wasinger, R-Hays, and Sen. Rick Billinger, R-Goodland, touted contributions to KPERS as they gave recaps Thursday night to the Hays City Commission on the spring legislative session.
“This year I think the big thing was that we started funding KPERS properly again,” Wasinger said. “We put $115 million in late payments in and also was able to overturn the governor’s veto on this year’s payment of $51 million.
“We are really proud that we are taking care of our teachers, we are taking care of our state employees. We still have a long way to go, but we are working on that. It was good to avoid reamortization of KPERS, which would have cost the state another $7.5 million to extend it with interest. We thought that was poor fiscal policy.”
Billinger said on KPERS, “In eight years, I think we have come a long, long way. We are above 60%. I think we are at the upper part of 60%. I think totally over the last five years we have put $5.1 billion in KPERS. We have taken it seriously. Pass that on to your city employees. When they make their contribution, I feel the state needs to make theirs.”
Wasinger said the state legislators could not override a veto from the govern on legislation to allow taxpayers who did not itemize their federal tax returns to itemize their state tax returns. When the the federal government, increased the standard deduction, that meant some Kansans could no longer get tax breaks for items such as mortgage interest and medical payments.
Both Wasinger and Billinger said they were pleased to report less money was taken from the Kansas Department of Transportation budget than in years past, but money was still swept for the general fund.
“We are trying to stop that and we stopped some of that transfer and put money back in to try to finish the T-WORKS that were so vital to particularly rural areas,” Wasinger said.
About $60 million was not transferred this year, but $200 million was swept for the general fund, Billinger said.
Billinger was on the state Transportation Task Force. He said he hoped he could help the city in addressing the bypass and Northwest Business Corridor.
“I was very impressed with the businesses going in out there and the opportunities, and I think it would be a great asset to Ellis County and the City of Hays to get that in. I want to push to make sure the state is involved in this and help all we can financially and any other way,” Billinger said of the Northwest Business Corridor.
Billinger also said he was pleased to hear the city is making progress on the R9 Ranch water project.
The budget also targeted about $35 million additional funds for the Department of Corrections to try deal with issues at the state’s prisons. Billinger briefly addressed the state’s challenge of treating patients in the state prison system with Hepatitis C. The state allocated $1.5 million for the coming year for treatment, but that will only cover about 100 of the estimated 700 to 800 patients in the system.
The Legislature also designated more funding for the Department of Children and Families. However, children are again sleeping on office floors. Wasinger said she thinks more needs to be done to loosen restrictions on potential foster parents and their homes so more children can be placed in the community.
“Our children are our future,” she said. “If we let our children down, we won’t have a good future in Kansas. We won’t have as wonderful as leader as we have now with all of you.”
City Commissioner Sandy Jacobs said she was appreciative of the attention DCF is getting, but the situation for kids in state custody is still dire.
“That is what I think about at night,” she said. “I know people who are applying to be foster parents right now, but they are having a very difficult time meeting some of the standards. I don’t think it should have no standards, but I think it should be looked at very carefully. When you have good, solid families, I think we should look at what is stopping that, because there are some really good families who are struggling to be appointed.”
Mayor Henry Schwaller said, “They started making the program much more difficult for people who just really love children and are capable and have been through the training and have a good home to get into it because they had to meet all of these other kind of whacky requirements that had nothing to do with it.”
About 7,000 children are currently in foster care system.
Billinger also noted the Legislature will have an interim committee on Medicaid expansion.
“I personally think if we are going to help rural hospitals, which is one of the things you hear about, I think an enhanced reimbursement for rural hospitals is something we should talk about,” Billinger said. “I think there should be a work requirement because we are not talking about a single mom or people who are disabled. We are talking about people who can work.”
Other business
The commission voted to make changes to its purchasing policy. Revisions include adjustment of purchasing limits, removal of references to a purchasing agent, addition of contractual provision language, the addition of a service calls section, and codification of the current process to purchase vehicles and large pieces of equipment from government contracts.
The city is testing new rock for the alleys. City Manager Toby Dougherty said the crushed concrete and limestone the city now uses is not lasting very long. If the new rock works well, the city may invest in expanding the program.
He also said work on the roadway for 41st Street will start soon. Work on 43rd Street should be finished by the end of the month. Water line and road work also continues on sections of Ash, Elm and Fourth streets.