I would urge Hays residents to vote for John Mayers for the Hays City Commission. Why? He is an independent thinker, not a YES man!

More importantly, since he has a degree in civil engineering, he attacks issues analytically. We have many issues facing the city today and in the future. John Mayers will thoroughly research issues and ask questions of not only city staff, but you the citizen.

I have found him to be reliable, honest, conservative and trustworthy. So again, I urge you to vote for John Mayers for the Hays City Commission.

Errol Wuertz, Hays

This is an expensive time of year. In the next few weeks we’ll spend money on groceries for the Thanksgiving feast, Christmas gifts and decorations, real estate taxes and car tags for those at the end of the alphabet. Can income taxes be far behind?

Money is a part of our life every day. What we wear, what we eat, where we live, and the fun things we do are only a few money related decisions we make. The way you spend or save money today will help determine what you have and whether you can pay your bills in six months, a year, or many years from now.

For some people, having a million dollars wouldn’t be enough to satisfy their wants. Millions of other people manage to pay their bills, save for the future, and enjoy life while still living within their income.

No one is born with natural money management skills. You may have learned some money management skills from your family, either by observing or someone actively giving you guidance. You also may have learned some money management skills at school or through life experiences. Developing money management skills takes time, practice, and patience.

Budgeting is a way to get the most out of your dollars. It is not just about saving money or
being a tightwad or doing without. Budgeting is about deciding where your money will go and
making a spending and savings plan to achieve your financial goals.

BUDGETING
If you run out of money before all your expenses are paid each month, you are not alone. While people work hard to earn an income, they often do not work as hard at planning how income will be spent. There are steps you can take to make a budget work for you. The basic steps in budgeting include:

1. Get organized. Get your bills and financial records together. Have a designated spot where bills are placed when they arrive. If it is a paper bill, use a drawer, box, basket, or file. If it is an electronic notice, consider creating an email account just for bills. Review your bills regularly and note the date the bill should be paid. If you are going to mail the payment, the date noted should be four or five days before the due date (to allow the payment to arrive before the due date and avoid a late fee). If you are going to pay electronically, allow enough time for the payment to be received before the due date.

After paying a bill, mark it “paid” and put it in large envelope, box, or file marked “Paid bills.” Keep receipts for cash payment of bills in the same place.

2. Track spending. To get a realistic picture of how you spend your money, keep a folded sheet of paper or small notebook with you at all times to track all of the money you spend for at least a week. Tracking your spending for an entire month will help you learn even more.

3. Record spending. Record your spending on a budget expense worksheet, adding categories if necessary to fit your spending pattern.

4. Record all income. Make a list of your income from all sources. Include monthly income, but also don’t forget seasonal income, interest on financial accounts, income tax refunds, gifts and other sources of money coming into your household.

5. Compare expenses to income. If your expenses are more than your income, look for ways you can cut. Determine what expenses are absolutely necessary, such as housing, utilities, and food. Decide which other expenses can be cut to meet the necessary expenses. Then, look for ways you can increase your income. Consider a combination of the two.

6. Make a budget (spending and savings plan) for next month. Fill in planned expenses and expected income on a sheet of paper or electronic budget form. Plan what bills and expenses will be paid out of each paycheck or other source of income, as well as how much of the income must be saved to pay expenses later in the month. As it is received, record income on income side of the sheet. As bills arrive, list them under expenses. Also record other monthly expenses if no bill is received (such as rent).

7. At the end of the month, subtract expenses from income and determine if you have stayed within your budget.

8. Review expenses and income to determine what needs to be changed. Do you need to cut some expenses or increase income? Were there any unplanned expenses that occurred this month? Did you include an amount for savings in your plan?

Don’t be discouraged. The first few months you try to follow your budget will be a learning experience. You may need to make changes in your budget. Remember, a budget is your plan for spending and saving your money to accomplish your goals. It helps you identify where your money goes and helps you plan how to use your money to get the things you need and want in life.

For more information, see the Essential Living Skills resource on money management from K-State Research and Extension at www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/S134G.pdf. It includes helpful information on budgeting, banking and saving important records.

Linda K. Beech is Cottonwood District Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

For years, every time I headed west on I-70, I would stop at the Dairy Queen in Quinter, Kansas. Upon entering was this little bald guy, named Leon, and his wife Char, who would always greet me with a smile. Service was above and beyond the call of duty, and whether I ordered a full meal or just a vanilla cone, I felt like I was the most important customer in the joint. Upon leaving they would always thank me for coming in, mention how much they appreciated my business, and always ask me to come back. I remember always feeling good when I left.

In Hays, Kansas there’s a little donut shop on 8th street that my wife, Ruth and I frequent every morning. I know that Brenda is up at 4 a.m. each day, and many times there’s sweat beads on her forehead from the toil of her work. But, again, there’s always a smile on her face and a cheerful “Good Morning.” Picking up coffee for my wife is sometimes a challenge for me, as not being a coffee drinker I cannot always remember what she orders. No problem- Brenda knows, and “Hold on just a minute, I think Ruth likes a little more cream in her coffee.”

I have seen Brenda treat each customer the same- many times addressing them by their name, knowing exactly what they want and exactly how they like their coffee. I would also imagine, Leon, back in the day, had the very same respect for every customer that walked through his door-Very impressive!
I choose to mention this because there are many places I go where this is not the case.

In a world where people have many choices as to where they do business, including Internet services, it is so important that employees are properly trained to treat their customers with respect. “Yep” and “Nope” many times have replaced the more respectful “Yes Sir” and “No Ma’am.” Whether it is at a hospital, restaurant or retail store, it’s very easy for a customer to realize who is there just to clock in and out for the day, and who is genuinely concerned about who walks in their door.

Even simple things like eye contact seem to be a thing of the past. But rather than mention any of the bad experiences I’ve personally witnessed, I hope owners and managers of businesses will take the time to visit with their employees and discuss how to properly conduct business with their customers. Otherwise, there may be a time that that business is no longer in business and that’s not a good thing for our local economy.

Tim Schumacher represents Strategic Financial Partners in Hays.

For at least the last 37 years my family has traveled to Estes Park in the fall. It is the time of the elk rut in Rocky Mountain National Park. The elk rut is when the bulls gather their herd, and bugle their mating call.

It is a great opportunity for all of us to get together, as a family, play silly board games and just enjoy each other.

This year, just before the trip (October 2, 2017), Tom Petty passed away. For those of you who do not know Tom Petty, he was a rock singer who died way too young at the age of 66, totally unexpectedly. He had a profound impact on rock music. His death took the music world and his fans by surprise. I am one of those fans.

Tom had just come off a tour celebrating 40 years of his music. I heard an interview with him just after the tour (the tour had just finished a week or two before his death). He discussed the response he received from the tour. He felt like he received “a pat on the back” from the crowds, as well as other musicians, which was something he did not anticipate. He was humbled and surprised by everyone’s reaction.

This is coming from Tom Petty, someone greatly admired in the music industry – someone so greatly admired but still humbled and inspired by a pat on the back.

We go through life with people who are important to us. They are not just the “Tom Petty’s”. They are the fathers, siblings, children, co-workers, employers, friends, spouses or whomever, that greatly affect our lives – sometimes every day. They taught us through words or actions; they inspired us; they set examples; they were there when we needed them. Somehow they positively affected our lives, the community or the world.

Have you told them that? Have you told that coach, friend or co-worker how fortunate you feel to know them; that they have positively impacted your life?

I had a math teacher, Terry, who was a wonderful teacher. He was a good guy, a new teacher with a new wife and child, and he inspired me almost every day.

I never told him that.

Sometimes I joked about him, because I thought I was clever, but he deserved to be told he was a good man and great teacher. I regret I did not tell him that.

Do not presume that someone knows you admire them. Sometimes we all need a pat on the back – even Tom Petty.

This year’s trip to Estes Park will always be distinguished as the Tom Petty trip. We listened to his music, mourned a little, argued about which songs were the best, and just let Tom know we appreciated him and the effect he had on our lives. It even led us to share how important we are to each other and how we treasure our time together.

Reach out to someone today, and let them know they are appreciated or important to you, or even just encourage them. You may change their life, and you will be glad you did.

Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To contact him, please send an email to [email protected]. Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.

Dear Editor,

On Nov. 7, we the citizens of Hays have the responsibility to vote in a very important local election. The future of our K-12 Education System is in our hands as we vote on the Board of Education proposed Bond Issue. Today, I am proud of that Education System.

As citizens we should provide our students, teachers and staff the facilities necessary to successfully educate our future citizens. We also elect Board of Education members to be our representatives providing citizen over-site of our Schools. It is those elected representatives who have conservatively guided our Education System for many, many years without proposing a Major Bond Issue. It is those Board Members, who we elected, that studied our facilities needs and are now asking us to approve this important Bond Issue.

Hays is not the only community in western Kansas who managed its School Systems in a conservative manner for years only to be faced with a need for a major Education Bond Issue. Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal all have responded with a positive vote to invest in their community’s future. Dodge City and Garden City invested more money in just their new High Schools ($90 million plus each) than the total of the Hays proposed Bond Issue ($78.5 million).

Liberal’s Bond Issue passed with a 76% majority, approving a comprehensive bond issue to transform all their schools. The funding allowed Liberal to reduce it schools from 12 to 9, building five new schools and renovate the remaining 4. Our Hays Bond Issue proposal builds two new facilities while providing safety and security upgrades, heating and cooling improvements for all our schools at fraction of what our western Kansas neighbors spent.

We should support our elected representatives who have studied our school’s needs and vote for this conservative plan. We should vote for this conservative Bond Issue proposal. By taking these actions, we will be able to continue to be very proud of our Education System for decades to come.

Edward H. Hammond

We’re hearing a lot about taxes this election cycle.  From the impact of the proposed school bond to the city commission candidate promising to spur development by making Hays a “tax haven,” local taxes are a hot topic.  Putting aside the political invective, what is the tax situation in Hays?

The City of Hays has kept its mill levy at 25 for several years by using sales tax to fund its general fund, and as a result, our municipal mill levy continues to be lower than any city in Kansas outside Johnson County.  Ellis County’s mill levy is also comparatively low, and even USD 489’s levy is low compared to other districts.  In fact, according to data compiled by the League of Kansas Municipalities and KU (verified with other data sources), we have the lowest combined mill levy of any first or second class city in the State of Kansas.

Perhaps more surprising, even our sales tax isn’t high compared to other cities.  In fact, among Hutchinson, McPherson, Salina, Great Bend, Dodge City, Garden City, Topeka, Wichita, and Kansas City only Wichita and Great Bend are lower than us, and in a statewide sales tax comparison, we fall near the middle. 

None of this paints the grim picture of crushing taxes that we’re led to believe, yet we still seem to buy into it.  Hays’ tax rate is incredibly low.  In other words, Hays already is the tax haven of Kansas.  It follows that if our economy is still struggling despite our low tax rate, the problem lies elsewhere. 

Chris Dinkel, Hays

We are already giving USD 489 $2.4 million per year for improvement and building repair. What did they spend that on? If things have not been updated for 30 years, who’s fault is that? Do we want to trust these people with $222 million?

If they get what they want, we will owe them $5 million per year, with interest that is over $150 million dollars plus they will still want the $2.4 million per year we are giving them now, I assume. That will cost us taxpayers $7.4 million per year for 30 years, if it gets passed. $7.4 million times 30 years will cost us taxpayers around $222 million in taxes over the next 30 years just for building expense, not the $78.4 million they are asking for.

They want to tear down three schools, one gym and build four new gyms. Is that necessary? Will playing ball in these four new gyms give the kids a better education then studying? Do we know where this money is going?

Will it make the kids any smarter? School should be for teaching kids things that are important for living not three big expensive play houses to play ball in, in my opinion. Wake up people.

Now you can multiply the $16.43 figured, they gave us, off of the $78,500,000 by around three, farm land included. Because our actual cost will be $222 million to USD 489 for building expense only, which will be around $600 per year, times 30 years is $18,000 to each $150,000 home and a much larger cost to business, not to mention the less income they will get because so much money goes to taxes.

If you live in a $150,000 house and own a $150,000 business, you can at the very least double your cost to over $36,000. Most people that own apartments and rental houses will have to pay a lot more. I am sure USD 489 people don’t want us taxpayers to know this. Where is their common sense and consideration for Hays City to survive? This added tax could cripple Hays a great deal in property valuation, growth and population, in my opinion. We already have hundreds of peoples’ names in the paper that can’t pay their taxes now. The kids in school now will have to pay a lot of this tax when they get out, if they can afford to stay in Hays.

Glen Teel, Hays

I am running for school board this election and I am rethinking my position on the USD 489 school bond issue. I think the bond will do great things to improve efficiency throughout the district, but I just cannot get over the 30-year debt and other challenges our community faces, therefore I am voting no.

USD 489 enrollment has decreased. It’s common knowledge now that rural communities are suffering and young people are moving away. I believe new schools would keep a few young families here, but it is affordable living and job availability/salary that will keep an increasing number of young families here and ultimately increase enrollment. I want to focus on that — increasing or at least sustaining enrollment.

Outside of the bond issue, there is still a lot going on within the school district that board members need to be able to make wise decisions about. I plan to carry the community vision to the board table and make decisions that support the highest degree of fiscal responsibility and stewardship, along with putting the kids first and foremost.

I moved from Lenexa to Hays to attend FHSU, and over the past few years I’ve met many wonderful and civically engaged people and started a family. Like many, during my college years I struggled to find affordable housing for my family. Post college I still have troubles in Hays finding a high enough paying job in my career field to support my family. Now as kindergarten approaches for my oldest, I want to make sure I settle in a community where the school system is both academically and fiscally strong.

If I were to prioritize what it is I think Hays needs to focus on the most, it would be affordable land prices, jobs, and then new schools. I don’t think we should pour millions of extra taxpayer dollars into the school district when getting young families, such as mine, to stay in the community is a struggle.

An estimated $780 million in wealth is transferring from the one generation to the next in Ellis County between 2010 and 2019 ($5 billion between 2010-2064 according to a study done by Wichita State University). Sad part is, young people are moving out of the county, which means that the money being transferred between generations is not staying here. The wealth that parents are leaving to their children is leaving Ellis County and going to Kansas City, Denver, east coast, west coast or wherever it is children are moving to find better jobs and living opportunities. USD 489 enrollment is decreasing. Think about how many young adults you know who don’t live here anymore.

I grew up in a school district that put more money into the schools than Hays does. I remember transferring from an old elementary school to a new one. I remember the difference it made in our community when new schools were built, however, affordable living and jobs were not a huge issue. I support the ideas in the bond and the logic behind it, but unfortunately I cannot get over the 30 years when I think there are other pressing issues the community needs to address first.

If the bond fails, I want to be part of the school board that makes sure the next bond to go to a vote is 15 years or less, in the targeted range that community members are willing to pay, and that the issues in the bond are crucial needs. Anyone can message me anytime with their thoughts at [email protected].

Sophia Rose Young, Hays

There’s an old saying, often considered conventional wisdom that sometimes you need a good whack on the side of the head. Nothing could be truer today in this speeding world of instantaneous communication.

While there are countless ways of doing so, many of us remain tied to the comfort of doing something in the same way. As a result, it becomes more difficult to think about doing it any other way.

Finding new ideas or a new way of doing something is akin to prospecting for gold. If you look in the same old places, you’ll find tapped out veins. On the other hand, if you venture off the beaten path, you’ll improve your chances of discovering new ideas.

Crawl out of your comfort zone.

Every culture, industry, business or organization has its own way of looking at the world. Often the best ideas come from exploring the way others in different walks of life do things.

“Anyone can look for fashion in a boutique or history in a museum. The creative explorer looks for history in a hardware store and fashion in an airport,” journalist Robert Wieder said.

Where will you look?

Borrow ideas.

Throughout history people have used novel and interesting ideas that others have used successfully. Our ideas must be original only to their adaptation to the problem we’re working on at the time.

Dig deeper.

Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it’s the only one we have. Never stop with the first right answer you find. Look for others.

How do you keep a fish from smelling?

Grill it as soon as you catch it. Keep a cat around. Burn incense. Cut its nose off.
Remember, the best way to find a solution to something is to come up with lots of them.

See the big picture.

In 1866 an Iowa farmer watched the construction of the transcontinental railroad near his fields. After seeing the track laid and a locomotive steam by he thought, “So that’s what railroading is all about: tracks and trains.”

What didn’t he see?

That he could transport his products to more markets more quickly, and that once there they would compete against products from many more places. That people could travel coast to coast in less than a week. That more ideas would be shared, and different people would meet and marry.

The Iowa farmer saw the steel and wheels, but he didn’t see the consequences. Look for the larger implications of an idea. Look at the big picture.

Expect the unexpected.

Columbus was looking for India. Bell was trying to invent a hearing aid. Often what you’re looking for leads to something entirely different.

Listen to that hunch.

Your subconscious mind continually records and stores unrelated data from the outside world. Later, it combines these data into good answers, or what might be considered hunches.

If you simply ask, trust and listen, these hunches can sometimes lead to the right solutions.

Look for the obvious.

“Only the most foolish of mice would hide in a cat’s ear,” designer Scott Love said, “but only the wisest of cats would look there.”

See what’s in front of your face or ear. Think about what you may be overlooking. The resources or solutions might be right in front of you.

Ask a fool.

That’s what the kings of old did to break out of the group-think environment their “yes-men” environment created. It was the fool’s job to see any proposal or discussion underway in a fresh light.

Peter Sellers, the brilliant British actor, played this to perfection in his last movie, Being There. He did so by extolling the trivial, trifling the exalted or reversing the common perception of a situation.

Here’s an example. If a man is sitting on a horse backward, why do we assume that it’s the man who is backward and not the horse?

Never assume things are a certain way. Shake up people’s assumptions and this will allow them to see things differently, sometimes more clearly.

Your dreams can help resolve conflicts, refresh thinking, inspire solutions and suggest different approaches.

Follow your dreams.

John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

By JOHN P. TRETBAR

Independent Oil & Gas Service reports a nearly 12% drop in the number of active drilling rigs in Kansas last week. There were 12 active rigs east of Wichita, down three, and 25 in the western half of the state, down two. They’re drilling at one site in Stafford County, and report drilling ahead on one lease in Ellis County. Operators are moving in completion tools at two leases in Barton County, three in Ellis County, one in Russell County and two in Stafford County. Baker Hughes reports 913 active rigs across the USA, a drop of seven oil rigs and a decline of eight rigs exploring for natural gas. Canada saw a drop of ten for a weekly total of 202 active rigs.

Kansas operators filed 25 permits for drilling at new locations last week, which brings the year-to-date total to 1,165 permits. There were 11 filed east of Wichita and 25 in western Kansas, including one in Barton County, one in Russell County and one in Stafford County.

Independent Oil & Gas Service reported 41 new well completions last week, 1,081 so far this year. There were 17 completions in eastern Kansas, and 24 west of Wichita, including two in Barton County, one in Ellis County and three in Stafford County.

The Republican-dominated Oklahoma Senate is urging its House colleagues to double the state’s oil and gas production tax, from two to four percent, as a way to break a stalemate to fix a $215 million budget shortfall. The Senate adopted the resolution on a voice vote last week, suggesting they will have enough votes to increase the gross production tax. The Daily Oklahoman reported that House Republicans put forth a series of tax hikes in a bill last week that fell short of the needed three-fourth’s majority. Democrats blocked the measure and demanded an increase in the Gross Production Tax. Over the weekend, the House leadership stalled their own bill, which included a production tax increase.

The evidence is mounting of a link between oilfield saltwater disposal wells to a recent spike in earthquakes. Research at the University of Colorado found that a string of earthquakes along the Colorado-New Mexico border since 2001 has been caused by wastewater disposal wells. Seismometers recorded hundreds of quakes in the Raton Basin of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado between 2008 and 2010, but experts say the seismic activity began to increase much earlier, in 2001, about two years after large-scale wastewater injection in the area began.

Railroad companies face a deadline at the end of the year to phase out the “less safe” DOT-111 tank cars, and the Bismarck Tribune reports those companies are well on their way to compliance, thanks in large part to a resurgence of pipeline deliveries. By January, DOT-111 tankers without a protective steel layer known as a jacket can no longer carry crude oil. Those cars with the jacket must be phased out two months later. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation reported a dramatic drop in the number of these cars carrying crude oil, from more than 14 thousand four years ago, to just 366 last year.

There’s lots of oilfield work available in the Permian Basin of Texas, where analysts and employers are frustrated by equipment and personnel (particularly drivers). Big employers in the patch hope to replenish a workforce that was gutted by layoffs over the last couple of years due to low prices. According to the Houston Chronicle, large and small oil field services companies that drill, frack and haul equipment, supplies and wastewater are finding far fewer people willing to work for a boom-and-bust industry. One small employer says his company is losing $7,000 a day because it still doesn’t have enough truck drivers to deliver equipment to its crews. The downturn cost the state of Texas a total of 100,000 jobs, one third of the state’s energy workforce. The newspaper reports operators have hired just 30,000 workers in the region since the recovery began last year. Equipment and personnel shortages have led oil companies to leave more than 2,400 dormant wells untapped for months in West Texas.

As OPEC negotiates the extension of its oil production cuts, the cartel is also quietly working on an exit strategy in an effort to reassure investors it won’t flood the market once the curbs finally expire. Bloomberg quotes people familiar with the deliberations who say the full strategy probably won’t be unveiled until later next year.

An oil and gas industry group is seeking to highlight what it says is an increase in protester attacks on oil pipelines and other energy infrastructure. They announced an online database listing incidents of “eco-terrorism, sabotage, arson, vandalism and violence.” The Energy Builders Coalition announcement comes two days after a bipartisan group of 84 members of Congress sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney General expressing concern about recent incidents and asking if existing laws are enough to adequately prosecute criminal acts.

A hedge-fund manager in Asia says China’s plan to base its oil contracts on its own currency will be a “wake up call” for investors, and that the “Petro-Yuan” will be a “huge story” in the energy industry globally. Adam Levinson of Graticule Asset Management Asia tells Bloomberg TV the move will serve as a hedging tool for Chinese companies, and aids their broader agenda of increasing the use of the yuan in trade settlement. Levinson says Chinese oil companies will probably be anchor investors in Saudi Arabia’s initial public offering of its state oil company, Saudi Aramco.

Chances are considered good that mostly along party lines, Gov. Sam Brownback will be confirmed as President Donald Trump’s Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, resign his office and Lt. Gov. for seven years Jeff Colyer will ascend to the governorship.

When that will happen, after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved on an 11-10 party-line vote last week forwarding Brownback’s nomination to the full Senate, isn’t known. Could be this week, could be later. Brownback could be part of a long list of appointments bulked together to save time so his former colleagues in the Senate can get an early lunch.

But whenever it is, we know that Brownback will officially resign as governor—and the face of Kansas government will change.

Whenever Brownback is officially off the state payroll — we’re doubting that he will keep the governorship through the end of a pay period — at 11 a.m. some day in the future, Colyer officially will be sworn-in as governor in Hays, his hometown.

That’s always good, because he’s a local boy who honors his home town and the water he grew up drinking. Oh, and it’s also a big official event that will take place in western Kansas, where the now-Johnson County plastic surgeon can get photos snapped during the ceremony. Never hurts to bring the press to Hays, does it?

And, should GOP gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Kris Kobach decide to perform the swearing-in, it’s probably better for Colyer to be in the same photo as Kobach somewhere out west, where maybe fewer people statewide will see it.

Then, we know that at 4 p.m., whenever that day comes, there’s going to an inaugural ceremony, probably a speech, and Colyer’s first time to address most of the state and its government in Topeka. It’ll be a not-quite inaugural festival like when a new governor takes office after an election victory, but a good chance for legions of Statehouse regulars to be present—and be seen to be present—and maybe sponsor some related social events.

Look for that to be the chance for Colyer to at least loosely describe what he wants to do with the state that he will run for at least another year, depending on how he does in the GOP gubernatorial primary, and if successful there, maybe the next four years.

Remember, as lieutenant governor, his major job has been to support his boss, the governor, whether it requires biting his tongue or not.

First issue, of course, will be who becomes Colyer’s lieutenant governor. That’s been quiet, but he may choose a short-termer who will get a fairly minimal state paycheck for a year, or it could be his chance to unveil the “Colyer-XXXX” ticket for governor next year. He’d be the first candidate to announce a team…and we’ll see how he characterizes his new hire.

After a lieutenant governor is on board, we’ll see whether Cabinet secretaries keep their jobs or “move on to other opportunities,” which sounds so much better on a resume than being fired.

And we’ll see Colyer’s vision—look at KanCare and its operation—become more prominent as it is presented by state officials.

Move into Cedar Crest, the governor’s mansion? Maybe, if Brownback has collected all his stuff and left it in move-in condition, but it might just be a weekday sleeping convenience for Colyer who commutes to Topeka.

Lots of things are likely to change at 11 a.m. in Hays and 4 p.m. in Topeka some day in the next few weeks. We’re not sure it’ll be earth-shaking enough that you’ll spill your drink, but it could…

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com

Hays residents received a sixth mailer paid for “by Hays USD 489 to educate patrons,” which highlights perceived benefits of the proposed bond issue but does not talk about its significant flaws.

Flaw #1: The true cost is over $150 million (not $78.5 million as promoted by USD 489). This is because the cost of borrowing money to pay for the improvements is equal, if not greater, than the cost of just the improvements.

Flaw #2: Bond payments are over a period so long that current Hays High School seniors will be grandparents when the bonds are paid off. Combining this with Ellis County already having one of the highest median property taxes in the United States (ranked 711th highest out of the 3,143 nation’s counties), makes one question why this bond is a wise investment.

Flaw #3: Contrary to the message from USD 489, this will not have a positive impact on our community, as it will stifle future economic development through even less new home construction and business development.

Flaw #4: Instead of addressing needed repairs, additional wants (not needs) are part of the bond issue, including the same wish list of unnecessary new buildings and add-ons that go beyond what the community needs.

How did the school district find itself in this situation? For over 25 years, the school board took funds budgeted for routine maintenance and spent them on other items. When this process began in 2012, USD 489 estimated that the cost of all immediate and necessary building repairs was $20 million. Instead of addressing these immediate repairs, the school board decided instead to ask the voters to approve a $94 million bond issue (which failed) and now comes back with a slightly smaller request, which still includes unrelated wants, causing a considerable tax burden.

USD 489’s facilities need significant repairs due to “deferred maintenance,” and the repairs are needed. When considered separately, they are affordable and should be completed immediately. The added list of unrelated projects are items that would be nice to have, but are not critical to providing an excellent education. Including “wants” in the proposed bond issue greatly inflates costs and confuses the public.

I strongly support any bond issue that addresses deferred maintenance first. Once completed, the school board could request a series of smaller targeted bond issues over time to pay for the other items.

Henry Schwaller IV, Hays