Brian Hind: Lawmakers need to respect local control
The following is an abridged version of legislative testimony submitted recently by Brian Hind, a Greenwood County commissioner:
I am writing at the behest of the Kansas Association of Counties regarding the “tax lid” legislation in Topeka. I will admit I do so with a great deal of skepticism about how much anyone in Topeka listens to elected officials below them in rank these days, even fellow Republicans.
Then again, I am confused about what it means to be a Republican and a conservative in Kansas today. Ever since I cast my first vote in 1986, I thought I was a Republican, having been raised by Republican parents in a very conservative fashion on a five-generation Greenwood County farm.
My grandfather was a Republican who served three terms on the USD 386 Madison-Virgil school board. In the late 1970s, he voted to build a new high school, which meant raising property taxes. I wonder today if anyone could vote “yes” to building a new school anywhere in Kansas and still be considered conservative.
Today it seems the only way to be a true conservative in Kansas is to believe all government is bloated and most spending is unnecessary. It is now OK to borrow money for day-to-day operations and let infrastructure crumble as long as we don’t raise taxes.
I have always thought one part of being a true conservative was being cautious. Our state leadership did not show much caution when launching into this experiment of zero income taxes for so many, abandoning the “three-legged stool” of income, property and consumption taxes to run state government.
I also thought being conservative meant playing your cards out in the open. The state recently went another $400 million in debt with no plans to pay principal for the next 10 years. That was done without much debate, and without a general vote.
As Republicans, we often bemoan interference from an intrusive federal government. We believe in local control, bottom-up governance. We want those bums in D.C. to leave us alone and let us run things in Kansas ourselves.
Yet, like everyone else in our state, I watched with dismayed amazement at the fiasco that was the 2015 legislative session, as lawmakers tried to deal with problems that were largely self-inflicted. To my surprise, on day 100, while in the midst of trying to deal with all the financial problems the state has, lawmakers were able to take time to protect the good people of Kansas from tax-and-spend county commissions and city councils.
In a session in which the Legislature passed what could be construed as the largest tax increase in Kansas history, without a popular vote, lawmakers felt confident enough in their leadership (or perhaps doubtful enough of ours) to insert themselves into local government business, without giving any of us a chance to comment.
A cynic might draw the conclusion this was done so some lawmakers could go back to their constituents and deflect criticism of the tax increase the state had just inflicted by saying, “but we are going to cap your property taxes.” A cynic might also say D.C.-style politics had now taken over Topeka.
The state finances are in shambles. When the Legislature gets its own house in order, I’ll be more willing to take advice on how to run Greenwood County from the fine folks in Topeka.
Until then, leave local government business between the voters and the people they elect locally to represent them. Legislators don’t want the federal government interfering in state business; we don’t want the state in ours.
If lawmakers are still bent on a tax lid for counties and cities, make it apply to everyone, including the state of Kansas. And for good measure, let’s have a vote every time legislative per diem is raised.
As my mama used to say, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Brian Hind: Lawmakers need to respect local control."