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THE IOLA REGISTER Locally owned since 1867
www.iolaregister.com
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
CITY COUNCIL
Iola delays budget decision By BOB JOHNSON The Iola Register
Drawing up tomorrow By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
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At top, Ginger Moore, Humboldt, left, and Patience Kress, Iola, list what they envision could propel Allen County to a more prosperous future. Above, Tom Strickler gives voice to his group’s ideas.
UMBOLDT — A crowd of about 200 put their heads together Monday night in the first of two brainstorming sessions sponsored by Thrive Allen County and B&W Trailer Hitches. Every nook and holler in Allen County was represented at the forum that began with tours of the massive plant followed by a free meal. Then it was all business as participants shared their hopes and dreams for their respective communities as well as the challenges they face. Helping facilitate the discussion was Paul Zykofsky of Sacramento, Calif., a professional who helps communities envision change that can lead to more See CONVERSATION | Page A6
Accord escaped Iola council members Monday night, leading them to schedule a special session at 5:15 p.m. next Monday to attempt to resolve concerns about the city’s 2016 budget. They also failed to reach agreement on a proposal to restrict use of cell phones by drivers in Iola, although they did vote to send resolutions to Allen County commissioners and state legislators to encourage them to deal with the issue on a broader scale. Councilman Bob Shaughnessy first questioned the budget and a 2-mill increase of its levy, calling rising taxes and higher water charges “a vicious cycle.” With “lower taxes more people would be coming to Iola,” he predicted. The housing market is depressed, Shaughnessy said, by as much as 40 percent and new houses aren’t being built because they don’t “assess at what you have in them,” which means the builder can’t remove costs and make a profit. Councilwoman Beverly Franklin agreed. Shaughnessy is a contractor, and in addition to new construction remodels older homes. With older homes, he
thinks the opposite is true with appraisals. He cited a house on Kentucky Street that he remodeled. “I made it a nice home, and the levy increased four times — that really takes the wind out of your sails.” Councilman Aaron Franklin, with the fire department’s proposed budget decreased by $126,000, wondered how it could operate efficiently with a 31-person staffing model but with 28 on board. “That’s a sizable decrease,” he said, apparently both of budget and personnel. Another councilman, Jon Wells, assured the fire department’s budget was sufficient. City Administrator Carl Slaugh, in response to Beverly Franklin’s, and others, comments that personnel weren’t happy, said “they complain about working lots of hours, but they like the overtime” pay. Slaugh said the general budget was pared significantly from first blush, by $660,000 to $6,642,689. “That’s just $11,789 over the 2015 budget,” he said, and observed all departments had their budgets reduced, not just the fire department. The budget projects a levy of 35.401 mills for the genSee CITY | Page A3
Judge voids KS same-sex marriage ban Humboldt schools OK next building trades house By RICK DANLEY The Iola Register
HUMBOLDT — In a final conclave before the official start of school next week, USD 258 school board members approved for publication the 2015-16 budget and have scheduled a vote to finalize the document at a special hearing on Aug. 24, at 7 p.m., at the district office. IN WAVING goodbye to one building trades project, the district has acquired the
land for another. The board unanimously approved a bid for $110,000 for the district’s recently completed house, before swiftly approving the donation of multiple lots located at 204 -216 Cherokee Street for the purpose of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 building trades program. Board member Joe Works, who donated the land, abstained from the vote. RISING ABOVE the parade of necessary but otherwise drab business items on See USD 258 | Page A3
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional in the wake of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex unions nationwide, a federal judge ruled Monday. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree ruled that the provision in the Kansas constitution prohibiting marriage licenses to same-sex couples or recognizing them violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That ruling also voids any Kansas statute, law, policy or practice that bars or fails to recognize such unions. Kansas law has long defined marriage as between
one man and one woman, and voters overwhelmingly supported amending the Kansas Constitution to ban gay marriage in 2005. The American Civil Liberties Union Judge Crabtree of Kansas sued the state in October on behalf of two lesbian couples who were denied marriage licenses in Douglas County in northeast Kansas and in Sedgwick County in southcentral Kansas. Other samesex couples later joined the suit seeking various benefits normally granted to married
couples. In his 43-page order, Crabtree stopped short of issuing a permanent injunction in order to give Kansas the opportunity to voluntarily comply, as its attorneys have assured the court they will do. Crabtree wrote that some facts in the court record suggest Kansas officials have not uniformly complied with the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling. Crabtree gave the parties until Sept. 15 to make any further written submissions to the court as to whether the state has made good on the See JUDGE | Page A3
USD 257 school board approves 4.7-mill increase By KAYLA BANZET The Iola Register
Iola school board members accepted the district’s 2015-16 budget, which calls for a 4.7 mill increase, at their meeting Monday night. The mill levy still is lower than it was two years ago after state lawmakers — under orders from the Kansas Supreme Court — revamped their local option budget (LOB) equalization funding.
Then, the district’s property taxes were reduced from 52 to 44 mills for 2014-15. For 201516, the mill levy will be 49.13. This year school districts were required to report supplemental general state aid, capital outlay state aid, KPERS aid and special education funds as part of their general fund. The additional categories make a district’s budget appear larger than general fund reports in previous years. The general fund budget for USD 257 is
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$12,495,893. Although these additional items are lumped into the general fund they will be used elsewhere for the district’s budget. The money allotted for special education, $2,760,000, goes directly to ANW Cooperative. Capital outlay state aid, $146,219, will be used for maintenance and technology purposes. A lease-purchase proposal for a new chiller for the Bowlus Fine Arts Center, which costs $87,312, was accepted.
The board agreed to work with Community National Bank at 3.125 percent interest rate for the lease-purchase proposal. The previous chiller was 16 years old. All school administrators will receive a 4 percent raise and classified staff will receive a 3 percent raise. These raises were made possible by the district saving money in various departments, such as the switch to an outside food service provider. In other news:
“I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.” — Lily Tomlin 75 Cents
— Board members were assigned to board committees. — Rick Crowell was hired as a bus driver, Kasey Roach was hired as an Age to Age Preschool paraprofessional and Shawn Johns was hired as Crossroads director. — Resignations were accepted from Kathy Shelby as a paraprofessional, Tim Siebel as Crossroads director and Becky Carlson as Iola Middle School track coach. Separation of employment was accepted from Gina Totman.
Hi: 86 Lo: 61 Iola, KS