Lawrence Mayor Mike Dever will chat about the three sales tax questions on the November ballot. Together, they would raise the sales tax .55 percent and would pay for operation of the T and infrastructure and equipment improvements for the city.

DBAWalt

Has ANY tax ever been approved with a ‘not valid after’ date, then allowed to go away at the end of the stated time? I am thinking of the Spanish/American war excise tax on telephone service that was not allowed to go away until a few years ago.

It seems that once a source of revenue is voted in, it never goes away. I don’t know of any examples that disproves this idea, please provide some examples from Lawrence.

claireredfield

Lawrence was once named one of the nation’s Top 10 Meanest Cities. That’s right – in the whole country! At the time, one of the problems was the lack of a public transit system. How would you deal with the negative publicity we would face if the sales tax initiatives don’t pass and we have to scrap the system? Would we really let this happen?

consumer1

This statement was in a blog on the LJW yesterday, I am wondering if there is any truth to this?
“The “T” was originally planned to be run using property taxes. Over the years, the city commission(s) redirected that money towards other items rather than have to raise taxes. The current commission decided to eliminate the property tax funding completely, leaving us with this difficult decision.”

If this is true why?? Like this poster, I would like to have some say in where my tax dollars are being spent. Such as economic development, the wasted money on round a bouts. I have heard all the rational for these “traffic calming devices” and for the most part I don’t buy it. but I do still have to pay for them. When I voted for the current commissioners it was my hope someone in this group would stand up against the handfull of squeaky wheels that dictate the path our city takes.

xbusguy

Will the 4 mills tax on my home still be used for the T…next year? If, not where will it go?

macon47

alot of folks want the vote for the bus system to pass
what happens if it doesnt?
will services be dropped immediately
or just continued and paid for from
increased property taxes?
thanks

toe

Has Lawrence ever considered an intangible tax? The regressive nature of sales taxes due primarily to the taxation of food, is a terrible tax in a community with a large population of students (low income) and retirees.

lawrencian

Mayor Dever, how do you expect voters to vote FOR the buses, when you don’t even have a plan to show them? (Moderator, I submitted a similar question for the original chat, but I don’t know if you kept them for today.)

rushlimbo

Why do you think it is important that Lawrence has a viable public transportation system for its citizens?

Marty_McFly

Mayor,

The road in front of your house is one of the worst in the city. What are the plans for it?

Marty

hawkperchedatriverfront

If the T is having financial concerns, why then does the T sponsor programming on public radio at KU? I thought they didnt’ have any money?

merrill

How will taxpayers know the infrastrucure tax money will not be shifted to some other project?

What new infrastructure projects are on the table?

How can the city afford to extend the city limits as that expands the city liability/responsibility? The more the city is expanded the more it costs to manage.

Why not remain focused on the farmland property and put all other light industrial projects
on the back burner? New projects expand the taxpayers bills.

Coach_Eric

Mr. Dever –

Thank you for taking time to discuss this important issue today. I am left wondering why there has been no mention of redefining bus routes to decrease inefficiencies (i.e. empty busses and looong wait times) or specific details of a merger with KUOW? I believe had these two things been addressed, the vote would have a better chance of passing.

hawkperchedatriverfront

How much did you pay to ride the bus in Chicago and the suburbs?

BigPrune

Does the City Commission have power over the Planning Department, and if so, in what way?

BigPrune

Sorry, my reading comprehension isn’t too good today. Please disregard the question I submitted previously.

vthawk1

I’m wondering if you can tell me exactly how money from the sales tax increase will actually be used for the T. I’m a supporter of public transportation, but I’d like to know the plan for the additional money. Will it be used to simply maintain? or can I expect an increase in services? routes? more buses? etc? Thanks!

jamoca

I’ve seen lots of advertisement on questions 2 and 3. However, I haven’t heard much details about the infrastructure that a Yes vote on question 1 will support. Could you please elaborate a little more on question 1?

hawkperchedatriverfront

Mayor Dever, Where is the list of streets, curbs, sidewalks to be replaced? I know the paper says staff has a plan, but we all know that the staff is not usually on target.

Is 13th street from Mass to Oak Hill cemetery a first priority, with sidewalks constructed, new street lighting, not to mention a complete regrading and surfacing?

Like wise, 13th from Mass to Oread Ave, With the Castle Tea Room project at the west and Oak Hill cemetery at the east, both very historic, why isn’t number one priority given to this street?

I am not interested to hear about looking into it> I want to see the list printed in the paper. We need to know.

As you are full aware, we have burned out , boarded up houses around town and the city commission does nothingabout them. Why should we trust that our sales tax money is handled properly.

Where is the list of streets?

justthefacts

How much money does the city spend, annually, on legal fees? On dues for memberships to entities such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Leauge of Municipalities, etc? On trips out of state for city officials? On nice shiney pamphlets on why the tax vote should get a “yes” and mailed out to voters? Could some of that money be diverted to other things?

Moderator

Hi: I’m your moderator Chad Lawhorn. Mayor Mike Dever is here and ready to answer questions. We have several questions already submitted, but feel free to send us more.

Welcome, Mike.

Mike Dever

Chad,
Thanks for having me today.

matchbox81

If question 3 fails, will there be enough money to maintain current transit levels of service and still be able to replace vehicles as needed?

Mike Dever

Matchbox81,

Good question. The initial assessment of the costs for transit provided by the City Manager indicated that we would be able to provide similar levels of service if question 2 passed. The main concern was with the amount of money available in our reserve fund for vehicles. The federal government will provide a substantial portion of the money we need for new vehicles, but it is possible that those funds could be reduced, or the cost of vehicles could increase over time. We purchased all of our current vehicles at the same time, and they will probably have to be replaced very soon. The additional funds available if question 3 is passed will provide some additional money for equipment and additional levels of service. Question 2 should be able to provide enough money for a service at the current level, especially if we experience some growth in retail sales.

d_prowess

So many of those against the two transportation questions say that voting No is the only way to force the city into making the necessary changes the system needs. They believe the city would then make changes and the system would keep running. However others say the city would have no option but to shut down permanently if these two questions are voted down. Can you give us the options available to the city if there is a No vote and their respective timelines?

Mike Dever

Thanks for the question.

I do not believe that the sales tax needs to be defeated in order to retool and reconfigure the T.
With a positive outcome, we will have a viable system capable of working with KUOW to create a better transit option for the riders.

If the proposition fails, we will not have the funds required to run the T, and be forced to either shut down operations January 1, 2009 or borrow money from the city reserve funds. Borrowing money from reserves is not a sustainable proposition and therefore the city commission would have to consider raising property taxes to pay for the T for fiscal year 2010. We cannot raise the mill levy to pay for transit for 2009 because the budget has already been ratified.

justthefacts

Aren’t there some cost cutting ways the city could come up with enough money to maintain our roads? Do we really need down town sculpture or more round-a-bouts? When city provided services are in danger, why is the answer always “RAISE TAXES?” Aren’t there some non-necessary things that can be cut?

And if some people want bus services paid by the city, why don’t those who favor it just donate their own money instead of forcing everyone (including those who can’t afford their own cars) to pay for the service? If everyone who favors the bus service would buy a year’s worth of service for a poor person, that might take care of the problem. And can’t we sell all the huge buses and buy smaller ones that aren’t as expensive to operate (there is hardly ever a time when the big city buses are full)?

Mike Dever

Justthefacts, I will address your questions one by one.

The roads that we have in Lawrence are in need of additional funds for proper maintenance and repair. We plan on implementing the findings of our pavement condition survey and take the new funding available through question 1 and implement them. The condition of the roads was identified as a major concern to Lawrence residents in our recent survey, and we intended to address that concern. The money we now have for this purpose is inadequate to address the concerns. We have tried to cut our budget the last two years and have succeed in reducing our expenditures. Vacancies are not being filled and costs are being cut. If we want to do more cost reductions, we must all put our heads together and determine what current services we want to do without. As far as art and traffic calming devices, we have not approved any city funded roundabouts since I have been on the commission and the expenditures for sculptures have been minimal. Lawrence prides itself as a city of arts, and there are many who think it is important for the community.

I think your ideas for having the community( citizens) provide funding directly to the transit dependent is interesting, but hard to administer.

Finally, smaller buses on some routes during certain times of the day is one idea we have for making the system more cost effective and efficient. However, smaller buses are only slightly more efficient in the long run than the larger mid-duty buses we currently operate.

xbusguy

What happens to the tax that was levied for the T?

Mike Dever

xbusguy,

The mill levy for the T was reduced until 2007. Previous commissioners believed that the mill levy should be reduced, and that we should utilize the transit reserve funds for operation. What was once approx. 3 mills was lowered until last year when our commission increased the mill levy to allow the T to continue operation for 2008. At that time I began investigating the ways we could mange the system better and plan for the ensuing fuel increase that would come when our contract with MV ran out in 2008. The budget for 2009 has shifted the remaining mill levy of 1.1 to offset the cost of city operations and not raise the total city mill levy for 2009.

lawrencian

Mayor Dever, why did you and the city commission decide to de-fund public transit in the first place? Although you say you are pro-transit, the fact that you are willing to put public transit at such a huge risk seems to say the opposite!

Mike Dever

Lawrencian, you have asked a fair question that is a little complicated.

As I stated earlier, the T has been “defunded” over the last six years. Our commission actually raised the mill levy to pay for current operations. After experiencing the anguish and concern associated with the annual review process, I felt like there had to be a better way to fund public transportation. Research told me that the mill levy originally created for the T was reduced, and the commitment to transit fluctuated annually. The best way to fund the transit system long term, with a guaranteed source of revenue was through a ballot initiative. There have been many who have told me that the bus was a valuable resource, but the funding for it seemed to be subject to public opinion. My research also indicated that close to 70% of the ballot initiatives for public transportation have passed in the US of the past few years and I thought the time was right to ask the question of the public, and to fund the system, if approved, for 10 years.

I also knew we would have an upcoming general election with potentially record turnout. The question could be added to the ballot with little additional cost to the city and the response would be from a vast majority of citizens. I believe the ballot question will allow for a strong, well-funded transportation system that can be reworked to serve more residents.

rushlimbo

As Mayor, what would be your goals for the performance of the transit system? Also, what do you think the biggest need for public transit is in our community and how would you like to see the service changed to address those needs?

Mike Dever

rush,

I would like the T to serve more people who are considered “choice riders”. Those who chose to ride the bus, when they have other options. I would also like to see the system run more efficiently through coordination with KUOW. The biggest need is to carefully examine the T routes and the KU routes, eliminate overlap and utilize the precious financial and natural resources we have at our disposal more efficiently. We can serve more KU students and employees of KU if we work together and establish a well coordinated system.

I would also like the system to utilize multiple hubs to move riders to their destination. Through a coordinated effort, we will be able to serve more people, more often, in a shorter period of time.

Lawrence needs a transit system to help keep existing businesses and attract new businesses to our community. I would like to see the T operate more efficiently to the employment hubs in our community and get people to work. This might mean full service during peak commute times, and reduced service during the middle of the day. Those resources could then be made available to provide more service to other areas.

We all realize that the T lift is an important service in our community and for me, it is the key to a caring and involved community. Without the fixed route, it becomes very difficult to afford the t lift services.

foodboy

Do you now regret not making the T question .25 to begin with as proponents asked rather than coming back a week later with question 3.

Mike Dever

Foodboy,

I might regret the decision later, but I believe the decision we made to split the choices was a reasonable one. I did research on how other communities have handled transit related questions and found many of them asking multiple questions related to transit and sales tax. One city I found asked six questions!

The final decision to add the question came after receiving lots of public comment at a commission meeting, and allowing city commissioners to hear how those in attendance felt about the amount needed. I believe that the additional question was added due in part to those comments, and the follow up research I did after the meeting. I was trying to get a majority of the commissioners to agree, and sometimes the process is a little cumbersome.

Overall, I think we have a great commission that listens to the residents throughout the community and incorporates their ideas into our decisions.

Moderator

Well, we have been at an hour. Thanks to everyone for all their questions. And thanks, Mike.

Mike Dever

Thanks everyone for their questions, and feel free to call or email me if you have any unanswered questions. mdever@sunflower.com
856 8222 office