Editorial: Funding option

The formation of a public building commission is a new twist for Douglas County that local voters should make sure they understand.

In the name of keeping their financial options open for a couple of looming construction projects, the Douglas County Commission has agreed to establish a public building commission.

Commissioners have been quite open about this move, but some county residents may not understand how the building commission could be used and the impact it could have on public involvement in some big spending decisions. The building commission will be empowered, at the direction of the county commission, to approve bonds to finance any facilities project. The bonds could be issued without voter approval unless 5 percent of registered Douglas County voters file a petition forcing an election on the issue.

Commissioners say they aren’t sure how they will use the building commission but they wanted to keep their options open. They also have sought legislative approval for a sales tax referendum that could be used to raise funds.

The two projects currently on the table are about $3 million in improvements to the county fairgrounds and up to $30 million to expand the Douglas County Jail. Some commissioners said they would be more likely to use the building commission to approve bonds for a smaller project than for a larger project, but that would be at the commission’s discretion.

The composition of the public building commission is interesting. It apparently will be made up of three members, with each member of the county commission getting one appointment. That means the county commission essentially will be replicating itself so the public building commission wouldn’t be expected to express any opinion that differs from the county commission’s.

Other counties, including Johnson and Franklin, have public building commissions, so the move isn’t that unusual, but forming such a commission does put more pressure on voters to monitor financial decisions that will affect county tax levies. According to the official July 2014 Kansas Secretary of State report, Douglas County had just under 75,000 registered voters, so a petition to force a vote on a public building commission decision would require about 3,750 valid signatures. That’s a sizable number.

As noted above, it all depends on how county commissioners decide to use this new financial tool. Hopefully, they will use it more as a financial finishing hammer than a giant sledge.