Kansas has a long history of cities, counties and the state working together in partnership to serve Kansas residents and make our state a great place to live, work and play.
That partnership has deteriorated to the point it is completely broken. For several years, the Kansas Legislature has made local governments the enemy of the state.
In 1961, Kansas voters overwhelmingly showed support for their local communities and local elected officials by passing the Home Rule Amendment to the Kansas Constitution. Its intent is to leave local decisions to local citizens in their individual cities and counties. It supports the idea that the smallest government, closest to the people, is best.
It rejects the big brother approach exhibited by too many legislators.
Right now, 84 percent of Kansans live in a city. 100 percent of Kansans live in a county. Every community has a unique personality. The voters who elect city council members and county commissioners to craft policies and solve problems to deal with local issues are the same voters who elect state lawmakers. But too many legislators view local governments as subservient to the Legislature.
The fact is, cities existed before the state. The city of Leavenworth was founded 17 years before Kansas gained statehood.
Many legislators rail against the federal government for mandating rules and policies on Kansas. They cite the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which gives states rights to handle issues not specifically left to the federal government.
Yet those same legislators don’t hesitate to dictate policies to local government and pre-empt ordinances they don’t agree with. They ignore Article 12 of the Kansas Constitution, which gives local governments the Home Rule right to decide their own issues without legislative interference.
Their stance contradictory at best and hypocritical at worst.
Property taxes, elections, gun restrictions, renewable energy, community centers with swimming pools and workout facilities, safe and welcoming resolutions, even plastic bags are all issues where the Kansas Legislature has interfered in local issues, attempting to override decisions made by local elected officials who are supported by their own communities.
The Kansas Legislature has stripped billions of dollars in revenue from counties over the past 20 years. Stopping the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund and Special City-County Revenue Sharing program, ending the property tax on commercial machinery and equipment, and canceling the mortgage revenue registration fee have cost cities and counties more than $3.5-billion in revenue. Those dollars were used to pay for local government services citizens want and need.
At the same time, state lawmakers dumped more duties on counties to perform on behalf of the state. District courts, community corrections, mental health, register of deeds, vehicle registrations, elections and tax collections are all state duties performed and paid for by county taxpayers. It is a lopsided relationship.
Kansas residents will be better served if the traditional partnership between local governments and the state government is restored and we all once again work with each other instead of against each other. The traditional partnership between local governments and the state needs to be restored.
Cities and counties are not enemies of the state.
About the author: Mike Taylor is a lobbyist who has spent the past 29 years advocating on behalf of local government in the halls of the Kansas Statehouse
