King SUBSIDY-Sam hands budget dirty work off to "underlings" without their consent.

Last edited Fri Mar 15, 2013, 03:40 PM - Edit history (1)

Respect for other stake holders died when city-county-subject-matter-experts' budget annotations were changed without their consultation, resulting in a shift of some $580.Million in bills to be paid onto city and county budgets and leaving locals to either raise taxes and fees or reduce and cut services and programs altogether.

http://cjonline.com/news/2013-03-14/officials-upset-budget-chief-obscured-impact-tax-bill

Gov. Sam Brownback's state budget director changed a property tax bill's fiscal note this week to obscure the predicted impact to local governments, causing officials who represent Kansas cities and counties to cry foul.

Melissa Wangemann, the legislative director and general counsel for the Kansas Association of Counties, said she believes the move was "absolutely" politically motivated and should concern legislators who rely on the fiscal notes attached to each proposed bill.

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But there was a second change that was more unsettling to Wangemann. The original fiscal note stated the bill would force local governments to either raise fees, raise mill levies, or cut spending because it would reduce assessed property valuations by about $583.6 million statewide.

Anderson's revised fiscal note did not change that number — but removed the three possible outcomes.