POLITICAL GAIN: Unionized Kansas State University employees say they would rather stay under the control of the state government because they can “fire” elected officials like Gov. Sam Brownback, a staunch union opponent.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

OSAWATOMIE — The labor union representing some employees at Kansas State University wants to bite the hand that pays them.

In a move that surprised some, the public-employee union at Kansas State University, the Kansas State University Employees Association, has come out against shifting control of some hourly paid employees to the local level. Instead, the union has aligned with the notably anti-union state Legislature.

Bill Glover, president of the union which is affiliated with the  American Federation of Teachers, said the reason is simple — control. The union says it easily can replace lawmakers, but can’t replace officials at the university.

“We can fire them (elected officials), but it’s pretty impossible to fire somebody at K-State that’s not doing something we agree with,” Glover said. “We can always get groups together to get rid of Gov. (Sam) Brownback if he’s not going to give the dignity and respect that state employees deserve.”

KSU’s 1,600 mostly hourly employees are being asked to join university support staff. If that happens, decisions on pay and other employment matters will be decided by KSU administrators. At present, the hourly employees, some of whom are members of the employee association labor union, are part of the state’s civil service unit and fall under the auspices of the Kansas Legislature.

Lawmaker negotiate with the union on issues involving pay, working conditions and more.

“Most people do not trust the (university) administration,” Glover said. “We have seen the actions down here for years and years.”

Gary Leitnaker, KSU human resources assistant vice president, said state statute protects employees from being laid off or having pay decreased if the change is made.

The employees will vote on the issue in November.

KSU employee Carol Marden, who leads a committee examining the potential change, told the Topeka Capitol-Journal that employees would do well to extricate themselves from the grip of state lawmakers. Marden said she puts more stock in local, university administrators than in a far-removed Legislature.

“It’s basically, who do you have more trust in, our local administration or a further removed administration?” said Marden told the Capitol-Journal. “My trust lays here at Kansas State.”

Marden did not return requests for comment from Kansas Watchdog.

But Glover doesn’t share the same affinity for university administrators. Glover said he was skeptical the university would handle issues fairly. The animosity came as a shock to Leitnaker, who said he has always maintained an open-door policy with Glover.

“I kind of am surprised that they are opposed to it, because I don’t think we’ve had a bad relationship with them,” Leitnaker said.

Dave Trabert, president of the Kansas Policy Institute, a Wichita-based think tank, said the matter of local versus legislative control should be based on individual freedom and liberty in the workplace.

“It makes perfect sense (to shift control),” Trabert said. “That’s one of the great benefits of freedom, especially in a right-to-work state. People should have the freedom to be treated as individuals, not compelled to be part of a group because of the majority.”

In the end, though, Glover said it could be politically advantageous for employees to remain under the scope of elected lawmakers.

The Legislature is “anti-union, we can’t disagree with that, but we also understand right now Gov. Brownback’s approval rating is down to 30 percent,” Glover said.

“We think there’s a possibility that somebody will come forward to challenge him for the governorship, somebody who’s going to really care about Kansas instead of the Koch brothers,” he said.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62. Like Watchdog.org? Click HERE to get breaking news alerts in YOUR state!

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ATTENTION: State auditors unearthed a number of troubling financial issues at two Kansas facilities designed to serve local veterans.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

TOPEKA — Lax financial controls, poor accountability and the potential for fraud have landed two Kansas veterans facilities in auditors’ crosshairs.

The Kansas Soldiers Home in Dodge City and the Kansas Veterans Home in Winfield first gained the attention of lawmakers and auditors two years ago after their overseeing agency, the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs, reported a series of issues at the institutions.

At the time, neither facility had recorded any assets in the state accounting system, and the Kansas Soldiers Home was unable to provide an inventory of $7.3 million in capital assets, auditors say. The Kansas Veterans Home mishandled state procurement card transactions, failing to reconcile purchases in a timely manner, and was unable to produce receipts for a number of purchases, auditors found.

A subsequent investigation of both facilities revealed a litany of issues, each compounding the potential for fraud within the system.

“The records are not in good shape, and they’re sometimes missing documentation,” said state auditor Joe Lawhon. “The absence of the good controls, the absence of the good documentation is definitely cause for concern.”

Speaking to members of the Legislative Post Audit committee, Lawhon detailed the troubling findings.

Facility purchases often lacked complete documentation, if any documentation existed at all, said Lawhon. Some purchases – such as a $600 television – were made without prior approval, receiving authorization only after the money had already been spent. Auditors also found a severe lack of checks and balances; facility officials were able to issue checks worth more than $1,000 with a single signature, in violation of agency policy.

Superintendents at both facilities also took business trips on their own accord, instead of obtaining prior approval from Gregg Burden, KCVA executive director.

One of the most glaring aspects of the audit was the KCVA’s failure to exercise its own authority over the two facilities’ business operations.

“Historically, the two business offices have done very little to communicate or coordinate with each other,” Lawhon said. “As a result, there has been no sharing of knowledge.”

This has led to inconsistencies and inefficiencies at both locations, in addition to the aforementioned financial control issues. The veterans home still processed some monetary transactions by mailing paper checks, and the soldiers home failed to maintain an inventory list.

“KCVA’s central office has not provided adequate oversight and management of the two facilities’ business operations in part because officials were not aware they had authority over the two facilities,” according to the audit, disclosed Tuesday.

“If written policies existed, staff would know the proper way to handle transactions, and this would reduce the possibility for abuse,” said Rep. Ed Trimmer, D-Winfield.

Burden made no excuses for his agencies’ failures, and said actions have already been taken to address issues outlined in the audit report.

“Fiscal accountability and transparency are two of the agencies’ highest priorities, and the audit will help us address that,” Burden said. “We’re trying to move as quickly as possible to address each issue.”

KCVA has set a Nov. 1 deadline to address the concerns, he said.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62. Like Watchdog.org? Click HERE to get breaking news alerts in YOUR state!

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BIG MONEY: The Kansas pension system has already wrongfully paid out nearly $300,000 to 13 former state employees. The figure will only continue to rise as long as they are alive.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

OSAWATOMIE — The Kansas Public Employee Retirement System wrongly awarded nearly $300,000 in the past six years – and that’s just the start.

Since 2007, KPERS has allowed 13 former public employees to buy service credits after they were terminated, state officials said this week. The credits – measured quarterly – count toward an employee’s overall standing in the pension system and, ultimately, their payout after retirement.

The revelation stems from the dismissal of Dennis Casarona, former deputy commissioner for the Juvenile Justice Authority and a holdover from the administrations of Democratic Govs. Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson.

Gov. Sam Brownback fired Casarona in March 2012, only months before state auditors announced a  litany of issues uncovered at the state’s juvenile detention facility in Topeka. However, KPERS ignited a firestorm by allowing Casarona to buy a year’s worth of service credits after his termination, making him eligible for pension benefits he would not have otherwise received.

KPERS officials initially defended the action, saying they were simply following state statute. But Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt set the record straight in December after he released an opinion stating KPERS’ interpretation of the law was flat wrong. Since then the state agency has implemented policy and procedural changes to prevent such mistakes.

“It will never happen again,” said Alan Conroy, KPERS executive director. “The door has been closed, and it will not happen in the future.”

Alan Conroy, KPERS executive director

But the damage has been done.

Kristen Basso, KPERS communications director, emphasized that service credits don’t harm the state’s $9.3 billion unfunded pension liability because employees assume the full cost.

Indeed, such purchases aren’t cheap. Employees must pay not only their contribution to the pension system but the state’s share, as well. The employee also has to pony up the amount that money would have earned had it been on deposit with pension managers.

Of the 13 individuals examined, the most expensive purchase topped-out at nearly $75,000, though the average was closer to $17,000. But while it may seem pricey, it really isn’t. There is but one requirement to recoup the cost: stay alive.

Total benefits incorrectly awarded by KPERS already exceed the $226,000 in service credit payments made by the 13 former state employees; the nearly $300,000 figure will only increase. Conroy said the state has no plans to reclaim the wrongly awarded pension benefits.

Once an employee has been on the state’s payroll for a decade, he qualifies for a pension. That pension pays from the day of retirement until the day that person dies.

“Some people die eight months after they retire, and some people die 30 years after retirement,” Basso told Kansas Watchdog in a previous interview.

Essentially, there is still no way to tell just how much this blunder will ultimately cost Kansas taxpayers.

Initial reports said 53 individuals had been allowed to buy credits after their termination. But Basso clarified that all but 13 were flagged incorrectly. She also noted that these individuals comprise .05 percent of the nearly 26,000 public employees that have retired since 2007.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62. Like Watchdog.org? Click HERE to get breaking news alerts in YOUR state!

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CLOCK IN: Poor staff retention has led to a massive increase in overtime expenditures at Larned State Hospital.

OSAWATOMIE — Larned State Hospital set a new high-water mark for overtime spending last year, posting an increase of more than $1 million.

Overtime spending at LSH jumped 82 percent, from $1.3 million in 2011 to $2.4 million in 2012, according to state spending data on KansasOpenGov.org.

Angela de Rocha, communications director for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, said the dramatic increase was caused by continued vacancies at the state’s largest – and most understaffed – mental health facility.

“This was related to a number of factors, including pay that had not been increased for some time (was increased last fall for nurses), the increasing challenge of recruitment in a rural environment and also leadership challenges,” de Rocha said in an email to Kansas Watchdog.

But large increases in overtime expenditures are nothing new for the hospital, which posted a $700,000 overtime bump in 2011.

From Gov. Sam Brownback to Larned support staff, everyone agrees the long hours are an issue, but they’re just a symptom of a much larger problem: employee retention.

As of December, LSH had 101 vacant positions, and de Rocha told the Topeka Capitol-Journal on Tuesday that nearly 20 percent of all positions at Larned are not filled. In a post-recession economy where thousands are still looking for work, LSH offers decent pay and benefits in an otherwise tough job market. So why, then, are there so many empty spots?

The answer depends on who you ask.

“We have hired more staff.  We have more staff than we did a year ago,” de Rocha said. “However, we have opened up two new units due to patient capacity needs with the sexual predator unit and the forensic evaluation programs. While we have made improvement, we still have a long way to go.”

De Rocha said KDADS has already begun operational assessments of all state hospitals to root out problems and inefficiencies. The report, due back in May, will assess all aspects of facility operations and establish a training program for supervisors, among other areas of interest.

MARVIN: Larned breeds culture of fear in employees.

Mike Marvin, executive director of the Kansas Organization for State Employees, didn’t mince words in assigning blame.

“There’s just a culture of fear that exists among the employees out there, that needs to change,” he said. “The employees are not treated well, on top of all the overtime.”

The union leader charges hospital supervisors with fostering a poor working environment and low employee morale. In response, KOSE has organized an employee protest, which will take place at LSH on April 27.

“They need to overhaul not just top management, but all management out there. They drive people away,” said Marvin, who excluded recently-appointed superintendent Thomas Kinlen from his criticism. “They can’t hire enough people. They used to be the employer of choice in the area, now they’re the employer of last resort. ”

Kinlen declined to speak with Kansas Watchdog.

Despite Marvin’s harsh words, some local residents say LSH doesn’t have such a negative reputation with the surrounding community.

“I wouldn’t describe (Larned hospital jobs) as undesirable,” said William Nusser, treasurer for the Larned Chamber of Commerce.

Nusser spoke highly of Kinlen and believes the new superintendent will be able to turn things around for the struggling institution. He added that, the way he sees it, Larned’s staffing problems are a product of limited housing options and fluctuating leadership. Kinlen is the third superintendent at LSH in the last four years.

“When you keep changing the person in charge it’s hard to build a foundation,” Nusser said.

Fellow Larned chamber board member Laura Smith said her husband has worked at the facility for nearly two decades with minimal complaints. The couple commutes 32 miles to work in Larned, and in Smith’s opinion, the hospital would do well to step-up its recruitment in surrounding areas.

“I hear some of the scuttlebutt, but all I hear from my husband is that it’s been an excellent place to work,” Smith said.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62. Like Watchdog.org? Click HERE to get breaking news alerts in YOUR state!

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EASY MONEY: Kansas welfare recipients withdrew more than $43,000 from ATMs at liquor stores, smoke shops, casinos and strip clubs from August to October 2012.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

OSAWATOMIE — Some Kansas welfare recipients are living large on the public dime, spending your tax dollars at liquor stores, strip clubs, smoke shops and casinos.

A Kansas Watchdog investigation has uncovered thousands of dollars in potentially abusive welfare transactions during a three-month period last year. From August to October 2012, Sunflower State welfare recipients withdrew more than $43,000 from ATMs at places like Golden Eagle Casino in Horton, Vegas Video Adult Superstore in Wichita and G Spot, a Junction City strip club, just to name a few.

The money in question is provided through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Administered nationally by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, TANF funds are targeted at helping low-income families afford the bare essentials, such as gas and groceries.

In Kansas, where TANF funds are distributed via Electronic Benefit Transfer cards through the Kansas Department for Children and Families, a family of four can receive up to $497 every month.

The vast majority of transactions processed within the time frame Kansas Watchdog examined wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.

In all, more than $1.5 million in transactions were made during the August to October period, meaning the questionable transactions Kansas Watchdog identified equal less than 3 percent of the total.

TANF recipients regularly make large purchases at places like Walmart, Walgreens, Dillons and other similar businesses, and it’s easy to see how a $300 transaction at Price Chopper could be a reasonable use of taxpayer money.

But what about the $102.25 one welfare recipient withdrew at Denver’s Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies?

Other questionable examples include the $203 transaction at Johnny’s Tavern in Kansas City’s popular Power and Light District, as well as the $83.60 another individual withdrew while attending the KC Renaissance Festival.

BY THE NUMBERS: The above chart shows a breakdown of potentially illicit transactions made by Kansas welfare recipients.

While some argue there’s no way to prove money withdrawn from these locations is being used inappropriately, it’s hard to believe there isn’t some abuse of the system.

The KDCF outlines specific spending restrictions on its website: TANF recipients may not use their government assistance to purchase alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets. It’s easy enough to control electronically; anyone trying to purchase such items with the physical EBT card will be greeted with a denied transaction.

But there’s a loophole.

While businesses can’t directly process EBT cards for such illicit purchases, most have ATMs conveniently located on the premises. With cash in hand, welfare recipients are able to skirt the law with relative ease.

Overall, the largest chunk of questionable EBT withdrawals took place at discount cigarette retailers and smoke shops, where recipients took out $19,302.42 during the three months.

Coming in a distant second, cash advance and payday loan locations accounted for $8,578.10, followed by liquor stores, $6500.98; casinos, $4,532.25; miscellaneous locations, $3,271.44; and bars and restaurants, $1,298.45

Questionable EBT withdrawal locations during August through October 2012 include, but are not limited to:

(May include multiple locations/transactions)

• Speedy Cash – $3,621.50
• Ace Cash Express – $4,956.60
• 7^th Street Casino – $2,455
• Buffalo Run Casino – $218
• Choctaw Casino – $746
• Golden Eagle Casino – $704.75
• The Legends shopping center – $1,056
• Smoke Eazy – $922.50
• Bullfrogs Live – $102.5
• Dave and Busters – $387.50

HELPING HAND: Funds provided through the TANF program are intended to help low-income families.

Angela de Rocha, KDCF communications director, told Kansas Watchdog in a previous interview the state has no way to stop questionable withdrawals.

“You can take your Vision card into a strip joint or Disney Land or Graceland or wherever and use that to get cash,” de Rocha said. “There’s nothing we can do about that. We can’t control that.”

Kansas Watchdog reached out to Ken Thompson, director of the KDCF Fraud Investigation Unit, but he was unavailable for comment.

Kansas Watchdog received the welfare transaction data after a months-long battle to acquire the information from KDCF, which initially resisted an open records request seeking the information, but eventually relented.

Click here to view or download the TANF transaction data in its entirety.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62. Like Watchdog.org? Click HERE to get breaking news alerts in YOUR state!

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EYE IN THE SKY: Despite having the ability to broadcast online some of the legislature’s most important committees, lawmakers have chosen to simply leave the camera off.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

OSAWATOMIE — It seems some members of the Kansas Legislature are a bit camera shy.

In the years since its installation, the video camera in the Old Supreme Court room of the Kansas Capitol building has sat at the ready to broadcast live streaming video coverage of some of the state’s most important legislative committees.

Yet rather than flip a switch and go on the air, legislators have instead chosen to let the technology languish, avoiding transparency in favor of obfuscation and sending a clear message to voters: If you want to see how the legislative sausage is made, you’d better be here in person.

Jim Miller, legislative chief IT officer, said it’s not a matter of ability; House and Senate leaders have chosen to turn on the camera a handful of times in the past year or two. Rather, legislators have just actively chosen not to broadcast their activities to a wider audience.

Jim Miller, Legislative chief IT officer

Washington Republican Rep. Sharon Schwartz chairs the House committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, which meets in the old court chambers. Schwartz says she has never been approached about streaming every available committee meeting. The camera, she said, was last activated March 19 when the committee recognized Ag Day. But only two days later, when lawmakers debated the role of corporate farming in Kansas agriculture, the camera was off.

Rep. Marvin Kleeb, chair of the Commerce, Labor and Economic Development committee; Rep. Arlen Siegfreid, chair of the Federal and State Affairs committee; and Sen. Jeff King, chair of the Judiciary committee, failed to respond to questions from Kansas Watchdog about why they don’t broadcast committee actions online.

But former legislator Brenda Landwehr has her own theory on lawmakers’ aversion to increased transparency.

“They’re afraid of being caught saying something that will upset their constituents, or give the press something,” Landwehr said. “This is crazy. We’re in a new age of electronics, you’re being recorded whether you like it or not.”

Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, served in the Kansas House from 1995 until her term expired after she was beaten in the 2012 General Election. She was a member of the first committee to stream meetings online several years ago and said legislators have few reasons — if any — not to conduct their business under the watchful eye of the public. You shouldn’t have to drive to Topeka to see what’s going on, she said.

Brenda Landwehr

“If you’re saying things you don’t want people to say or hear, then you probably shouldn’t be saying them,” Landwehr said. “Those are important committees in that room. Why aren’t they being televised on the Internet?”

When it comes to broadcasting lawmakers’ actions, Kansas isn’t exactly on the leading edge of technology. The state only offers a live audio feed of House and Senate proceedings and falls far behind offerings from states such as Alaska and Arkansas.

A Kansas Watchdog survey of state government websites showed Kansas is one of only 11 states that do not offer live streaming legislative video. Of those, only three states — Nevada, Vermont and Washington — had no online live media whatsoever.

But Miller says Kansas isn’t that far behind. In fact, he said, every room in the Capitol is already wired; all that’s preventing the unprecedented level of transparency is a matter of cost and priorities.

Miller said streaming video from all 40 committee rooms was a dream of his predecessor, but the goal has since been scrapped — or at least temporarily abandoned. While the state could conceivably install cameras and start streaming tomorrow, Miller said, without the necessary infrastructure the web traffic would bring the Capitol’s network to its knees.

But for the moment it’s not a matter of streaming too many meetings; by its own admission the state can handle a few video feeds at a time, and not even that’s happening. And if Miller has anything to say about it, things won’t be changing anytime soon.

“It would not make my top 10 list at this point,” he said.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62.

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FLUFF FILLING: The U.S. Department of Labor has been short on specifics regarding its claim that Hostess went out of business because of foreign trade.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

OSAWATOMIE — It’s been four months since the iconic Twinkie began disappearing from store shelves nationwide. While some have speculated the golden sponge cake could survive the apocalypse itself, its undoing was something else entirely: unreasonable demands from an uncompromising labor union.

Apparently the federal government didn’t get the memo.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Labor claim it wasn’t the decision of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union to go on strike that finally brought about the Twinkie’s demise, but rather the increased import and sale of products from Hostess’ foreign competitors.

Wait, what?

As a result of the DOL’s unique interpretation, more than 18,000 former Hostess employees are eligible for thousands of dollars in extra assistance above and beyond standard unemployment insurance, funded through the department’s Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program — and your tax dollars.

We’ll forgive you if you’re confused, so were we. And so was Dan Lara, public information officer for the Kansas Department of Commerce, who said the federal decision was “kind of strange.”

Even former Hostess executives say otherwise. Shortly after filing for bankruptcy in January 2012, Hostess stated that its inability to compete was “primarily due to legacy pension and medical benefit obligations and restrictive work rules,” not foreign trade.

Still, the DOL is sticking to its guns and defending its decision to help retrain, re-employ or relocate the displaced workers. But despite the determination, the federal agency has been vague on exactly why it believes Hostess was overpowered by global competition.

TAA certifying officer Elliott Kushner detailed the agency’s position in an official opinion released in February. The report is chock-full of government legal-ese but skimps on specifics, stating that “increased imports contributed importantly” toward Hostess’ closure.

When pressed for more detail, Kushner punted, deferring to the DOL’s department of public relations, which regurgitated the same talking points. An agency spokesperson said the opinion was reached based largely on confidential business data requests, as well as customer surveys and aggregate data from the International Trade Commission.

Drilling deeper, things don’t get much better. The DOL can’t say exactly how much each worker will receive, though according to a breakdown of TAA benefits it could be in excess of $10,000, depending on a number of factors.

If half the former Hostess employees take advantage of benefits at that level, the taxpayer bill could possibly hit $90 million.

It’s difficult to accurately judge the DOL’s actions when they won’t release the data driving the decision. But while Kushner may have seen the globalization boogeyman in the information he reviewed, it wasn’t reflected in data compiled by the DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since 2007, the commercial bakery industry as a whole has seen a steady increase in the weekly wages of employees, which has equated to a nearly $2,000 bump in annual compensation. Additionally, total industry employment hit a six-year high in October 2012, just before Hostess went under, peaking at nearly 149,000 workers nationwide.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62.

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Sen. Jake Laturner, R-Pittsburg, argues in favor of SB 10, which would increase access to public documents by capping fees.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

TOPEKA — City of Wichita lobbyist Dale Goter says everyone has a right to access public records in Kansas.

He just doesn’t think everyone should.

Goter was just one of 15 school, state and local government officials who testified Wednesday against SB 10, authored by Pittsburg Republican Sen. Jake LaTurner. The legislation would increase access to public documents by capping fees and require minutes to be kept of all public meetings.

While opponents claim restricting fees on open records requests would take up valuable staff time and blow budgets sky-high, LaTurner says reform is sorely needed.

Last year, Goter said the city of Wichita fielded 233 open records requests, of which 43 were denied. Goter noted that city staff will “bend over backwards” to fulfill requests, but they don’t have unlimited resources.

“At what point are we subsidizing too much?” Goter, the city’s government relations manager, said. “Not everybody can be an investigative reporter.”

Shawnee resident Tony Lauer was one of a handful of ordinary citizens to champion the bill to members of the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs.

Lauer has been bit by exorbitant fees on more than one occasion, most recently when he requested a single cellphone bill from the city of Shawnee. The cost for the three-page document: more than $170. The bulk of the cost, $150, was for staff to review and redact any sensitive information.

“The burden of access to public information is overwhelming,” Lauer said. “I can’t afford the information I’m trying to request.”

Jan Jarman of Maize voiced similar frustrations in her quest to retrieve public documents from Maize Unified School District 266. Jarman said she was charged more than $1,000 after she requested information that she later found out was readily available for free, either online or at the district’s office.

“There are binders at the school I could have been invited to look at. Instead, I had to pay for a person to go through every binder,” Jarman said. “It’s not democracy if they make it so expensive that you can’t afford to get the information you need.”

Shawnee County Register of Deeds Marilyn Nichols sympathized with Jarman and Lauer but argued some kind of staff time fee is necessary to prevent costs from skyrocketing out of control.

“I will have no way to actually fund this kind of mandate that’s coming down, therefore it is turned into a taxpayer problem,” Nichols said. “It’s going to be like a snowball happening to the taxpayers.”

In its original form, the bill completely eliminated staff time fees and capped allowable charges at 25 cents per page.

Amendments submitted by LaTurner would act as a compromise of sorts, dropping the per-page fee to 10 cents while establishing a uniform staff fee structure.

Under LaTurner’s proposal, the first hour of staff time would be free followed by a set hourly rate depending on the type of staff needed to fulfill the request. For example, while clerical work would be billed at $20 per hour, legal work would incur a fee of $50 per hour.

“I think that a vast amount of work requires a vast amount of time, and this allows (agencies) to charge for such a thing,” LaTurner said. “I’m trying to strike a balance the best I can to allow for average requests to go through and not allow for witch hunts to take place.”

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62.

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BITS AND BUCKS: A recent efficiency audit of St. Francis USD 297 revealed the districts $23,000 Internet connection. Superintendent Robert Schiltz says it was the districts only option.

By Travis Perry │ Kansas Watchdog

OSAWATOMIE — St. Francis USD 297 is a little school district with big problems.

Like other rural schools, St. Francis administrators are battling falling enrollment. Fewer students mean less money from the state, complicating the already-thorny matter of Kansas education funding.

The district’s $23,000 annual Internet bill doesn’t help matters.

State auditors revealed the expensive connection as part of a school efficiency audit released Wednesday. The St. Francis district volunteered to take part in a series of school audits commissioned by legislators  in July to root out inefficiencies in the state education system. But what auditors call waste, one administrator calls unavoidable.

The district’s pricy Internet package is supplied through Kan-Ed, a program run by the Kansas Board of Regents to facilitate video conferencing and distance learning — two features auditors say St. Francis doesn’t use.

In the northwest corner of the state, Kan-Ed is offered through AT&T, which provides subsidized service to the district. Through the E-Rate program, St. Francis is charged 25 percent of the total cost, while the rest is covered by fees collected from telecommunication companies — who in turn collect from anyone who has ever owned a phone.

Even subsidized at nearly $500 a month, the connection supplied to St. Francis doesn’t offer many bits for the proverbial buck. To make matters worse, it’s not even that fast. Superintendent Robert Schiltz said the six mbps hookup doesn’t provide enough bandwidth for his district. But to get students connected to the web, Schlitz said, he didn’t have a choice.

“We’re way out there, and when you only have one service provider, it’s kind of tough,” he said.

Schiltz said he has requested bids from multiple companies, but Kan-Ed was the only one to respond. AT&T told auditors it could supply its own connection package to the district for about $16,000, but Schiltz scoffed at the offer.

“AT&T probably could have (bid), but they didn’t. AT&T is very difficult to work with out here,” Schiltz said. “Them saying it to the auditors and them offering to do it are two different things.”

AT&T did not respond to requests for comment.

After some legwork on Schiltz’s part, the district has managed to secure a new Internet service contract through Buhler-based IDEATEK, but the 30 mbps connection won’t come online until July.

What’s the kicker?

It’s going to cost an extra $5,000 annually.

With that in mind, Schiltz said, the higher speed will finally meet the district’s needs and will drop the cost-per-megabyte from $316 to $80. While Schiltz is happy to have a choice, he’s still not satisfied.

“(It’s) still too expensive,” Schiltz said.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62.

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OSAWATOMIE — If you’ve ever registered a car in Kansas, your name is a matter of public record.

TOP SECRET: Kansas state statute has kept confidential the names of public pension recipients for nearly 40 years.

Ever paid a speeding ticket? Yep, that’s on file, too. And if you’re a public employee? Anyone can look up your paycheck.

But retire on the state’s dime, and you’ll never have to worry about anyone knowing — it’s the law.

Kansas statute has hidden the names of public pension recipients for nearly four decades. But while the law’s original intent was likely to shield retirees from scrutiny during their golden years, it has instead hidden an environment that has proven toxic in other states.

From a triple-dipping public official to former cops’ far-fetched disability claims, New Jersey Watchdog has turned a spotlight on pension problems in the garden state. The investigations were possible because New Jersey does not hide the names of individuals who retire on a public pension.

After Timothy Carroll and Thomas Rohling retired from the Morris County sheriff’s office under dubious disability claims, the pair went into business cleaning up crime scenes — while collecting more than $80,000 in annual state pension funds in the process.

And then there’s New Jersey state Sen. Frederick Madden Jr., who New Jersey Watchdog found out was collecting more than $241,000 a year in public salaries plus retirement pay.

Dave Trabert

Is something similar happening in Kansas? Kansas Policy Institute president Dave Trabert says absolutely, but current state law only serves to hide those individuals living large on the taxpayers’ dime.

“Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent,” Trabert said. “They get that information on current employees, but they don’t get that on the pensions being paid out. There’s no good reason for shielding that information from taxpayers.”

Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and Trabert said the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System has been in the dark too long.

“The only way to know if there’s double dipping is to see the names of the people receiving pensions,” Trabert said.

State Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Assaria, initially told Kansas Watchdog he opposed making pension information available to the public, but changed his tune after hearing of the potential for abuse in the system.

“I’d be very open to looking at what I can do, and yes, I do think it would be helpful to be aware of where people are able to get a very comfortable pension and then go on to do something else related,” said Johnson, chair of the House Committee on Pension and Benefits.

Rep. Steve Johnson

But if you’re looking for a hard line either way on the matter, don’t look at the agency that actually runs the state pension program. As far as KPERS Executive Director Alan Conroy is concerned, they’re just following marching orders handed down by the Legislature.

“I think that’s certainly a public policy issue,” Conroy said. “That would be on the Legislature to deal with that and decide.”

Mike Marvin, executive director of the Kansas Organization of State Employees, said there is a distinct difference between a paycheck and a pension, and added that he doesn’t believe the public is hurt by withholding identifiable information.

“Do you want to release what your retirement is? People have a right to privacy,” Marvin said.

Contact Travis Perry at travis@kansaswatchdog.org, or follow him on Twitter at @muckraker62.

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