All commissioners were present.
Paul Folz again asked the commissioners about buying the lot af 5th and Humboldt. It was the consensus of the commissioners that any sale of county property must be handled openly and be available to the public, not through an agreement with one entity or person. They are not planning at this time to sell this lot.
The last of the results of the primary election was decided when a coin was flipped to break the tie between Henry Otto and Kurt Muldrop for the Ward 1 Precinct 1 Republican Committeeman. Each had received five votes. Otto won the coin toss.
Lyle Butler from the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce quoted from the Kansas City Star article that said that while personal income for residents of the Kansas City metro area declined about the same pace as the national average last year, Manhattan Kan. as well as St. Joseph and Columbia Missouri had gains. Manhattan recorded a 4.8 percent gain to $40,345 while St. Joseph's increase was 1.5% and Columbia's 0.7% to $36,341
Butler also talked about the closing of the Alorica call center and the earler loss of the former Cellular One (Alltell, Verizon) center. This leaves two large buildings in the tech park which would be good for different call centers. The problem is that these call centers do not pay employees very well plus they want an incentive package to relocate. Butler said they would be welcome but no incentives would be offered. Butler said that the buildings could, of course, be reconfigured for other uses.
During Eileen Kings presentation there was a discussion of delinquent property tax and the fact that some of the same people show up again and again.
Katie Morris from the Office of Local Government K-State Research and Extension presented a Comparison of County Revenue and Expenditures, Riley County and Peers 2004-2008. This study compared 10 counties in Kansas including Riley County. The most populous was Shawnee and the least population was in Lyon county. Comparisons (dollar amounts adjusted for inflation) were made of Per Capita Personal income, Per Capita total county expenditures, Expenditure categories breakdowns. Revenues, Revenue sources and several other comparisons..
The Analysis showed that Riley County had the lowest per capita expenditures of the peer counties in 2008. It also had the lowest per capita revenues of the 10 counties as well as the lowest property tax revenues per capita in 2008.
The whole report is very interesting and can be found on-line at
http://www.ksu-olg.info/assets/docs/Comparative_Analysis_Riley_County.pdf
Julie Merklin, observer
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