Welcome to our 2003 Lawrence city commission candidate selector. It's a fun and educational tool that can help you decide which candidates you agree with the most.

Here's how it works. We sent each candidate a questionnaire. Below, we've listed the questions and candidates' responses. Check the box next to a candidate's quote if you agree with it. After you're done, we'll tell you which candidate(s) you agreed with the most.

Please note that this is meant to be fun and educational -- but shouldn't necessarily be used as the de facto way of making such an important decision. We encourage you to learn as much as you can about each candidate.

1. What is your position on the city's use of tax abatements?

   "Tax abatements can be a great tool for a city when properly used. The companies that should be getting these abatements from the city should provide full time jobs with benefits to prevent Lawrence from being a commuter city."

   "I believe that tax abatements are an important tool for our economic development team to use if needed. Tax abatements allow us to attract certain types of companies that meet objectives the community is trying to achieve. For example, Seorologicals, a life sciences company, is investing $28 million, creating 40 new jobs (growing to 60 in three years) with an average salary of $47,000. In addition to this, the project will hire many local contractors to build the facility. Do I believe that a tax abatement should be offered to every company who approaches us? No. After the diverse group making up the Tax Abatement Review Committee reviewed and made recommendations to the incentives policy, guidelines were set on what we, as a city, were looking for in companies that were seeking abatements. We should follow these guides. Abatements should be evaluated on a case by case basis, making sure that the return on our investment in these companies is going to be sufficient to justify the abatement."

   "The cost benefit model created by KU helps us understand many elements of the issue. Whether its negotiating with new businesses wishing to locate here or retaining those already in Lawrence, the relative long-term benefit back to the city should be the guiding factor in those decisions. We may also wish to look at tax abatements as one means of enhancing living opportunities near downtown."

   "I support the city's use of tax abatements as now prescribed."

   "I think the city should take the lead in creating new jobs in Lawrence. A wise use of tax abatements can be a part of that process, but I think we need to do a better cost/benefit analysis. The planning literature that I have seen suggests that tax abatements make little difference in most business relocation decisions. A well-trained workforce, good schools, relatively low taxes, and a good quality of life are among the things that most businesses are looking for, and we have all of those in Lawrence. When we do use tax abatements to attract new business investment to the city, we need to ensure that we encourage the creation of jobs that can support families. I support a living wage ordinance that would require businesses that receive new tax abatements to pay a living wage of at least $9.39 an hour."

   "I am for the use of tax abatements as one piece of the puzzle in attracting quality, emphasis on the word quality, business the city."

   "The goal of any economic development initiative, including tax abatements, is to create jobs. Current estimates are that as much as thirty percent of Lawrence's work force commutes to jobs in Topeka and Kansas City. Our population continues to grow at a rate that is faster than the state average. The Kansas Department of Labor reported in October 2002, that Lawrence's anticipated job growth trailed the state average. We cannot afford to continue to add residents faster than we add quality jobs. Neighboring communities are offering free land and 100% tax abatements to attract businesses. We must be willing to use tax abatements to remain competitive. I think that the City's tax abatement policy is a great tool for analyzing future projects. The most important part of that policy may be the performance agreement that is a mandatory part of any new tax abatement. With the performance agreement Lawrence obtains assurances from the business - assurances as to the number of jobs that will be created and the wages those jobs will pay. If the business does not live up to the provisions of the performance agreement, the City can reduce the rate of abatements in future years. By requiring the business to meet certain standards, Lawrence can ensure that it will get the benefits projected at the time the abatement was proposed."

   "This important economic development tool needs to be used judiciously. Tax abatements cost us tax dollars and must be fair and equitable to the rest of the community. I believe the next commission needs to continue the public dialogue on this policy issue."

   "All cities compete for economic growth. Lawrence is not an exception. The use of tax incentives, including abatements, are tools used by some cities to attract new businesses to their community or retain existing businesses. Abatements and other incentives have a place in an economic development plan if, and only if, they are accompanied by safeguards, including; an economic development plan assessing the impact of the business on the city's economic climate, mandatory city monitoring of the business's compliance with its obligations under the abatement plan, the business's agreement, with mandatory enforcement, to pay a living wage to its employees, and an agreement that if the business attracted by the abatement plan leaves the city within a specified time after the abatement period has run, they repay part or all of the abated taxes."

2. What is your opinion of the City Manager's performance? Is City Hall adequately "user friendly?"

   "The City Manager has done a fine job in these trying times. City Hall is more then user friendly any question that an individual in the city may raise is normally answered in a prompt manner."

   "The times I have needed information from the city, City Manager Mike Wildgen has been cordial, professional and very helpful. Mike would always take the time to direct me to the department that would best meet my needs. It has been my experience that Mike performs his job very well. I have not had any trouble working with the city's user friendliness. In fact, I have found that the city staff will go the extra mile to assist. I do believe, however, as a city and individuals, we should always be trying to improve on what we are doing. I believe we need to constantly pay attention to how we can increase productivity and reduce costs while providing outstanding customer service."

   "My few previous contacts with City Hall have been friendly, helpful, and useful. I strongly believe that City Hall must be user friendly. The survey now being conducted on City Hall's "user friendliness" will help us understand its strengths and shed slight on shortcomings. Our goal must always be to have a quality, responsive City Hall. As a commissioner, I would promote efficiency and effectiveness in City Hall."

   "I presume the City Manager is performing as directed by the City Commission. If elected, I will be a part of that leadership and the on-going evaluation of his performance. I believe City Hall is generally user friendly. Often, departments must try to balance their regulatory functions with providing service."

   "I am not coming into this election with a preconceived opinion about the City Manager's performance. If elected to the city commission, I will evaluate the City Manager's performance based on objective performance criteria. I think the city is doing a good job of being accessible to its citizens, but I think this an area that can always use improvement."

   "I would rate the City Manager's performance as poor. With my supporting arguments based on the performance of the Police Department's senior management, the performance of the Planning department in managing growth, and Economic Development or rather the lack of it. And I would rate City Hall as very "user friendly." I have been impressed and very satisfied with the responsiveness and quality of information I have received in my dealings with City Hall."

   "I believe that the job of the Commission is to set policy. The job of the City Manager is to implement that policy. Mike Wildgen is effective in that role. Mr. Wildgen also does a good job in managing the budget. Finally, I think that the City Manager does a good job in finding and providing information to the commission and keeping the commission up to date on city matters. It is very important that all city officials - elected, appointed or hired - understand that they serve the public. All city officials should strive to provide the highest quality service to the public. I believe that there have been improvements recently in customer service, but there is always room to do better."

   "It is mixed. The city's fiscal position continues to be strong thanks in large part to our manager. However, there is a great deal of room for improvement in keeping the public and Commissioners informed on issues, needs, and operations of the City. We need to be efficient, effective and equitable. We can't accomplish those goals without consistent efforts to evaluate performance and service delivery...We can always improve. It is important for all citizens to be treated equally by the City Manager and staff. It is also important to have clear and consistent policies whether they relate to our citizens or govern business and development. Inconsistencies should be brought to the attention of the commission so they may be addressed. And, it is important for city staff to apply those policies evenly. Again, there is room for improvement in both areas."

   "I have not had any dealings with the City Manager or City Hall staff that have been unprofessional or unfriendly. However, like all institutions city government will from time to time be perceived by some as uncaring or unfriendly. The job of a City Commissioner is not to micro-manage the City Manager's performance or that of his staff. However, the City Commission does set policies and ensure that the City Manager is carrying out those policies. Those policies should include making city government approachable and accessible. Strengthening the city's electronic or web based program should be a priority of the city in the next few years."

3. How do you rate the current city leadership in managing Lawrence's growth? What would your approach be?

   "Leadership in managing the growth in Lawrence is the issue for this campaign. While faced with a tough situation the current leadership has done an adequate job, it is now time for a change. The new leadership must not only manage the growth, but also help to shape to fit the needs and boundaries of Lawrence. If the growth is not only managed but led by the City's leadership then the problems of trying to keep services up with development will be answered."

   "City leaders showed a lot of leadership with the creation of Horizon 2020. Now that it has been around for a while, a group of community leaders are revising the land use section to better help us keep on track with the goals and objectives of Horizon 2020. I believe this also shows great leadership. The city leaders are now looking to the future growth of the city south of the Wakarusa river, east near O'Connell road and west near the South Lawrence Trafficway and 6th Street. It is my belief that the current leadership is doing everything it can to make sure Lawrence remains a balanced community. The economic development leaders are helping us build a better Lawrence by bringing jobs and working on local expansion of existing companies. This is important so that we can expand our tax base and lower costs for all of us. My approach to growth would be to first look at what Horizon 2020 says about the area that we are talking about. Once we have identified what this area was designed to house, I think we should take a comprehensive look at how we want this area to look. In other words, I believe in designing a master plan for an area. If we can design a given area as a whole instead of one project at a time, I believe we will have more cohesiveness in these developed areas. In a master plan, the commercial, residential, office space and green space all work together to create an attractive yet functional site."

   "As a candidate I think rating our current leadership is inappropriate. but I do believe that a growing, dynamic community like Lawrence will always need strong, open minded leadership. I've served in leadership roles in both the educational and private sector. I believe that experience would serve me well on the commission."

   "The current leadership seems to be doing a fairly good job of managing Lawrence's growth, given the demands of the market place and staying within the scope of Horizon 2020. My approach would be to continue meetings with all interested groups in order to decide what kind of community we want Lawrence to be. Once that decision is made, and that will include a lot of give and take, good planning will follow. As important, or more so, is how we implement plans. We must be careful not to allow serious deviations from approved plans."

   "Like our former state Secretary of Transportation said at a recent public meeting, "in Lawrence, it has been my experience that local authorities have a lot of trouble standing up to developers." This situation must change. The planning and zoning decisions we make today will determine what our city is like for generations to come. We need to start making those decisions based on a common vision of our city's future rather than on the short term financial interests of a few individuals. In the short term I would address this problem by following our existing planning documents and by adopting a written code of ethics to address potential conflicts of interest for members of the Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals. For the longer term, we should initiate a process similar to the process used prior to the adoption of Horizon 2020, only this time we should actually adopt the shared vision of city development that results."

   "I would rate the current city leadership as poor in the management of Lawrence's growth. We need to treat the city of Lawrence as a business. And as a business the current leadership has done a poor job of marketing. We need to look at why desirable companies want to move here, Serological Corp., and why they move away, Sportsvision/Coaches Edge. We also need to decide what type of community we want to be, a bedroom community for Topeka and Kansas City or a free standing economic entity."

   "I think that we have been too reactive and we should be proactive. The City Commission should be out in front directing growth. We all know that the quality of life that we enjoy in Lawrence will continue to attract people to our community. We need to work to ensure that the growth is directed to suitable locations. The City Commission should be actively working to find and develop a new business park because we are running out of room at East Hills Business Park. We are in a position where the city can, and should, pick the location for such a development and should arrange the infrastructure. The costs of that process could be recuperated through special assessments on the land when it is put into use. One the residential front, the Commission should be encouraging the use of "cluster" zoning and other techniques. The zoning can protect floodplains and environmentally sensitive areas, provide green space and reduce infrastructure costs for new developments. The idea is to "cluster" the development in the suitable areas, using smaller lot sizes, while protecting the sensitive areas from development. Because the area of development is clustered, there is a reduction in the amount of streets and sewers needed. This reduced infrastructure reduces the cost of the project and promotes affordable housing."

   "The current commission gets high marks for choosing "Planned Growth" as one of its goals for 2002. However, we have not had any discussion of how we will achieve or implement that goal. Our planning commission needs to take our comprehensive plan more seriously. I do not believe that we have adequate staffing to manage growth for a city of our size and for the pace of our growth. Manager needs to bring a budget that addresses these staffing issues. Also, our community needs to plan strategically for our future. I would include economic development as well as planning issues in our strategic planning efforts. Our comprehensive plan, our regulations and our strategic plans need to be respected and followed."

   Answer not available

4. Between a stagnant economy and state budget cuts, the city is feeling the budget squeeze. Given a choice, should taxes be raised or services be cut to balance the budget?

   "Taxes can be raised but on certain areas like creating higher development taxes to offset the cost imposed upon the city by the same new development. Then the current tax structure can be reworked to fill in the expected shortfall areas."

   "First, I think we are going to have to review all areas of city government, looking top to bottom to discover where we can become more efficient, taking input from employees and the community. There is a wealth of knowledge in this community, and I believe we may be able to discover ways to be more efficient. Beyond that, we will have to take a hard look at our situation. Each program that is in place is there for a good reason. You really impact individuals on a personal level with cuts. At the same time, tax increases in a down economy will impact us at a whole different level. We may be facing tax increases at the state level as well, making it more difficult for citizens and companies alike. Difficult decisions are going to need to be made after options are looked at. I can make those decisions."

   "First, we need to understand what is being funded and what is being cut, then strive to maintain those services that are essential to the community even if it means raising revenues. I hope to identify for public scrutiny those items which are mandated or passed through by the state, or for which the state has withheld promised funds, so that all can see what the city is spending on its own and what items we pay for but over which we have no control."

   "I would prefer to balance the budget by reaching a compromise between raising taxes and cutting services. I believe the citizens of Lawrence would prefer the same. Generally, we have been fortunate that our growth has been able to keep taxes at a reasonable level."

   "I will do my best as a city commissioner to avoid raising taxes, but I think it is irresponsible for a public official to promise never to raise taxes. If the city is facing possible service cutbacks as a result of budget shortfalls, a cost/benefit analysis should be conducted to determine whether the cost of preserving an existing service or program justifies a tax increase. Before increasing taxes, the city should consider all reasonable means of reducing expenses and increasing other revenues."

   "I don't believe that we need to raise taxes or necessarily cut services. I think we need to look within and see how we can more efficiently provide the necessary services to the citizens of Lawrence. To do that you first have to define what those necessary services are, differentiating between "wants" and "needs." Once you have defined the "needs" and have determined that those services are being provided in the most efficient method and there is still a budget shortfall, then unfortunately additional tax revenue would be required."

   "This past year has been a financially difficult one for all levels of government. The city's ability to raise taxes is limited because we can only adjust the mil levy once a year. Unfortunately, we do not know with certainty what the state will provide for the coming year. Last year, for example, the amount we actually received from the state was substantially less than what we were budgeted to receive. That uncertainty limits our ability to rely solely on property taxes to resolve this crisis. Sales tax, although more flexible, are inherently regressive. Too much of the burden of a sales tax is placed on the shoulders of those with lower incomes. I think we will need to carefully review the budget to delay spending on items that can wait. We should hold jobs open for longer, and delay non-essential new spending for the time being. Other candidates have suggested that Lawrence should spend down its "reserves" on current hiring needs. I am very concerned that this represents a short-term solution that may have substantial long-term costs. Technically speaking, the "reserves" are actually positive balances from conservative fiscal management by the city. Those positive account balances are then shown as income for the following year. I think Lawrence needs to be concerned about the long-term harm that this policy could cause. Although it is politically easy to simply advocate that we spend down the positive cash balances this year, the result will be that the citizens of Lawrence will get higher tax bills in the future. The more difficult political decision, to delay spending for the short term, is the best decision for the long term future of Lawrence."

   "This is not a choice that can be made blindly and I wouldn't do so. We should look systematically at all city operations and services to see how we can be smarter and reduce costs throughout the organization. Cuts are ill considered if we don't know the impact on levels of service in the areas affected by the cuts. At the same time we need to know if citizens find lower levels of service acceptable. Raising taxes should be considered only when we are sure that we are using existing resources wisely. The goals of performance reviews are to find ways to save money, increase efficiency, eliminate waste and improve customer service. Our city management places too little emphasis on such performance review."

   "The question presumes that a choice between those two options must be made. To date I have seen no information to suggest that either tax increases or service cuts are necessary. The city must analyze its service delivery every budget cycle and this year is no different. A choice between those two options can be made only after a careful examination of the proposed budget, available resources and prioritizing service delivery."

5. Should the city's decision to ban private use of fireworks be revisited? If so, what stance would you take?

   "The ban on fireworks is a step in the wrong direction for Lawrence. The private use of fireworks in the City is a tradition that the citizens have come to embrace. I would not only be for revisiting this issue but also for repealing it."

   "The fireworks ban should be readdressed with a larger community discussion on the issue. Of course our first concern should be the safety and welfare of our populace. My concern in wishing to review this issue is that I am not sure the ban can be enforced and that it will not accomplish the goal of public safety. Because people like to be able to use fireworks to celebrate Fourth of July, I believe it is possible that many people will break the law by purchasing fireworks, which are legal in the county, and bring them back into the city, taxing the abilities of law enforcement. If the commission were to allow fireworks to be brought back into Lawrence, I would support an aerial ban, limiting the height of ground fireworks (for example, fountains), and reducing the size of firecrackers. In addition, if citizens do not clean up their fireworks or fire them after hours, citations should be issued."

   "That decision has been made for now. We need to be looking forward. But if there is a citizen's petition to revisit that issue, I'll be the first to listen."

   "I am willing to revisit this issue. We may be able to find a compromise that is acceptable to both sides."

   "I think there are more important issues facing the city commission right now. Although I think that the problems caused by fireworks could be addressed by people talking to their neighbors about their concerns and by enforcement of other existing ordinances, I am not interested in revisiting this issue at this time. If the issue does come before the commission again I would review the information presented by both sides and consult my constituents before making a decision."

   "Yes, it should be revisited. I think the previous arrangement was fine. To me this seems another example of the extremes of political correctness. To me fireworks provide an excellent life lesson for the people, children or adults, who use them. That lesson is to consider the consequences of your behavior. Everything you do in life has repercussions, positive and negative. That if you ignore the directions and advice given, you can have fun throwing the firecrackers but sooner or later one is going to explode in your hand. You, as an individual, have to learn to weigh the consequences of your actions."

   "The ordinance should be revisited because it will not be effective as currently written. I believe that the city missed a great opportunity when it passed the ordinance banning all fireworks this past year. I fully support taking all reasonable steps to protect our homes and businesses, I just do not believe this ordinance will work. Instead, Lawrence should have accepted the offer of the fireworks distributors to work together to deal with this problem. In the past the city has had an absolute ban on fireworks after 10:00 p.m. on July 2 and July 3, and after 11:00 p.m. on July 4. Despite that total ban, there were fireworks shot off in virtually every block of the city after those times. The only difference this year is that the ban is in place around the clock. There will still be fireworks shot off on virtually every block of the city. Because it is still legal to sell fireworks in Douglas County, Lawrence residents will still be able to buy fireworks literally steps outside the city limits. Just as in years past, we will not be able to enforce the ban on shooting of fireworks in city limits. A better option would have been to partner with the vendors that sell fireworks in Douglas County. An association of vendors offered to voluntarily remove the most dangerous products from their fireworks stands. If those items were not available immediately outside the city limits, there would be a drastic reduction in the use of those items. By passing the ordinance, the City Commission removed any incentive the vendors had to work with the city. Those vendors operate outside of the city's jurisdiction and control. A cooperative effort would be much more likely to produce the desired result. If I am elected, I will work to try and cooperate with the vendors. I believe that it will be possible to have a less restrictive policy, a ban on aerial fireworks for example, that will give the vendors an incentive to cooperate with the city. The city could develop and produce educational materials that explain what fireworks are allowed in city limits, the times those items are permitted, and the rules regarding clean up after those items are used. Vendors could distribute those items to their customers with every sale of fireworks. By removing the most dangerous products from the fireworks tents and having the vendors distribute information about the rules, Lawrence would have the best chance to create a rule that would achieve its goal."

   "I don't think so. However, all decisions are open to review. Even though I made a made a decision on this, I would want to talk with the new commissioners. I am always open to new information."

   "The City Commission conducted a thorough review of this issue and revisiting it at this point would only detract from consideration of other pressing issues that the City Commission must consider. Budget constraints and service delivery are two of the issues which the City Commission must address in the next few months. The commission should not revisit its earlier decisions concerning fireworks."