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The University Daily
University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
KANSAN
Tuesday, September 14, 1982 Vol. 93, No.17 USPS 650-640
Decrease in levies to reduce tax rates
By DOUG CUNNINGHAM Staff Reporter
A decrease in mill levies for Lawrence, Douglas County and the local school district will mean a lower tax rate next year for most县 students, city and county officials said yesterday.
Darlene Hill, county budget director, said that because property values as measured by average valuations were higher than estimated in July, the Hill levies would be decreased by about 2.5 mills.
A mill is $1 in taxation for each $1,000 of
amounted value. Property is assessed at a rate of
$1 per square foot.
One city official said the lower mill levies generally would mean a lower tax bill than people had expected in July.
ALLEN LOYD, management analyst for the city, said the increased valuations, largely a result of more property on tax rolls, indicated at least some growth for Lawrence.
"This is helpful for the taxpayer because it just says there is more growth to share the tax law."
Three city commissioners said yesterday that the higher assessed valuations and lower mill rates are improving.
Commissioner Don Binns, however, said, "I don't think it's any indication that we're out of the economic slump or anything like that. Building is still very, very slow in Lawrence."
COMMISSIONER Nancy Shontz and Mayor Marci Francisco said the higher assessed valuations might indicate some growth for Lawrence. However, they said the higher valuations did not indicate a large recovery in the local economy.
"It's going to be several years yet before we've recovered." Shonz said.
The mill levy estimates were prepared in July by determining what mill levies would be necessary to bring in the amount of each budget, Hill said.
The July estimates were based on assessed valuations from July 1, Hill said. New figures from Sept.7 indicate that the total had increased, she said.
"I'm in the process now of going over all the budgets and making changes in the levies," she said.
MARY ANN Chamberlin, real estate supervisor in the county appraiser's office, said that
property throughout the county was last appraised in 1984, and that manualizations first
New buildings or improvements to existing buildings are appraised to reflect as fairly as possible the current market value, Chamberlin said. Those valuations are then rolled back to what would be a 1984 valuation to account for inflation, she said.
For example, a house and lot worth $50,000 according to the 1964 valuation rate would have a taxable value of 30 percent of that, or $15,000. If you rent the mills the tax onedown at the house would be $1,000.
PEOPLE who disagree with the appraisal value can appeal the decision of the county appraiser. Chamberlin said. The appraiser's advice must be counselled to ensure that no error was made she said.
The new amount of assessed valuations to Lawrence show a Sept. 7 figure of $126,224,171, an increase of $2,820,955 from the July 1 figure of $123,402,206. Hill said. She said from an original estimate of $43.98 mills, the mill levy next year for Lawrence would decrease to about 43 mills.
Decisions of the appraiser's office can be appealed to the county Board of Equalization, which is the county commission, Chamberlin said.
The new amount of assessed valuations for Douglas County shows an increase of $3,973,763 from $195,807,240 to $198,314,973, she said. Thus, the new amount of assessed valuation for one-half mill from an estimate of 28.98 mill.
SCHOOL district valuations increased $3.35,014, from $168,232, to $174,318,318 she said, and the mill levy for the district would outweigh one mill from an estimate of 48.86 mills.
Budgets for the city, county and school district already have been set, Hill said, so the levis are being adjusted to bring in the same amount of tax dollars from the higher assessed valuations.
The 1983 city budget calls for receipts of funds a hill, hill said. Tax dollars are to bring in $4,270.
The 1983 county budget calls for receipts of $4,360,824, $5,652,808 of that is come from the tax revenue in excess of $4,360,824.
THE SCHOOL district budget calls for receipts of $21,417,320, and $8,288,367 is to come from tax dollars, she said.
Loyd said that the city mill levy also decreased last year, from an estimate of 40,566 mills to a
Soda habit grows; sales follow suit
Bv BRET WALLACE
Staff Reporter
a trip to a campus pop-machine for a can of liquid refreshment has become a daily habit for one of every four KU students, Forrest Jolly, and has served vending operations director, said yesterday.
Soft drink vendors say KU students' increasing love for soft drinks helps boost off campus sales as well when students return to college in September.
During the past five years, soft drink consumption at the University of Kansas has increased 2 to 3 percent a year, a trend indicative of a nationwide increase, said Jolly.
VENDING operations sells 4,800 cans of pop a day plus 75 gallons of pop at Wescow cafeteria. Jolly said, or roughly three ounces per person a day.
"Almost everyone who goes through the cafeteria in Wesco buys a soft drink, so if we have 3,000 people go through in a day we sell almost 3,000 soft drinks," Jolly said.
Ken Engelhardt, key accounts executive for the Pepsi-Co. Bottling Company in Kansas
City, Kan., said the national average per capita for soft drink consumption last year was 39 gallons, or 13.7 ounces a day. This is a 3 percent increase over the previous year, he said. The consumption of water is 41 gallons per year, he said.
"WE THINK we will catch that by the end of the century," Enuelhardt said.
Engelhard used figures from the Kroger Super Store at 23rd Street and Naismith Drive as an example of Lawrence soft drink sales in a market that operates exclusively in Lawrence.
**Figures for Kroger in 1981 indicated that summer sales of Pepsi-Coca were lower than the trend for other stores in the Kansas City area.** **Figures for Coca-Cola in 2006 indicated that Topeka and Kansas City suburbs, he said.**
KROGER experienced only 3.9 percent of its sales for the year in July, whereas the normal percentage of sales for that month was about 15%. KROGER said it was also lower than normal. Eonhardt said.
However, the September figure, which indicated sales after students were back in school, was 21 percent, higher than the average September figure, he said.
Usually summertime consumption is high.
er. Students would be coming back to school about the time the consumption rates start to drop off, so there should be no noticeable change." he said.
LARRY BOND, manager of the Lawrence Coca-Cola distributing plant, also said students made a considerable difference in sales because of the highs as most as high in December in as July, he said.
"This jump in September is really amazing. I had never thought about students making such an impact. This is very interesting."
"Usually December is a slow month, but with the students here it stays pretty busy." Bond said.
He said sales of Coca-Cola products also increased about 3 percent last year.
Although there have been no studies done on the effects of increased soft drink consumption at KU, Pam Mangrum, registered dietician at Watkins Memorial Hospital, said the nationwide increase in soft drink consumption was increased health problems.
The biggest problem is tooth decay, she said.
Lower-income children drinking soft drinks suffer more from tooth decay, because they are not as well as higher income children. Mangrum said.
Weather
Professor questions method
Today will be mostly cloudy and cooler with a 40 percent chance of scattered
Survey of 1982 KU graduates may not be accurate
Tomorrow, the high is expected to be 66,
with the temperature dropping to a chilly 54
degrees tomorrow night.
with a 40 percent chance of scattered
showers or thunderstorms. The high will be
around 70, with north winds at 8 to 16 mph.
The low tonight will be 62.
Staff Reporter
By DIRK MILLER Staff Reporter
A survey of 1982 graduates conducted by the University of Kansas may not present an accurate picture of KU students, a KU psychology professor said yesterday.
The 33 question survey, released two weeks ago, found that 83 percent of the respondents were satisfied with their education, and 89 percent were satisfied with attend KU again, if they went back to school.
The survey was mailed by the office of institutional research and planning to all 2,173 graduating seniors last April. A total of 1,016 or 48.7 percent, returned usable responses.
But Howard Baumgartel, professor of psychology, who conducts surveys for the sociology
department, said it was better to randomly survey a smaller number of people representing the survey population and have a high response rate than to survey 100 percent of possible respondents in low response rate. A random sample technique would provide more accurate results, he said.
THE RESPONSE rate of the survey was "too low." Baumgartel said, to measure any specific item. He said the survey were adequate for general purposes and institutional use and should show the ranges of attitudes students held.
Baugartmier said another problem with the survey was a lack of sampling validity. He said one cannot construct a sampling error with a volunteer survey such as this one. A sampling error is the percentage that the survey might have erred in determining the results.
BAUMGARTEL said the people who responded to the survey would be those who were motivated to do so. These less impressed with KU might not be as willing to respond.
"All you can really talk about is the people who responded," he said.
At the office of institutional research and planning, which administered the survey, research analyst Barbara Paschke said she was satisfied with the results of the survey. Paschke also said that she satisfied with KU were more likely to return the survey than students who were unsatisfied.
"We DON'T know how the people who didn't respond felt. Response bias is built in any volunteer survey." she said.
David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs, and Robert Cobbit, executive vice
chancellor, said they felt the response rate was good. Both men said a 100 percent return was only hypothetical and not expected in a volunteer survey. Said Ambler, "Normally, if you get 30 percent you feel good. I, personally, was pleased."
Ambler said the survey was a good way for the University to determine whether it was meeting its goals. This is important, especially for educational institutions, he said.
COBB SAID the survey was conducted primarily for a review of the University by an accrediting association. KU is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, an organization that periodically reviews member schools on a volunteer basis.
The association is looking for feedback on the kind of educational experience students have at the school.
American Party candidate takes on 'bosses'
Marian Ruck Jackson
Edison's note: This is the sixth in a series of interviews with candidates for local, state and city positions.
Today's interview is with Frank Shelton Jr., American Party candidate for governor, and his running mate, Marian Ruck Jackson.
Jackson, a Kansas native from Eureka,
operated her electrical and engineering
seeks.
He presently operates his own ranch in Cherryville.
Shelton, self-made rancher, lawyer, engineer and businessman, ran against John Carter and Andrew Perry.
A faint军舰, RepubliK, Jukeon rank with
hairator on RepubliK, Jukeon rank in 1987
ship.
By JULIE HEABERLIN Staff Reporter
After 49 years as an active Republican, Frank Shelton Jr., American Party candidate for governor, decided to buck his old party and join a maverick group.
"The two major parties are working hand in glove," Shelton said in a recent interview. "You've got all different types of philosophies running on the same ticket in the primary."
"THEM EACH election they develop a platform, one they think will buy votes. They
don't say anything about patriotism or standing up for the United States of America.
"It's to hell with the public, the bosses are in the saddle."
Shelton, who joined the American Party in 1976, said his group was a conglomeration of the conservative political factions that sprang off of 1984 Barry Goldwater campaign for president.
"I actively campaigned for Goldwater," he said, "and it was the Republican eastern establishment that killed Goldwater in the 1964 campaign.
"I got somewhat disgusted with the machine-type politics, so I thought I'd go back from among the powers to Kansas and deal with honest peopl."
BUT SHELTON said he remained disillusioned because Kansas politicians operated under the power of "big moneybags," and had no real administrative or financial insight.
"Carlin is a farm boy who is out of his element and over his head in problems foreign to his capabilities." Shelton said. "And the fellow on internship at CBS couldn't special interests that he couldn't be represented."
Shelton said his party opposed any tax increases, dismissing Carlin's proposed severance tax on oil and gas as the easiest but least practical way out of the state's financial bind.
He said most of the state's financial problems could be solved with good administrators who knew how to cut out the excessive waste in government programs.
He also proposed training farmers to be better businessmen, and curbing the industry and urban sprawl that were destroying prime farmland in Kansas.
IN DUSS CUSMISH education, Shelton said
student loan programs should be maintained,
but the lender must be responsible.
"I get a little disturbed at the attitude of some young people," he said. "My mother worked her way through medical school and took care of a family when they didn't have grants."
"There are a lot of people, like Frank and I, that are out there fighting," she said.
Marian Ruck Jackson, Shelton's running mate, said the other gubernatorial candidates were interested solely in being re-elected and not in the welfare of Kansas constituents.
JACKSON SAID the public probably would vote for the American Party if the media would not.
Seventy-five-year-old Shelton, who received about 20,000 votes in the last governor's race, said most of his supporters were surprisingly young.
"It's an amazing thing to me that it's the young people that are willing to listen," he said. "They still have open minds."
Frank Shelton Jr.
]