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The survey shows: Most of today’s residents are unhappy with the decision voters made 27 years ago to combine the governments of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
Edwardsville Mayor Carolyn Caiharr said Wyandotte County residents partly blame unification for a host of modern-day problems, citing staggering statistics from her poll. One of her conclusions: 70% would “turn back the clock” if they could.
“It actually shocked me to hear how much support there was for not being consolidated,” Caiharr told the commissioners of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK on Thursday, adding that she was “very, very confident in the questionnaire and the consensus of the residents” whose opinions she collected and synthesized herself.
But political science experts The Star consulted were not so confident in that assessment.
While some residents certainly feel this way, experts say the survey method – conducted in public forums that Caiharr organizes – is not a legitimate measure of broad public opinion. And many of the written questions contained language that could lead to questionable results.
“Even to call this a study I think is misleading,” said Greg Vonnahme, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The survey results were the first tangible output from a task force created to study the issue of splitting the city and county governments at the direction of KCK Mayor Tyrone Garner. In November, Caiharr hosted a series of forums at public libraries in Wyandotte County, which were advertised on social media.
The question of unification
Voters approved consolidation of governments in 1997 to create the unified government of Wyandotte County and KCK. Meanwhile, Bonner Springs and Edwardsville rejected the measure and opted to hold separate municipal councils.
Reasons behind the merger nearly three decades ago included addressing real and perceived government corruption, combating the wave of housing flight and encouraging greater economic development in Wyandotte County. It was also seen as a way to shed a layer of bureaucracy, as more than 90% of Wyandotte County’s population lived in KCK.
Now, at a time of public outrage over property taxes, some have proposed the idea as a possible answer to address community concerns about higher tax bills. It remains unclear how a division of governments – which were consolidated in part to limit spending – would cost less.
For her part, Caiharr said Thursday that she only came to the commissioners with the results of her investigation and that she had not developed a plan to deconsolidate — and that she did not tell them to do so.
But relying in part on her findings from the study, she said she believes “with all her heart” that certain considerations “were overlooked during the consolidation process that has created the mess we find ourselves in today.”
“This wasn’t a problem you created,” she said. “And you can be part of the solution.”
‘Doesn’t tell you anything’
Best practices in polling are based on random population samples rather than an organized setting in which the only participants are likely already working on a particular issue, says Patrick Miller, a professor of political science at Kent State University and an expert on survey research.
“When I hand out a survey about the environment at a Sierra Club meeting: ‘Breaking news, everyone loves the environment and wants to protect it.’” Miller said sarcastically.
“That is not a random sample of the population of Wyandotte County, what they think about this issue or what they want,” he added, saying there would be “zero opportunities to take this survey and find out anything factual or concrete to say about what people in Wyandotte County, writ large, really think about.
Furthermore, Miller said the survey on Wyandotte County’s consolidation with KCK was “poorly written in a way that you really have to question the reliability and validity of the answers” that participants provided.
“This research tells you nothing. I mean, it really isn’t,” Miller said.
A selection of the questions that emerged in the survey:
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Do you believe that the consolidation of power through unification created a larger government or allowed for better representation?
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Do you prefer one elected body to make all decisions for the city and county, or would you prefer each elected body to have one priority and goal?
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Should we eliminate the use of consolidated funds, which combine city and county tax dollars, to achieve greater transparency?
UMKC’s Vonnahme said his biggest problem with the questions was the heavy use of technical terms. He also pointed to a school of thought in political science where conducting such surveys in public forums – as Caiharr did – offered a “pretty skewed portrait” of “preferred outlier” positions.
“Because the people who actually show up in these types of public forums … tend to be very knowledgeable and very engaged, they care passionately about these issues. And the vast majority of people don’t,” Vannahme said.
The commissioners take action
Caiharr admitted Thursday that her studies faced challenges, saying there was no budget beyond her personal expenses for time, travel and printer paper. About 250 participants showed up, she said. She didn’t keep track of where they all lived.
Reviews from commissioners were mixed, with some appreciative and others skeptical.
Commissioner Chuck Stites, 7th District, who represents residents of Edwardsville and Bonner Springs, applauded the efforts to find policy items the board could consider moving forward.
“I’m not going to be one to sit here and call you out for trying to look out for the people of all of Wyandotte County,” Stites said, adding, “I’ve been asking it now since I was elected three years ago to to help understand Wyandotte County and KCK consolidated funds.
Commissioner Bill Burns, elected last year to represent the 2nd District, said he opposed the consolidation efforts of the late 1990s. But he said “the people spoke” when the consolidation was over and he believes changes can be made within the current framework to address residents’ concerns.
“I ran to improve the system. Not to tear it down. And I think we can do that,” Burns said.
The most vocal critic of Caiharr’s study was 5th District Commissioner Mike Kane, who objected to her writing the questions and publicly speaking out against consolidation.
Kane said her survey seemed designed “to fit what you wanted to say and not what the community necessarily had to say.”
When asked if he had a problem with a specific question, Kane replied: “Any of them, because you wrote them.”
“What you did was wrong,” Kane said at one point, raising his voice. “And you (gave) the questions you wanted, making it difficult for people to be honest about their answers.”
Garner, who requested the presentation of the findings, said he believes a “hard look” at the structure of the Unified Government may be necessary to implement changes residents want to see.
“I don’t think anyone is talking about deconsolidation,” Garner said. “I know some residents see these as viable options if things don’t change.”
