Multimedia Reporting (Bradford-Utsler)

Mary Dillon, Financial Officer and resident of Lawrence, Kansas, was lucky enough to have no damage to her property from the severe weather that hit Lawrence on March 12, 2006. Although her home was not directly damaged by the storms, she still felt it was important to attend the annual Skywarn storm spotter training session held by the National Weather Service in Lawrence on March 15th.

Skywarn storm spotter training gives local residents the opportunity to educate themselves about spotting severe weather and protecting themselves from it. In Kansas, the months of March, April, May, and June usually have the greatest amount of severe weather. Severe weather can destroy homes, injure, or even kill people, so it is important that people know what to do when faced with severe weather.

Curtis Holderbach, Meteorologist in Charge at the National Weather Service in Topeka, said that right now the National Weather Service's main focus is on the severe weather season and informing the public about it. According to the “Basic Spotters’ Field Guide”, a booklet handed out at the spotter training event, there are approximately 10,000 severe storms, 5,000 floods, and 900 tornadoes across the U.S. on average each year. The National Weather Service in Topeka holds training sessions during the months of February, March, and April every year, and in every county in their warning area, for anyone who is interested in learning about severe weather.

Jennifer Stark, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Topeka, gave the spotter training session in Lawrence. “People like to have the weather explained to them in a way they can understand,” Stark said.

Dillon, who took her son with her, said this training is beneficial to her because it provides her with more knowledge about severe weather. Although Dillon attended a spotter training session the year before, she wanted a review. Dillon said that this year there was more information about microbursts and downdrafts, and she felt that the severe weather videos contained more useful information.

Mark Gabrick, who works in sales and lives outside Lawrence city limits, had little damage from the storms on March 12th yet still wanted to attend the spotter training this year. Gabrick said the training made him “smarter at identifying severe weather.”

Stark said that spotter training is valuable to everyone in this area. “It’s just of utmost importance here in Kansas,” Stark said.

The spotter training session included many pictures taken by trained spotters of different types of clouds and numerous tornadoes, which were used to show the audience what to look for in the sky during severe weather. There were also many videos taken by chasers caught in different types of severe weather hazards, such as tornadoes, large hail, and strong winds. Many of these videos were used as examples of what people should not do in severe weather situations.

Stark said there has been a large increase in the number of people who attend these events over the last few years and so interest seems to be growing for residents of Kansas. “I’ve had very favorable comments,” Stark said concerning spotter training. This type of training helps people be more aware of the weather around them, which in turn helps people stay save.

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For the first three years of her college career, Emily Mueller, Overland Park junior, has been hard at work building her resume as a politically active student at the University of Kansas. Last year she worked as a legislative intern for Kansas state representative, Terrie Huntington, and this year she is serving as a legislative lobbyist for the Kansas state chamber of commerce.

Now, after a year working in the state’s political center of Topeka, as well as spending a week in Washington, D.C., where she attended a conservative training school for politically active college students, Mueller has gotten a clear sense of what it is and what it will take to serve as a woman in politics at the state or federal level.

Emily Mueller, left, with Kansas state representative Terrie Huntington. Huntington has been an influential politician in helping Mueller gain experience in the political realm.

“From my past experiences, I have never really felt disadvantaged or advantaged as a woman in politics,” Mueller said. She cited close personal contacts with female politicians, the strong contingent of women holding political positions in Topeka and the upward trend of women being elected into the legislatures at both state and federal governments as reasons why she believes gender will be a non-issue in her future political aspirations.

Women now make up 14 percent of the U.S. Senate and 16 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives and Kansas ranks eighth in the nation for the number of female state legislators, according to the office of the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

A recent study by two university communications professors showed no substantial differences in debate tactics used by male and female politicians.

In January, Mary Christine Banwart, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, and Mitchell McKinney, assistant professor of communication at the University of Missouri, published the study that concluded there were no significant differences in the self-presentation strategies of female and male candidates who debated issues in gubernatorial and senatorial races.

In the study, the professors noted a new tendency of candidates to adopt each other’s communication and gender styles in the debates, an approach they called “gendered adaptiveness.” Banwart said that she sees “gendered adaptiveness” as a benefit to women in their advancement in the political arena and one that could help elevate a woman as a legitimate party nominee in the upcoming 2008 presidential campaign.

The study, which was published in the scholarly journal Communication Studies, began with six research questions aimed at investigating the different self-presentation styles of the female and male candidates within two senatorial and two gubernatorial debates in Mississippi, North Carolina, Montana and New Hampshire.

The research questions included: comparing the female and male use of negative attacks; the types of appeals used in the candidate’s responses; the types of issues emphasized; the different character traits emphasized; incumbency versus challenger strategies and feminine and masculine strategies emphasized.

Banwart said they enlisted a team of undergraduate and graduate student research teams to assess each debate using a process called systematic content analysis. During the process, which from start to finish took one month, students consulted a code book which contained detailed explanations of how to recognize the presence of each research question within a debate. The students watched the debates, marking on a code sheet each time one of the research points were present in a candidate’s debate dialogue.

After the student’s coding results were run through a statistical check for reliability, Banwart and McKinney concluded that when female and male candidates face each other in debates, they appeal to the viewer as equal and capable candidates through an approach called “gendered adaptiveness.”

“We saw a lot of females using masculine strategies as well as the appropriate feminine strategies and males doing a similar thing,” Banwart said. “Both men and women are using this strategy to account for the fact that men don’t want to feel that they are beating up on women, and then women don’t want to come across as shrill or as being intimidated.”

The research showed that female candidates used aggressive styles to appear tough and willing to take on any challenge, which viewers generally correlate with male aggressiveness. At the same time within the four studied debates, Banwart noticed male candidates following the “gendered adaptiveness” approach.

“Men are talking about being tough, but they are doing it in what we call the feminine style with feminine strategies. So they illustrate that toughness by communicating and inviting identification between themselves and the viewer by using ‘we’,” Banwart said.

In future debates, Banwart said that she and her colleague are interested in assessing if that same use of feminine strategy will be present during debates between two male candidates and whether the same masculine strategy will be present in a debate between two female candidates.

The significant findings of this study in which “gendered adaptiveness” has created a more equal way in how viewers assess the capabilities of female candidates versus male candidates, as well as the upward trend of females reaching high political offices, guarantee Banwart and McKinney further research material in legislative as well as presidential campaigns and debates.

Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute of Politics and former presidential campaign strategist for the late President Ronald Reagan and the 1996 Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole of Kansas, said that the Banwart-McKinney research shows that women are no longer viewed as being a novelty in running and being elected to high political offices.

“I think that it shows that voters are looking at her not as a woman candidate; they are going to look at her and say she is a candidate,” Lacy said.

In his work as a campaign strategist for Kay Orr, the first Republican female candidate to be elected governor in the state of Nebraska in 1986, Lacy saw first-hand the effectiveness of “gender adaptiveness” in female candidates reaching high offices.

“If you had to tilt it, she was a very feminine lady but her approach and her style were very masculine. And she was extraordinarily effective,” Lacy said.

Looking toward the 2008 presidential election and the possibility of a strong female candidate, Lacy notes two necessary components that a female candidate must establish to run a competitive and credible campaign. He said that as long as a female presidential candidate is successful in fundraising and has the support of a large number of women legislators, voters will become more comfortable with the idea of women acting in positions of power.

For example, Lacy said that if Senator Hillary Clinton, D-NY, entered the 2008 presidential race, her impressive and successful fundraising, credibility and support could win her the nomination of the Democratic Party.

“Just the fact that Hillary will run a credible and competitive campaign for president is going to change presidential politics,” Lacy said. In contrast, he noted that Senator Elizabeth Dole, R-NC, and Carol Moseley Braun, former Illinois state representative and United States Senator, both previous candidates for president, did not have the fundraising capabilities necessary to run a competitive campaign.

The approach of “gender adaptiveness” has proved successful in leading female politicians to legislative and gubernatorial positions in the U.S. The approach has yet to lead a woman to the office of president. However, in other countries like Chile, Finland, and Sri Lanka, women are already being elected president.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the new president of Liberia and the first female president of an Africa country. According to Hannah Britton, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kansas, Johnson-Sirleaf won the presidency by running a gender influenced campaign.

Instead of approaching her competition with male candidates through “gendered adaptiveness,” Britton said she used her inherit feminine characteristics to attract voters and used masculine characteristics to explain the poor state of the previous administration.

“She said look, the men are full of corruption and full of conflict. Bring a woman in and bring some stability. And it worked,” Britton said.

The increasing successes of women politicians and the changes in voters’ attitudes toward women candidates have given young women like KU’s Emily Mueller new-found confidence.

Today, Mueller and the rest of the world look ahead to female politicians translating the “gendered adaptiveness” approach and the increasing number of woman legislators, into greater political opportunities like a party nomination to the 2008 presidential election and quite possibly into a victory.

Play video here to learn more about women in politics and the possibility of a female presidential candidate in 2008.

Learn more about the next woman president and the possible candidates for the 2008 presidential election.

Read about the president of Liberia and her feminine campaign strategy.

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Parks and recreation can add a lot to a community. They enhance beauty by planting flowers and trees around town. They offer children the chance to play organized competitive sports and they generate revenue by bringing tourist to town seeking a day of relaxation.

Late last month in a four to one vote the City Commission passed a two million dollar bond, to create new parks in developing areas of Lawrence. The money will be used build three new parks on the west side of town. The remainder of that money will be used to renovate Clinton Park.

Fred DeVictor, director of Lawrence parks and recreation said, “Parks add to the quality of life, they give people a place to relax and get away from the world.”

Everybody does not agree with DeVictor. The park expansion has been met with mixed reactions. Some believe parks add a lot to the town. These people believe the city should invest its money to maintain the high quality of life resident’s experience. Others think the money should be spent on larger problems facing the town, like education and road construction. They think a town the size of Lawrence already has enough parks.


The park expansion is being funded by a two million dollar bond. The bond will be paid over 10 years from revenue generated by a one cent sales tax.

The sales tax annually generates a total six million dollars for the city. This money has been used to cover operating cost for park facilities, like the indoor aquatics center.

Money from this sales tax is not required to be used for park expansion or renovation

The one cent sales tax was first implemented in 1994, when the city first began planning to expand parks. The most recognizable project to be built from the 1994 bond was the outdoor pool located at 8th and Kentucky.
gave the parks and recreation department

The original bond that built the outdoor pool was paid off in 2005. This gave the city an extra two million dollars to use for city improvments. The City Commision decided to use the money for park expansion.

DeVictor is quick to point out two million dollars is a small portion of the six million dollars generated by the sales tax.

The proposed park expansion has been met with some criticism. Some residents believe the city has more important issues to spend money on.

Mike Amyx, city commissioner, was the only person on the city commission to vote against the park expansion. He believed their are other problems the city should be spend money on. He felt the city should take care of roads, sewers and maintenance on existing parks.

The roof on the Community Building needs repairs. Amyx thinks that is a more serious issue than park expansion. He said, “It’s very important to take care of what you already have.”

Steven King, Lawrence resident, believes the city commission should focus their attention on more serious issues. King said, “The current park situation is fine. The city should spend their money wiser on street repairs and education.”

Lawrence has more money and land designated to parks compared to similar towns in the region, like Norman, Oklahoma.

Norman is located 25 miles from Oklahoma City. According to the 2000 census it has a population of 95,000. It is home to the University of Oklahoma.

Norman has 60 parks on 1000 acres of land. Their annual budget is between five and six million dollars annually, with one million dollars used for capital improvements.

Lawrence is 40 miles away from Kansas City. According to the 2000 census it has a population of 81,000 residents not including KU students.

The city of Lawrence has 52 parks. This includes Eagle Bend Golf Course, picnic shelters, and recreation centers used for basketball, baseball and soccer. There are 3,500 acres zoned for parks. The Parks and Recreation department has annual budget of eight million dollars with three million dollars designated to maintenance and improvements.

According to Jim Polston, park planner for the city of Norman, The city of Norman has a goal to have one Neighborhood Park for every square mile and one Community Park every three miles. A community park is a larger park and used for soccer and baseball leagues. Lawrence does not have a policy like this.

Park planning in Lawrence is done by a five person committee, led by DeVictor. The planning committee looks at city needs and city growth when determining where to place new parks. They look to see where the city is planning to build streets and sewers. Population, age and access to current parks also play an important role in park placement.

Stacey Swearingen White Ph.D., assistant professor in the graduate program of urban design, said, “The typical process determines the goals of the community and evaluates their wants and needs. A city planners primary goal is to serve the public interest.”

Park placement is determined years before construction begins. The typical park is planned five to ten years in advance. The Hallmark Park, which will be built this summer, was designed in 2000.

The park planning committee must plan for the future to keep the price of land acquisition low. The parks and recreation department is planning future parks by Clinton Lake. These parks would not begin construction for about 20 years.

DeVictor said, “If park planning is not done early it could become too costly to purchase land, which would prevent parks from being built.”

Related Links
Lawrence Parks and Recreation
Lawrence City Planning

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Recent Kansas graduate Andy Curry made it through school using student loans. Curry now owes approximately $25,000 in loans that he received while in college.

Curry plans to pay off his loans over the next 10 years and with interest, he said he is looking at paying approximately $35,000.

“I could go out and buy a very nice car with all that money,” Curry said.

But Curry may have gotten out at just the right time.

As of July 1 this year, the interest rate on Stafford loans, the most common student loan, is increasing to a fixed 6.8 percent rate. This increase is up from the current school year rate of 5.3 percent for loans in repayment and up from 3.37 percent during the 2004-05 school year. In addition to the interest rate increase, the rate is now fixed at 6.8 percent because of the Deficit Reduction Act that President George Bush signed last month.

With the increase and the new fixed rate, students have several options to consider if they want to avoid the increase but the deadline to make a change is quickly approaching.

“We certainly encourage students to look into the consolidation option,” said Stephanie Covington, the associate director of KU’s office of financial aid. “At this point, since the interest rates have been lower and they’re getting ready to go up, it could be a savings to students to go ahead and consolidate those loans.”

Consolidation allows students to combine all of their loans into one loan. The consolidation company pays off all your current loans and you then pay a monthly fee to the consolidator.

Curry did just that last August with half of his loans. The interest rate the consolidation company he uses, AES, is 4.5 percent. Curry plans to consolidate the rest of his loans before July 1.

Future and current students will soon not have the same opportunity AES gave Curry. After July 1, current students will no longer be able to consolidate their loans. They will be stuck paying the 6.8 percent interest rate.

Stafford loans are currently the most popular loan used by KU students and students nationwide. At KU, 14,860 students currently receive a Stafford loan (8,671 subsidized and 6,189 unsubsidized).
But the popularity of the Stafford loan could soon change.

Covington suggests another option for students – a Perkins loan – that used to be less appealing when the Stafford loan interest rates were lower. The Perkins loan has a 5 percent interest rate. Currently, only 1,582 students receive Perkins loans at KU.

Like the subsidized Stafford loan, the Perkins loan is awarded to students dependent upon their financial needs, which is determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Shane Pelkey, an information specialist for the Department of Education, said he sees other advantages in choosing the Perkins loan over consolidation – especially as the deadline approaches.

“Students start receiving mailings from multiple consolidation companies and they really have no idea what’s going on and companies don’t really have the best interest in it for them so they kind of slant it,” Pelkey said.

Curry said he would echo Pelkey’s message. If you choose to consolidate, do your research.

“They should do it for free,” Curry said. “If they charge, you’re looking at the wrong company.”

Despite the hole in his checkbook that Curry’s student loans might create over the next 10 years, he said it was the right route for him.

“It’s a big relief not having to worry about finding a job while you’re in school – especially when you’re in a major that requires all of your time and all of your study,” Curry said.

Further advice for students:

“Sometimes students are surprised by the amount of their monthly payments once they do go in the repayment phase. I think it’s really good for students to understand how much they’re borrowing. They’re just borrowing and not thinking about what they’re going to make as far as wages go and how much of a monthly payment they’ll be able to make once they do go into the monthly payment phase.” – Covington

“Read your promissory note before you sign it. If your lender has a Web site available, sign up for it so you can stay connected online. Keep your mailing address updated. One of the main things is if you have a question or don’t understand something, get somebody to explain it to you whether it’s a friend or someone at your financial aid office. It’s important to understand the whole concept before you get yourself too deep.” – Pelkey

For more information on student loans, visit KU’s office of financial aid in Strong Hall room 50 or visit these websites:
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Seventy-six year old Pearl Harman just had a cancer operation to remove a lung, and she is supposed to have a knee operation that she will have to forego she said. She is also diabetic, which makes buying food costly. Harman is one of hundreds of senior citizens who must decide how to distribute their limited income to cover medical expenses, utility bills and food.

There are 254 Lawrence seniors enrolled in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to alleviate their financial burden. The CSFP, sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, provides nutritional sustenance to low-income senior citizens at least 60 years of age, postpartum mothers, infants and children under six years of age. The program functions as a transition from WIC, Woman, Infants and Children, all of whom receive priority before the elderly.

Ballard Community Center human services director Paul Hunt and volunteer Anita O'Keefe prepare to distribute food commodities to 35 senior citizens as part of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. The program may be eliminated next fiscal year.

As October, the start of the next fiscal year, looms closer, so does the threat to eliminate the program. President Bush’s 2007 budget proposal poses cutting $15 billion from 141 programs including the CSFP. The Agricultural Department is taking steps to eliminate the CSFP and enroll senior citizens in food stamp programs. But as Harman and other elderly already know, a food box can stretch over a month unlike the $10 or $12 they receive in food stamps.

Kansas is already feeling the reigns tighten. The federal government reduced 59,039 across the nation and Kansas’ caseload was reduced by 566. Lawrence receives approximately 245 caseloads and they will see a reduction of about 13.

According to David Thomason, director of Nutrition and WIC Services for the Kansas Department of Health and Nutrition, food pantries had to instigate waiting lists to make sure they did not go over their allotted caseloads.

Download fileUSDA foods available for 2006

Rose Bays, director of the commodity food program at Let’s Help, a non-profit organization in Topeka, said this is the first time she has seen this in the 15 years she has worked there. Let’s Help administers two federally funded food commodity programs, CSFP and TEFAP, Temporary Emergency Food Assistance, to the six food pantries in Douglas County.

She fears the program will be eliminated in the coming fiscal year and knows there is an obvious need.

“The program initially started to help people transit from WIC. Twelve to 13 years ago when I was volunteering, there were 400 kids and 80 elderly. Now, there are 1,500 elderly and 80 kids.”

Most of the seniors at her center are already receiving food stamps from the Social Rehabilitation Services in addition to the food commodities. But she said a lot of them don’t even bother filling out the long form for the meager amount.

Linda Lassen, director of human resources at the Penn House, agrees. The Penn House provide 15 senior citizens with commodities.

“I think a lot of them think it’s a waste of time to fill out paperwork for food stamps, and people don’t like people to know their business either,” she said.

Alberta Shepherd has been visiting The Ballard Community Center once a month to receive a food box since the program started. She said she just doesn’t know if it’s worth it to fill out all the paperwork necessary for only $10 a month.

Richard Meinis said the food stamps only buy him a couple gallons of milk.

The food box, which contains cans of meat, cans of vegetables, cans of fruit, dry milk, a two-pound block of cheese, cereal, peanut butter and a carbohydrate lasts most individuals one month. The USDA purchases the food. According to Thomason, the government mostly purchases surplus commodities and contract to buy food from different companies.

The CSFP is meant to function as a nutritional supplement, but for many seniors it is all they use. Some may not qualify for food stamps, or choose not to apply for them.

Thomason, who has not heard whether food stamp prices will increase, said that switching to a food stamp program is just shifting another entity, but it is the nutritional assistance that makes CSFP unique. He said if Let’s Help is able, they provide education in the form of classes or a book. Recipes are often available in the boxes too.

One senior who came to visit Ballard Community Center wishes to remain anonymous and will be used by the name Bob. Bob says that he is not surprised by talk of the budget cut.

“The president is balancing his budget on the backs of the poor, people who don’t have a voice. It’s the same old, same old,” he said. “I will just do without probably. If you don’t get it, you don’t have it and you do without.”

Paul Hunt, director of Ballard Community Center said these feelings of resentment are no surprise.

“This is the generation that really felt like it had a partnership with the government and trusted the government to take care of them. They are finding out that that either wasn’t possible from its inception or that we just haven’t maintained it,” he said.

Jeanette Collier, who runs the East Central Kansas Economic Opportunity Corp. office at the United Way Building, makes home deliveries on distribution day. She said she also feels the president’s fiscal priorities are askew.

“We can get searched at an airport but we can’t feed our old people,” she said. “It’s hard when you go to their home and see they really don’t have anything.”

Members of The National CSFP Association are calling on people to send letters to their senator.

Nila Lisher, who has only been receiving commodities for two months, said she would petition and knows she would not be alone.

There are a few alternative programs, but none that provide substantial nutrients for a month like the commodities do. The surplus from USDA food goes to Emergency food assistance program that is only given to each county five times a year. Bays said it is not a set box like the CSFP case loads and it may not even have meat.

Local agencies work with farmers to enhance supplements. Gail Sigurdson with Babcock, a home for seniors, said they had a grant last year just for the farmer's market. People received a voucher that went to the farmers and purchased what they wanted at the market.

Saunny Scott is a fan of the vouchers because she likes to have the option of what she eats.

"Sometimes you never know what you will get and I have to put off shopping at the store until I get my box," Scott said.

Kansas Food For Life provides an approximately $60 menu of assorted items for $25 for anyone wanting to save money at the grocery store.

Thomason said, “As budgeting gets tighter, you don’t know what any of the programs will look like in the future. If they keep cutting it will be more difficult to make ends meet and put food on table.”

Hunt said he has seen these types of threats before, but is hopeful the program will not end.

"It just seems to me that there's always big news about a program being cut, but it survives, it just changes."

He said he will keep going until it stops because he knows people will keep coming while food is available.

For more information please visit:
USDA FNS CSFP Home Page
CSFP State Contacts
The National CSFP Association
Kansas Department on Aging

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No one could have imagined back in 1968, that the Packerware company would change the face of Lawrence tax history.

The company, which makes plastic lids and containers, set a city precedent in February after the Lawrence City Commission approved, 4-1, the companys request for a 90% tax abatement. The abatement request that will last for a 15 year period is the biggest ever in Lawrence history, which typically hasnt exceeded the 80% mark.

According to a 2001 University of Kansas Policy Institute review, Lawrence has long adopted an across-the-boards tax abatement policy. The city has never turned down an abatement to any company that has made it through the citys application process. Lawrences anything goes policy could be wasting thousands upon thousands of dollars, by not reviewing each request more carefully and tailoring it to meet the specific needs of each business. The city could be throwing away money on businesses that wouldnt normally require the abatements to sustain themselves and the community.

The small Berry Plastics manufacturing facility is embarking on an expansion with the help of a 90% tax abatement.

Though advocates claim that abatements have the exact opposite affect.

Packerwares new abatement, by request of its parent company Berry Plastics, will be bringing a $118 million investment to Lawrence in new machinery and expansion construction. Beth Johnson, Vice President of Economic Development for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce said the investment is the largest made by any company in Lawrence history and the largest in the Kansas City metro area in the past five years.

Ideally, abatements are commonly used to encourage economic growth and attract new businesses to the local community. Robert Weilminster, Vice President of Corporate Development for Berry Plastics, said the company needed the tax abatement to secure a competitive advantage in the Lawrence facility.

From the standpoint of the technology we are putting in Lawrence, it will be our second site, we see building our business on this primary growth in the future, Weilminster said. The tax abatement allowed us to financially justify making this kind of investment in Lawrence.

To justify its investment, Berry Plastics requested the 90% abatement that would allow it to pay only 10% of its taxes during the 15-year abatement period. While this may be good for the company, it also means lost revenues for the city. To make up for the loss of tax revenue, the company has promised to bring over 150 new jobs to Lawrence by the end of the expansion and abatement period.

Proponents of across the board abatements claim that they are necessary to promote expansion and the growth of the workforce, while companies are still held accountable to pay remaining taxes and make investments in the community.

Ultimately it means that the business stays in Lawrence, Johnson said. Even though Berry Plastics gets an abatement they are already paying 10% of those taxes and they already are continuing to pay the full price for what they have. The abatement is only on the expansion.

With Berry still paying 10% of its $118 million investment, Ed Mullins, Finance Director for the city of Lawrence, compared the benefits of abatements to a ripple effect.

The assumption is that there is a multiplier affect from wages, so as they hire people, those people will live in and buy products in the county, Mullins said. People in other industries will also need to be hired to compensate for the growing population.

Though critics worry that many of the new jobs will not exceed Lawrences living wage requirement. City commissioner Mike Rundle, who was the only commissioner to vote against the abatement at the commissions meeting in February, said he was worried that the average wages paid to most of the new employees would still not allow them to sustain a family, buy a house and participate economically in Lawrence.

The majority of new jobs provided by Berry Plastics hinges on the company's third phase of development, of which outcome is determined by the first two phases.

Kirk McClure Ph. D., University of Kansas Associate Professor in graduate programs in Urban Planning, is another opponent on the side of tax abatement reform. McClure worries about Lawrence’s ability to properly enforce compliance from companies with abatements. McClure said out of the 17 tax abatements that Lawrence has granted in recent history, 13 or 14 are currently in non-compliance.

“The firm has either not produced the jobs, not made the investment in real property or is not paying the wages promised,” McClure said. “If the city was in a position of strength we wouldn’t have this struggle.”

While McClure said he is not totally against tax abatements, he is against their misuse. McClure claims that handing out abatements “across the board”, “eliminates the capacity of cities to negotiate effectively with firms.”

“I don’t oppose tax abatements, they are just a tool, of economic development,” McClure said. “The difficulty is that tax abatements have proven to be a tool that is overused and misused.”