By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Kansas Secretary of State and Republican candidate for governor Scott Schwab was in Hays last week promoting his new Jobs, Education, Agriculture, Networking and Sustainability (JEANS) plan.
"Property taxes are crushing people," Schwab said. ... "I don't think the problem is the mill. I think it's the appraisal process."
He said he thought a hard cap on property taxes in the Kansas Constitution would not work.
"You can't put a static cap on a dynamic market," he said.
Schwab said he favored all property tax increases going to voters.
In light of several high-profile tax-question failures, including a bond issue for Russell USD 407 and a sales-tax question in Wichita on March 3, the Hays Post asked Schwab if he thought voters would support any tax increases at the polls.
"If they want it, they'll vote for it," he said. "If they don't, then it's OK to hold those local units of government accountable."
Schwab said if essential services, such as road maintenance, reach a critical state of failure, he thought voters would eventually vote to increase taxes.
He said he thought the state needs to reduce the amount of property tax it collects and rely more on sales and income taxes.
"I will say there are counties that do mission creep," he said. "They get outside what they should be doing, and that costs money. Go back to what the county is supposed to do."
He said the state is really good at increasing spending and cutting taxes.
As Secretary of State he said he is trying to update technology to cut costs.
"We have to leverage technology to have that margin of spending that we can afford those tax cuts because the state government has become less clunky," Schwab said. "We are in a technological debt as it relates to the state of Kansas.
"We are not even caught up to today, let alone prepared for tomorrow. We have to be, and it doesn't even cost that much money."
Water
Schwab said he supported a combination of water regulation and voluntary conservation to deal with the state's water issues. Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of Kansas' water resources, accounting for about 85% of groundwater consumption.
Schwab said he would like to see gray water used to water lawns, but he did not address ag use.
Ag/education
Schwab said he wants to use the state's community college system to train local students for local jobs. He said he thinks this is an opportunity to keep more young people in Kansas.
"Part of that is also bringing in small manufacturers back to our rural communities," he said.
"We are the agricultural epicenter of the North American continent," he said. "We need to leverage that and let the world know if there is a question on crop production and yields or animal health, they know Kansas has the answers."
He said he wanted to convert U.S. Highway 83 to a four-lane highway to help western Kansas farmers transport their products to Texas.
Tariffs have hit Kansas farmers hard. Although the governor's office does not have control over them, Schwab said Trump's temporary reissuance of tariffs should eventually roll off, with some hope of a market rebound by the end of the summer.
With the war in Iran, farmers are now facing possible shortages of fuel and fertilizer.
"There may be some opportunities with some orphan wells to start producing more, but that is going to be a temporary market," Schwab said.
Energy
Schwab said he supports all forms of energy production, including wind and solar.
"With the windmill production we have in Kansas over the past 15 years," he said, "it was the first time we were a net producer of energy as a state since the oil boom of the '70s in Kansas.
"That's not subsidized. They aren't getting tax rebates. It's on its own and sustainable."
He said the state is still experimenting with solar power.
"That's how you learn, right?" Schwab said.
The developers are still in negotiations with the Ellis County Commission, which will need to approve a conditional-use permit for the facility.
Networking
"Whether it's K-12 schools or a combine during harvest, everything is going through networks," Schwab said.
He said the advancement of artificial intelligence will enhance production.
Sustainability
"A couple of things we have to prioritize," Schwab said. "These rural communities have to be able to keep their schools. They have to keep their hospitals. If you don't have a hospital, you're not going to get any company to locate there.
"We also need to leverage our ag footprint on the globe," he said. "People need to know whether that is Cargill, whether that is Bayer, that Kansas is the place to start," he said.
Schwab said agriculture is a seventh of Kansas's economy and is based in small towns.