I NVESTIGATIVE R EPORT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Paul Soutar

June 12, 2009 (316) 634-0218

Kansas loses private sector jobs as government grows

Kansas continues to lose jobs in the private sector
as the number of government employees grows.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS), Kansas lost another 10,500 private sector
jobs in April but added 800 state and local
government jobs.

Over the past 12 months Kansas added 2,300

local and 100 state government jobs; during the
same period the state lost 26,500 private sector
jobs. BLS includes public school administrators
in local government totals. Teachers are included
in private sector totals.

Government jobs do put people to work but salaries, benefits and other costs of government employees
comes from higher taxes assessed on individuals and businesses and add to the economic burden of all
taxpayers.

Local government inefficiency

According to 2008 BLS statistics, Kansas ranks 28th in the U.S. for the number of state government
employees per resident, with 204 employees for each 10,000 residents; the median for all states is 205.5.

The bigger burden on Kansas taxpayers comes from the number of local government employees. Kansas
had 674 local government employees per 10,000 residents, the third highest in the U.S. The median for
all states is 493.5.

Local government employment is also growing faster than at the state level . State employment
increased 3.5 percent from 2003 to 2008, whereas Local government employment increased 6.9 percent.

Kansas has 2,084 general purpose governments (county, municipal and township) according to the U.S
Census Bureau. Many serve only a few hundred constituents or have layers of overlapping jurisdiction.
With a population of 2.8 million residents, that is just 1,332 residents per general purpose government in
Kansas. The national average is 7,725 residents per government; on that basis, Kansas has nearly six
times the national average of general purpose governments. Only two states, North and South Dakota,
are less efficient than Kansas.
Government efficiency may be a challenge for large, rural states, but not an insurmountable one. Idaho,
with 82,747 square miles and only 1.5 million residents, has 6,145 residents per general-purpose
government. Utah is very close to Kansas in terms of population and area with 2,645,330 residents and
82,144 square miles, but has 9,761 residents per general-purpose government. It’s not a geography or
population issue, it’s the number of governments; Kansas has 2,084 compared to 244 in Idaho and 271
in Utah.

Consolidation and shared

services are options
In 2006 Greeley County had 1,331
residents and 205 of them worked in
government or government services.
A 2007 vote approved consolidation
of county and city of Tribune
governments. Greeley County has the
smallest population of any Kansas
county and the second-lowest
population density in the state.

Wyandotte County, population

154,000, has the second highest
population density in the state, and a
consolidated city-county government
with Kansas City, Kansas.

New York State is in the process of

implementing recommendations of a
state-wide audit and evaluation of
local government efficiency and
competitiveness. The report
recommends local governments:
consolidate or share services
including property assessment, tax
collection, emergency dispatch, jails,
courts; ease procedures for
consolidation; reclassify some cities,
towns and villages and reconsider
powers for each class; offer
efficiency grants based on
performance.

Pete Brungardt, state senator from Salina, isn’t surprised by the growing number of government jobs and
says Kansas has too many overlapping jurisdictions. “What we have to do is allow people in local
government some ability to make a more efficient plan.” In March Brungardt helped the senate pass a
bill setting procedures for local government consolidation.

Others are also interested in consolidation. State Senator Chris Steineger of Wyandotte County
proposed legislation that would consolidate Kansas’ 105 counties into 13 regional governments.
Representatives of the League of Kansas Municipalities and the Kansas Association of Counties say
their organizations have supported efforts to improve opportunities for government consolidation.

Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives Mike O’Neal is in favor of consolidating school district
administrators and making it easier for units of local government to consolidate services. He anticipates
significant savings, perhaps as much as $1 billion statewide, from effective consolidation and sharing of
services by local governments.

No legislation has been proposed or passed in the house favoring consolidation and Brungardt isn’t
aware of any coordinated effort by both houses of the Kansas legislature to encourage streamlining local
government. He noted in a recent interview that there’s been little support in the House for
consolidation. “Everybody likes what effects them.”

Kansas already has one of the highest tax burdens in the region and adding more government employees
only makes it worse, especially when there are fewer working Kansans to pay the bill.

# # #

Paul Soutar is an Investigative Reporter with the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. A complete bio on Mr. Soutar
can be found at http://www.flinthills.org/content/view/6/5/, and he can be reached at paul.soutar@flinthills.org. To
learn more about the Flint Hills Center, please visit www.flinthills.org.

The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy is an independent Kansas-based think tank that provides research and
initiates reform in education, fiscal policy and health care. We are dedicated to the constitutional principles of
limited government, open markets, and personal responsibility, which we believe are essential for individual
freedom and prosperity to flourish.

250 N. Water, Suite #216 Wichita, Kansas 67202-1215 (316) 634-0218

information@flinthills.org www.flinthills.org
 Kansas Employment Change
Period Ending April 30, 2009
1 Month 4 Months 12 Months
Private sector (10,500) (29,400) (26,500)

Local government 600 600 2,300

State government 200 (300) 100
Federal government (600) (200) 900
total government 200 100 3,300

Non-farm employment (10,300) (29,300) (23,200)

Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics;
seasonally adjusted
Note: BLS includes teachers in private sector totals; education
administrators are included in government totals.
Efficient states, more or less
Only two states, North and South Dakota, have fewer residents per
general purpose government (county, city and township) than Kansas.
States with more residents per local government*
States with fewer residents per local government

KANSAS

*Includes the District of

Columbia, Alaska and Hawaii
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, 2007 data
Flint Hills Center for Public Policy

Regional government efficiency

Kansas ranks near the bottom of the barrel in local government efficiency,
even when comparing other western states with wide-open spaces.
General purpose governments (GPG) include city, county and township.
Residents
State Sq. Miles GPGs Population Per GPG Rank
Colorado 103,714 332 4,861,515 14,643 16
Utah 82,144 271 2,645,330 9,761 25
Idaho 82,747 244 1,499,402 6,145 30
Oklahoma 68,667 671 3,617,316 5,391 33
Wyoming 97,100 122 522,830 4,285 39
Missouri 68,886 1,378 5,878,415 4,266 40
Nebraska 76,872 1,077 1,774,571 1,648 48
Kansas 81,815 2,084 2,775,997 1,332 49
South Dakota 75,885 1,291 796,214 617 50
North Dakota 68,976 1,730 639,715 370 51

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 data Flint Hills Center for Public Policy
Local Governments by Type and State: 2007

General purpose
Subcounty
Geographic area
Town or July 2007 Residents
Total County1 Total Municipal township Pop. Est. Per Entity Rank
United States 39,044 3,033 36,011 19,492 16,519 301,621,157 7,725

District of Columbia 1 - 1 1 - 588,292 588,292 1

Hawaii 4 3 1 1 - 1,283,388 320,847 2
Nevada 35 16 19 19 - 2,565,382 73,297 3
California 535 57 478 478 - 36,553,215 68,324 4
Arizona 105 15 90 90 - 6,338,755 60,369 5
Florida 477 66 411 411 - 18,251,243 38,263 6
Maryland 180 23 157 157 - 5,618,344 31,213 7
Rhode Island 39 - 39 8 31 1,057,832 27,124 8
Virginia 324 95 229 229 - 7,712,091 23,803 9
Washington 320 39 281 281 - 6,468,424 20,214 10
Connecticut 179 - 179 30 149 3,502,309 19,566 11
Massachusetts 356 5 351 45 306 6,449,755 18,117 12
Texas 1,463 254 1,209 1,209 - 23,904,380 16,339 13
New Jersey 587 21 566 324 242 8,685,920 14,797 14
New Mexico 134 33 101 101 - 1,969,915 14,701 15
Colorado 332 62 270 270 - 4,861,515 14,643 16
Delaware 60 3 57 57 - 864,764 14,413 17
South Carolina 314 46 268 268 - 4,407,709 14,037 18
Tennessee 439 92 347 347 - 6,156,719 14,024 19
North Carolina 648 100 548 548 - 9,061,032 13,983 20
Georgia 689 154 535 535 - 9,544,750 13,853 21
Oregon 278 36 242 242 - 3,747,455 13,480 22
New York 1,604 57 1,547 618 929 19,297,729 12,031 23
Louisiana 363 60 303 303 - 4,293,204 11,827 24
Utah 271 29 242 242 - 2,645,330 9,761 25
Alabama 525 67 458 458 - 4,627,851 8,815 26
Kentucky 537 118 419 419 - 4,241,474 7,898 27
Mississippi 378 82 296 296 - 2,918,785 7,722 28
West Virginia 287 55 232 232 - 1,812,035 6,314 29
Idaho 244 44 200 200 - 1,499,402 6,145 30
Michigan 1,858 83 1,775 533 1,242 10,071,822 5,421 31
New Hampshire 244 10 234 13 221 1,315,828 5,393 32
Oklahoma 671 77 594 594 - 3,617,316 5,391 33
Montana 183 54 129 129 - 957,861 5,234 34
Arkansas 577 75 502 502 - 2,834,797 4,913 35
Ohio 2,334 88 2,246 938 1,308 11,466,917 4,913 36
Pennsylvania 2,628 66 2,562 1,016 1,546 12,432,792 4,731 37
Illinois 2,833 102 2,731 1,299 1,432 12,852,548 4,537 38
Wyoming 122 23 99 99 - 522,830 4,285 39
Missouri 1,378 114 1,264 952 312 5,878,415 4,266 40
Alaska 162 14 148 148 - 683,478 4,219 41
Indiana 1,666 91 1,575 567 1,008 6,345,289 3,809 42
Wisconsin 1,923 72 1,851 592 1,259 5,601,640 2,913 43
Iowa 1,046 99 947 947 - 2,988,046 2,857 44
Maine 504 16 488 22 466 1,317,207 2,614 45
Vermont 296 14 282 45 237 621,254 2,099 46
Minnesota 2,729 87 2,642 854 1,788 5,197,621 1,905 47
Nebraska 1,077 93 984 530 454 1,774,571 1,648 48
Kansas 2,084 104 1,980 627 1,353 2,775,997 1,332 49
South Dakota 1,291 66 1,225 309 916 796,214 617 50
North Dakota 1,730 53 1,677 357 1,320 639,715 370 51
- Represents zero.
1
Excludes areas corresponding to counties but having no organized governments.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Census of Governments and July, 2007 Population Estimate