THE TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNALwww.cjonline.com | $1.00TUESDAY | DECEMBER 11, 2012

7

893258 00006

Contact us

Questions about delivery?Call (785) 295-1133

www.cjonline.com

Index

Advice/Crossword ..... 7BClassified .................. 9BComics ..................... 8BDaily Record ............ 10ADeaths/Funerals ..... 10AOpinion ..................... 4APolice news ............. 10ASports ....................... 1BStocks ...................... 2ATV ............................. 7BToday ........................ 2A

Will Shields help KC?

New acquisition James Shields hopes to help turn the Royals around after taking part in the Rays’ recent rise to prominence.

Sports, Page 1B

In the ovenFor a treat that will fill

your house with a cozy aroma, try making a batch of cinnamon rolls.

Wednesday in Flavor

Dogs up next for Cats

Kansas State looks to continue its success on the road with a tough test Saturday at Gonzaga.

Sports, Page 1B

County gets new bins

County commissioners voted to provide 65-gallon or 35-gallon recycling bins to residents who want smaller options.

Today, Page 2A

Inside today

Coming up

dailydeals.cjonline.com

Choose from 3 Great Deals fromPinnacle Fitness!

Please see CLIFF, Page 11A

Schools seek advance payment

By Celia Llopis-JepsenThe CapITal-Journal

Both Gov. Sam Brownback and his school efficiency task force would like to see two-year funding for schools.

At a press conference Monday, Brownback said he supported the shift from one-year funding, which would require legislative action.

“I do think once people would go to it, they would like it a lot bet-ter,” the governor said.

Brownback said he would pro-pose it this legislative session.

Earlier in the day, Brownback’s school efficiency task force voted to make the same proposal. The

governor created the task force in September to scrutinize education spending and propose improve-ments to any inefficient practices.

Ken Willard, chair of the task force and a member of the Kansas State Board of Education, said a two-year funding cycle would give school districts more security in laying out their plans and would address the pressure that districts feel to hold onto funds as contin-

gency reserves.“This would provide a little re-

lief,” Willard said later. “It enables schools to budget realistically year to year.”

The proposal would likely enjoy broad support from a number of stakeholders.

“We have heard a lot of interest from school leaders about a two-year plan,” said Mark Tallman, a lobbyist at the Kansas Association

of School Boards.Meanwhile, the Kansas Nation-

al Education Association has sup-ported multi-year funding for years, KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti said.

But both the school board asso-ciation and the teachers’ union questioned whether a longer fund-ing cycle was enough to ensure

Please see SCHOOLS, Page 11A

Please see FRANCISCO, Page 8A

Two-year funding cycle may help educators plan

Please see MERGER, Page 8A

By Megan HartThe CapITal-Journal

Even a poor solution to the up-coming “fiscal cliff” is better than none, some Topeka business people told their elected representative Monday morning.

Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Topeka Re-publican, visited BRB Contractors Monday morning as part of a three-stop tour to discuss the impact of the fiscal cliff on small businesses. She also was scheduled to visit Heatron in Leavenworth and ATC Compos-ites in Ottawa.

Jenkins asked the assembled BRB employees for their thoughts on the “fiscal cliff,” a shorthand term for across-the-board spending cuts and the expiration of the tax cuts passed during former President George W. Bush’s first term, which will go into effect if Congress and President Ba-rack Obama fail to reach a deal on the country’s budget woes by the end of the year. In particular, she asked if they were willing to risk a recession in 2013 rather than accept a deal with-out substantial reforms to federal en-titlement programs.

“This game of chicken, I need to know how important it is to you,” she said. “Are you willing to go over the cliff to fix the problem?”

BRB president Mike Laird said his business primarily constructs water

locals look

to avoid ‘cliff’

Jenkins says lack of deal could result in 2013 recession

Youth corrections merger planned

Safety issues spark change in juvenile programBy Tim Carpenter

The CapITal-Journal

Gov. Sam Brownback disclosed Mon-day plans to improve safety of juvenile inmates in state custody by proposing a merger of the Kansas Juvenile Justice Au-thority with the Kansas Department of Corrections.

The Republican governor said a bruis-ing state audit had demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt the "decades-old ap-proach of a social services focus taken by policy makers and previous administra-tions failed to provide the safety and se-curity that our juvenile offenders require and deserve."

The executive reorganization order, subject to review of the Legislature, will place greater emphasis on protecting ju-veniles under a "professional corrections agency" while continuing to provide re-habilitation programs to help troubled youths, Brownback said.

House and Senate Democratic leaders were receptive to the governor's quest to upgrade the juvenile justice system in Kansas.

"My initial response is positive," said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hens-ley, D-Topeka. "For a long time, I've been concerned about safety issues. Over time, we've seen juvenile offenders who are more dangerous to themselves and oth-ers."

Hensley said consolidation should bring relief to JJA security officers who have been underpaid and compelled to work overtime. The state's juvenile units have experienced high staff turnover rates.

House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-

Lawrence, said legislators would study reasons for creation of JJA in 1997 and make certain reform recommended by Brownback advanced the state's inter-ests.

Ray Roberts, secretary of the state cor-rections department, said he endorsed the consolidation. He said Brownback's reorganization wouldn’t erase distinc-tions in program services available to adult and juvenile offenders.

"While there are some distinct differ-ences in program needs and manage-ment strategies for juveniles, and we will continue the rehabilitation of the juvenile population, it is imperative that basic safety and security practices are routinely employed in correctional environments," he said.

There are about 1,500 juveniles under custody of JJA ranging in age from 10 to

ThAD AllTON/The CAPiTAl-JOuRNAl

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announces Monday afternoon that he will propose an executive reorganization order during the 2013 Kansas Legislative session to merge the Kansas Juvenile Justice authority with the Kansas Department of Corrections. KDOC secretary Ray Roberts, center, and acting JJA commissioner Terri Williams also attended.

CONSOLIDATION

ONLINEView video of the governor’s news conference on his reorganization plan.

CJOnline.com

POLICY MATTERS

On Wednesday: Angry at missing state contract, house member fights back.

11th in a series of 15 articles.

CJOnline.com/policymatters

Senator-landlord strives to undermine rental rivals

By Andy MarsoThe CapITal-Journal

Sen. Marci Francisco owns a number of rental properties in Law-rence, most of which are in multi-family residence districts. Last ses-sion she introduced a bill that could have smoothed the way for the city to crack down on competitors who

lease in single-family zones.Senate Bill 400 would have al-

lowed cities that issue rental licens-es to demand a list of tenants from landlords to prove they are comply-ing with ordinances restricting the number of unrelated people who can live together. Lawrence has such an ordinance, but property owners' rights advocates success-

fully lobbied for a state law that un-dercut it by preventing cities from demanding tenant lists unless the property has been cited for violat-ing another ordinance.

“We have a fundamental prob-lem with the ordinance in Law-rence,” said Luke Bell, the Kansas Realtors Association's vice presi-dent of governmental affairs. “If they’re complying with all the laws, it’s blatantly unfair for a city to regu-late who can live in a property. It’s

Francisco sought bill to regulate lawrence rentals

ONLINEView video of a Democrat advocating use of recusal by lawmakers.

CJOnline.com

Please see DOWNTOWN, Page 11A

Downtown project budget reduced

By Tim HrenchirThe CapITal-Journal

Topeka city manager Jim Colson is asking the city council to consider a revised, scaled-back budget Tuesday

evening for the second and final phase of a pro-posed project to revitalize a four-block stretch of S. Kansas Avenue in

downtown Topeka.The new budget totals $4,967,000,

compared to $8,448,032 in the ver-sion for which council members heard the first reading at their meet-ing last week.

Suzie Gilbert, the city’s marketing and communications director, re-leased copies of the proposed new Phase 2 budget and resolution Mon-day afternoon.

An information sheet was also

ONLINEView documents on the updated downtown budget proposal.

CJOnline.com