mcre Media .......[Henry McClure Publisher]

No Kansas law requires a but-for test. Not for TIF, not for CID, not for RHID. Topeka invented it, in RHID Resolution 9627 and its TIF policy, complete with a 7.5% cap on what a private developer is allowed to earn. And who's exempt? The city. GO Topeka. The people who wrote it. So if you own land in this town, you pay Columbia Capital's Jeff White to prove your project wouldn't happen "but for" the incentive. The state's own auditors call that question "inherently unknowable." You pay for an answer nobody can give, while City Hall takes its own deals straight to the finish line. Here's what it looks like when the city runs the deal: Hotel Topeka: $18.35 million spent, and a $7.6 million bid on a property appraised at $3 million. REV-PAR International billed about $554,000 to manage it, Schwerdt Design got $157,680 to inspect it, and REV-PAR's own model showed a 17- to 19-year payback. It sold for $1 million. 220 SE 6th (the old AT&T bui...

Mayor Duncan and members of the Governing Body, You can fix this with one vote. Kansas law does not require a but-for test for TIF, CID or RHID. Topeka wrote the test itself, in its RHID resolution (Res. 9627) and its TIF policy, and caps private applicants' returns at a 7.5% cap rate. The analysis is run by consultant Jeff White at Columbia Capital. The city's own deals and GO Topeka's deals are exempt. So here is the arrangement: private owners and developers pay for a consultant to prove a negative, while the city waves its own projects through. The state's own Legislative Post Audit called the but-for question "inherently unknowable." Its incentive audit found most firms would have built anyway. Look at what the city did when it held the pen: - Hotel Topeka: $18,350,135.96 spent. A $7.6M bid against a $3M county appraisal. Sold for $1M cash. - 220 SE 6th (former AT&T): bought for $1,512,500 in 2019, about $9.4M in public money since, a PI...

By Henry McClure, mcre Media, (762) 291-2765 In a video clip now making the rounds online, Dr. Russell Blaylock argues that American society is being "chemically dumbed down" on purpose. Blaylock is a retired neurosurgeon and author who has long been outspoken on health issues. "We're seeing a society that not only has a lot more people of lower IQ, but a lot fewer people of higher IQ," Blaylock says in the clip, which is titled "The Dumbing Down of Our Society." He blames "all these different toxins known to affect brain function." Blaylock says the result is a population that "can't excel" and becomes "dependent on government." In his view, most people end up as "this mass of people who are going to believe anything they are told," and only a few with high cognitive function are able to "figure this all out." "And that's what they want," he says. He also claims that "hundreds of...

  Mayor or League lobbyist: which one answers for Topeka's double standard? From mcre13@gmail.com To sduncan@lkm.org, sduncan@topeka.org Cc neberline@lkm.org, governingbody@topeka.org, cclerk@topeka.org, lisa.schmitt@snco.us, mcre1.9999@blogger.com Mayor Duncan, You hold two jobs. By day, you're the League of Kansas Municipalities' Government Affairs Director, the man who tells legislators how Kansas cities ought to behave. By night, you're Mayor of Topeka, a city that doesn't follow the advice the League would give anyone else. I've copied the League's executive director, Nathan Eberline, because I'd like to know which of your two jobs is going to answer this. Topeka runs two sets of rules. If you're a private owner asking for a TIF, CID or RHID, the city makes you pass a "but-for" test. It caps your return at a 7.5% cap rate, and you get to pay for the privilege of having Jeff White at Columbia Capital decide whether you might make too...

Mayor Duncan, You hold two jobs. By day, you're the League of Kansas Municipalities' Government Affairs Director, the man who tells legislators how Kansas cities ought to behave. By night, you're Mayor of Topeka, a city that doesn't follow the advice the League would give anyone else. I've copied the League's executive director, Nathan Eberline, because I'd like to know which of your two jobs is going to answer this. Topeka runs two sets of rules. If you're a private owner asking for a TIF, CID or RHID, the city makes you pass a "but-for" test. It caps your return at a 7.5% cap rate, and you get to pay for the privilege of having Jeff White at Columbia Capital decide whether you might make too much money. Kansas law doesn't require any of that. Topeka invented it. If the deal belongs to the city or GO Topeka, the rules vanish: HOTEL TOPEKA - City spent: $18,350,135.96 - Sold for: $1,000,000 cash - City bid $7.6 million aga...

Braxton, Congratulations. Topeka is about to spend money on an election just to ask voters for an independent auditor to keep an eye on City Hall. On October 20 the council voted 9-0 for it. In my opinion, that auditor is the most honest review of your career anyone will ever write. Cities don't hire watchdogs when the people in charge know what they're doing. That same night, the city manager walked out the door. The official word is that he resigned. My read is simpler: he hitched his wagon to you, and the wagon went in the ditch. And who got handed the keys on his way out? You did. Only in Topeka. Now let's review your crowning achievement, Hotel Topeka. $554,000 in consultants. $18 million spent. $1 million back. In the private sector, that's called a firing. At the City of Topeka, apparently it's called a promotion. And what a run of promotions it's been. City Attorney's office. Utilities. Out the door in 2012 to go work for a developer. B...

From: Henry McClure <mcre13@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2026 6:58 PM To: Braxton Copley <bcopley@topeka.org>; Marcus Miller <marcusm@topeka.org>; Governing Body <governingbody@topeka.org>; City Clerk <cclerk@Topeka.org>; John Kollhoff <johnkollhoff@gmail.com> Cc: Leigha Boling <lboling@topeka.org>; Jeff White (jwhite@columbiacapital.com) <jwhite@columbiacapital.com> Subject: Re: The But-For Test Is the Failure: Topeka Should Retire It   Dear City Clerk, Under the Kansas Open Records Act, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., I am submitting a new, separate request. Background: The City's September 23, 2026 response to my request McClure KORA 091826 stated that Finance records and January through June 2026 were included. However, the spreadsheet I received contains only Public Works and Utilities payments for 2024 and 2025. No payments to Columbia Capital Management, which serves as the City...