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Survey says: Most of today’s residents are unhappy with a decision voters made 27 years ago to combine the governments of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

Citing staggering statistics from her public opinion survey, Edwardsville Mayor Carolyn Caiharr said Wyandotte County residents blame unification in part for a range of present-day problems. Among her conclusions: 70% would “rewind the clock” if they could.

“It actually shocked me to hear how much support there was for not being consolidated,” Caiharr told commissioners for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK Thursday, adding that she was “very, very confident in the questionnaire and the consensus of residents” whose opinions she gathered and compiled herself.

But political science experts The Star consulted were not so confident with that assessment.

While some residents may certainly feel that way, the experts said the study method — conducted at public forums Caiharr hosted — offers no legitimate measure of broad public opinion. And many of the written questions contained language that could produce questionable results.

“Even calling this a survey I think is misleading,” said Greg Vonnahme, a political science professor with the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

The survey results marked the first tangible outcome of a task force formed to study the issue of splitting up the city and county governments at KCK Mayor Tyrone Garner’s direction. In November, Caiharr hosted a series of forums at public libraries around Wyandotte County that were advertised on social media.

The question of unification

Voters approved consolidating the governments in 1997 to create the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK. Meanwhile, Bonner Springs and Edwardsville rejected the measure, electing to keep separate city councils.

Reasons behind the merger nearly 30 years ago included addressing real and perceived government corruption, stemming the tide of residential flight and inspiring greater economic development in Wyandotte County. It was also viewed as a path to shed a layer of bureaucracy, as more than 90% of Wyandotte County’s population resided in KCK.

Now, at a time of public outcry over property taxes, some have cast the idea as a possible answer to address real community concerns about higher tax bills. It remains unclear how a division of governments — which were consolidated in part to trim expenses — would cost less.

For her part, Caiharr said Thursday she was only coming to commissioners with the results of her survey and had not developed a plan to deconsolidate — and stopped short of saying they should.

But, relying in part on her findings through the survey, she said she believes “wholeheartedly” that certain considerations “were missed during the consolidation process that created a mess that we find ourselves in today.”

“This was not a problem you created,” she said. “And you can be a part of the solution.”

‘Doesn’t tell you anything’

Best practices in public opinion surveys rely on random population samples instead of an organized setting where the sole participants are likely to already be engaged with a particular topic, said Patrick Miller, a Kent State University professor of political science and survey research expert.

“If I give out a survey on the environment at a Sierra Club meeting: ‘Breaking news, everyone loves the environment and wants to protect it.’” Miller said sarcastically.

“That is not a random sample of the population of Wyandotte County, what they think about this topic or what they want,” he added, saying there would be “zero ability to take this survey and say anything factual or concrete about what people in Wyandotte County, writ-large, actually think.”

Further, Miller said the survey on Wyandotte County’s consolidation with KCK was “poorly written in a way that you really have to question the reliability and the validity of the answers” participants gave.

“This survey doesn’t tell you anything. I mean, it really doesn’t,” Miller said.

A few of the questions that appeared on the survey:

• Do you feel the Unification’s consolidation of power created larger government or allowed for better representation?

• Do you prefer 1 elected body making all of the decisions for City and County or would you prefer each elected body have 1 priority and purpose?

• Should we eliminate the use of Consolidated funds that combine City and County tax dollars to bring more transparency?

Vonnahme, of UMKC, said his biggest issue with the questions was the heavy use of technical terms. He also referenced a school of thought in political science where conducting such studies in public forums — as Caiharr did — offer a “pretty skewed portrait” of viewpoints by “preference outliers.”

“Because the people that actually show up to those types of public forums … tend to be really knowledgeable, really engaged, they care passionately about these issues. And the vast majority of people don’t,” Vonnahme said.

Commissioners weigh in

Caiharr admitted Thursday that her study faced challenges, saying there was no budget outside her personal expenses of time, travel and printer paper. Roughly 250 participants showed up, she said. She did not keep track of where they all resided.

Reviews from commissioners were mixed, as some offered praise and others skepticism.

Commissioner Chuck Stites, 7th District, who represents residents of Edwardsville and Bonner Springs, applauded the efforts to find policy items the board could consider moving forward.

“I’m not going to be one that’s going to sit here and run you down the road for trying to look out for the folks of all of Wyandotte County,” Stites said, adding: “I’ve been asking now since I got elected three years ago to help me understand the consolidated funds of Wyandotte County and KCK.”

Commissioner Bill Burns, elected last year to represent the 2nd District, said he opposed the consolidation effort of the late 1990s. But he said “the people spoke” when consolidation passed and he believes changes can be made to address concerns of residents within the current framework.

“I ran to improve the system. Not to tear it down. And I think we can do that,” Burns said.

The most vocal critic of Caiharr’s study was Commissioner Mike Kane, 5th District, who took issue with the fact that she wrote the questions and had spoken publicly against consolidation.

Kane said her survey appeared designed “to fit what you wanted to say and not what necessarily the community had to say.”

Asked whether he had a problem with any question in particular, Kane responded: “Every single one of them, because you wrote them.”

“What you did was wrong,” Kane said at one point, raising his voice. “And you (gave) the questions you wanted, which made it difficult for the people to be honest about their answers.”

Garner, who requested the presentation on the findings, said he believes a “hard look” at the Unified Government’s structure may be necessary to make changes residents want to see.

“I don’t think anyone’s talking about deconsolidation,” Garner said. “I know that some of the residents are seeing those as viable options if things don’t change.”