The "Growth Organization of Topeka/Shawnee County, Inc., and Subsidiary Consolidated Statement of Functional Expenses" for 2022 shows a blatant misuse of funds—potentially including our tax dollars—that should be going to fix our crumbling roads instead of lining the pockets of bureaucrats and businesses. Let’s break this down and get real about where the money’s going.
First off, they’re dumping $569,312 into "General and Administrative" costs. That’s over half a million dollars on payroll, office expenses, and other overhead nonsense like $94,565 for occupancy—basically, fancy office space while our roads are falling apart. The 2025 ASCE Report Card gave U.S. infrastructure a C grade, with 43% of roads in poor condition, and posts on X reflect public frustration with crumbling infrastructure nationwide. Meanwhile, Topeka’s throwing money at administrative bloat instead of filling potholes. It’s infuriating.
Then there’s $208,325 on professional services—$180,944 of that under economic development alone. What are these “professionals” even doing? Probably writing reports nobody reads while we’re dodging cracks in the pavement. And don’t get me started on the $114,415 for advertising, mostly for ETLC. Are we supposed to be impressed by flashy marketing when we can’t even drive safely to work?
The $84,846 in bad debt expense—$83,024 of it tied to ETLC—is straight-up reckless. That’s money down the drain because of poor decisions, money that could’ve patched up streets. And the cherry on top? A whopping $1,233,953 in business incentives for economic development. They’re handing out cash to big companies like Goodyear and Ryder—$585,000 and $373,000 respectively in 2022—to expand, but what about the roads those companies’ trucks are driving on? Studies show tax incentives only influence company decisions 2% to 25% of the time, meaning up to $22.5 billion is wasted nationally each year on these handouts while public services like roads suffer.
Topeka’s roads desperately need attention, but instead, we’re funding corporate welfare and administrative excess. The city’s 2025 budget is set to increase the mill levy to 37.952, adding about $18 to the average homeowner’s tax bill—yet there’s no guarantee that’ll go to infrastructure. We should be furious that our tax dollars are being funneled into this group’s pet projects instead of fixing what actually matters. Let’s demand that funds go to roads, not this wasteful garbage! [Ref web ID: 2] [Ref web ID: 7] [Ref web ID: 13] [Ref post ID: 0]
