Kathleen Sebelius

The Community Living Opportunities website now features video and other stories from clients and their families about why CLO needs additional funding from the state of Kansas. The justifications can be found on every page.

Community Living Opportunities (CLO) was recently highlighted for their unusual protest and subsequent Medicaid reimbursement from the state of Kansas. The Board of Directors for the non-profit include Lew Perkins, athletic director for the University of Kansas and Larry Gates, chairman of the Kansas Democratic Party and former law partner of the newest Kansas Supreme Court Justice, Dan Biles.

The CLO website now features written and video testimonies from clients and their families on every page justifying the additional funding the group received. The main story on the homepage is an explanation of the additional costs to the state to operate this non-profit organization.

Although based in Lenexa, CLO’s website indicates it provides various services across the state and has offices in Lawrence and southeast Kansas in addition to Lenexa.

On a suggestion, I searched for properties owned by CLO in Douglas County. The search returned numerous pieces of property but only one was outside the city limits of Lawrence, a small tract northeast of Baldwin City. A further search of online records and a trip to the Douglas County courthouse raised further questions about the property.

The proprty was purchased in July 2005. A search of documents at the Register of Deeds office confirms a $400,000 lean placed against the property at that time. Sale prices are not public record.

2005 Appraisal. Click to enlarge.

2008 Appraisal. Click to enlarge.

2009 Appraisal. Click to enlarge.

Douglas County has appraisals online from 2007 to 2009. A search at the appraisal office shows a varied appraisal in 2005 before the sale of the property.

The actual market value of the land is difficult to determine because part of the land was appraised for residential, part farm, and part was exempt from property taxes.

The appraisal remains somewhat steady until 2009. Apprasied improvements in 2008 according to online tax records was $161,950. Combined with the land value, total appraisal was $263,950. According to the county appraisal office, the numbers do not reflect market value because the land is exempt from property taxes (CLO is a non-profit), so the property is summarily ignored by the county since it carries no tax liability.

However, appraised improvements to the property increased by nearly $1 million from 2008 to 2009. Because the property is exempt from taxation, any valuation of improvements likely reflects actual cost of the improvement versus any market value it might have.

A GIS map of the property.

A newly built pond in the southwest corner of the property.

A new structure in the northern part of the property. Away from public roads, it looks like a new house but one can't be sure.

A small sign at the entrance gives the name of the property as Midnight Farms

Pictures of the property reveal new and ongoing construction.

A pond has been newly built in the southwest corner of the property, in behind the existing house. New overhead poles have been erected above a new main driveway along with a small sign identifying the property as part of Midnight Farms, a subdivision, so to speak, of CLO.

“No Trespassing” and “Keep Out” signs have been posted around the property on both the road on the south side of the land and on the east, although some of these appear to have been in place for some time by comparing to Google Maps.

Most curious is a large new building built in the back of the property. Based on what can be seen from the road, it appears this is the main reason appraised improvements increased by nearly $1 million. Google Maps confirms the building was recently built.

CLO was called before a House Committee to give testimony justifying the over $700,000 in additional funds they received. If the non-profit is able to afford hundreds of thousands of dollars for a new piece of land and then nearly $1 million in improvements, why is additional funding from the state needed? Is CLO using their connections to get extra state funding to pay the mortgage on their newly aquired land? What other pieces of property does CLO own that they are using taxpayer money to buy and support which is then taken off the tax rolls?

It further raises questions as to how the non-profit was able to secure extra state funding while expanding operations. Was the ability of CLO to fund nearly $1 million in improvements taken into account by the Sebelius administration before authorizing more funding, or did the administration simply rubber stamp the extra money because of CLO’s connections?

CLO claims on its website that it receives special funding because, “(W)e serve Persons with Specialized Needs!” But don’t other non-profit health organizations in the state also serve people with special needs? Aren’t other health care providers in the state asked to make do with what the state can afford? Why should an organization like CLO be allotted more than their fair share simply because they are able to pull the right strings in Topeka while others play by the rules?

If CLO is in such dire financial straits, why justify their extra funding on every page of their website? How can CLO afford a $400,000 lean on a newly purchased property? How can CLO afford nearly $1 million in improvements if they can’t make ends meet without an extra $700,000 from the state?