Kan. Gov. Says Critics Too Generous On Job Deal

JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson is suggesting that critics who think his administration isn't trying hard enough to lure thousands of jobs away from Missouri are pushing him to be fiscally irresponsible.

The Democratic governor is drawing fire from some key Republicans for saying publicly that Kansas won't offer more than $230 million in state and local incentives to lure a corporate office complex and major league soccer stadium to Kansas City, Kan. The state hadn't heard Monday whether its offer was acceptable to owners of the Kansas City Wizards and Missouri-based medical software maker Cerner Corp.

Cerner officials declined to comment on the offer. Robb Heineman, CEO of the Wizards' owner, OnGoal LLC, issued a statement Monday calling the state's offer "generous."

"We are in the process of having the stipulations reviewed by bond counsel and outside experts," Heineman said. "We are hopeful that at the end of this review the state's offer will yield enough funding to complete the project."

Leaders of the GOP majority in the Kansas House said they're not so much concerned with the amount of incentives being offered but by Parkinson insisting the proposal is the best Kansas can do. They contend Parkinson and his administration should be more flexible because the Cerner-Wizards project would bring 9,000 jobs to Kansas.