Topeka councilwomen object to removal of vote on neighborhood funding

Topeka Councilwomen Karen Hiller and Sylvia Ortiz expressed dismay Tuesday evening that city manager Brent Trout plans to no longer let the city’s governing body vote on how to distribute financing for two programs that benefit neighborhoods.

“I think it’s wise for us to be involved,” Ortiz said regarding the authorization of funding for Neighborhood Empowerment Grants and Stages of Resource Targeting.

Trout told members of the city’s governing body — consisting of the nine council members and Mayor Michelle De La Isla — that because they had approved a 2019 city budget authorizing the funding amounts, he considered it within his authority to award the funding without them voting on the specifics.

Ortiz, who has been on the council since 2005, and Hiller, a councilwoman since 2009, said they had always voted on whether to award the funding in the past.

In authorizing the empowerment grant funding, Trout followed a recommendation made by a review committee made up of three city staff members and five representatives of neighborhood organizations. In authorizing the SORT funding, he followed a recommendation made by Topeka’s Citizens Advisory Council, which consists of neighborhood residents.