Wichita’s City Hall and Sedgwick County’s offices have been separated by a single street for decades, but they might as well have been in different area codes for as often as the two governing bodies worked together. “This was something I’ve noticed as a private citizen and business owner: The city of Wichita and the county, in particular, really didn’t seem to have a whole lot of a working relationship — particularly publicly,” says Ryan Baty, the immediate past chairman of the County Commission. When he was first elected to the commission three years ago, Baty made it a priority to find ways to collaborate. Across the street, Mayor Lily Wu embraced a similar vision. En banc meetings — joint city-county gatherings — resumed, and since have been conducted four times a year.
Read more: KLC Journal
