The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.
Following the success of the new ballfields opened in Goddard as part of a STAR bond project, the city is expanding on those efforts with the STAR bond phase two addition. In phase two, approved at the end of December, developer Goddard Sports LLC will introduce five additional competitive synthetic turf baseball/softball fields – geared toward younger athletes – as well as an outdoor sand sports complex (including three sand soccer fields) southwest of the current baseball fields. Completion of phase two is expected in late 2021 and is estimated to cost $12,587,792. It is also projected to attract between 351,000 and 422,000 visitors per yer and generate direct and indirect employment of 56 full-time equivalent jobs with an annual payroll of $1.9 million.
Source: Derby Informer | Area
Under this bill, modeled on longstanding Utah law, municipalities would be forced to set a property tax rate that is “revenue neutral.” If they wish to exceed this rate, they must provide notice and hold a hearing before voting on the increase. The proposed bill also repeals the local property tax lid. Eric Stafford, director of government affairs for the Kansas Chamber, argued the bill itself would accomplish what the tax lid was meant to accomplish by forcing the budget to remain neutral.
Source: Kansas Reflector
Most elementary school children in Wichita will return to in-person classes this week while the majority of secondary students are set to start hybrid classes in two weeks. The Board of Education on Monday adopted the in-person classes proposal made by Wichita Public Schools administrators, citing educational equality concerns for students as suburban districts hold in-person classes. The decision does not affect the approximately 40% of students whose parents opted for remote learning.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Middle and high school students at USD 232 in De Soto are going back to full-time, on-site learning Feb. 1. Citing the benefits of in-person over remote learning, the rising numbers of D and F grades, the detriment to students’ mental health, and growing evidence that the risk of COVID-19 spread within school buildings remains low, the USD 232 school board on Monday unanimously agreed to bring middle and high schoolers back to the classroom in a few weeks. USD 232 secondary students were in remote learning since Nov. 30. Board members stressed that their decision is evidence of their abundance of caution based on the level of risk.
Source: Prairie Village Post
City Administrator Matt Stiles presented a proposal to increase firefighter pay at the Tuesday city council meeting. Currently, the department pays $12.50 per run for firefighters and $17.34 to the chief and assistant chief. The requested increase was to $15 per run for firefighters and $20 per run for the chief and assistant chief. Stiles said the department members are paid semi-annually, for runs from December through May and June to November. Stiles said, in researching how other departments in the state function, most are volunteer and employee hybrid. However, other departments’ volunteer compensation runs from totally volunteer with no payment, to Goessel’s mileage reimbursement “all the way to $30 per run” with pay “average is about $15.69.”
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Lawrence city leaders will soon discuss the possibility of changing the city’s form of government, including having a directly elected mayor or election by districts. As part of its study session Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will discuss alternative structures to the city’s current form of government, as well as potential procedures for making those changes. To inform the discussion, city legal staff will present a summary of all forms of city government, including the possibility of combining elements from multiple forms, and present options for how changes could be made.
Source: LJWorld.com.
Municipal bond issuance in 2020 was the highest in a decade, reflecting the collapse of interest rates and the increased costs cities and state governments are facing from Covid-19 shutdowns. Bonds for new projects reached $252 billion last year, according to Refinitiv, a small increase from the previous year. The new borrowing drove the total amount of outstanding muni debt above $3.9 trillion for the first time since 2013, according to the Federal Reserve data from the third quarter…. Despite the increase in availability of muni bonds, investor demand remains strong. Central bank rate cuts have left investors clamoring for yield. Muni bond investments produced steady returns last year in a low-interest rate environment.
Source: WSJ.
Leaning over the desk of her new office at headquarters, Lenexa Police Chief Dawn Layman looked darkly up at the television. She has only been police chief for a few weeks now. Still, the seasoned law enforcement officer with 31 years of experience — with 27 of those coming in Lenexa — watched with disappointment last Wednesday as the siege at the U.S. Capitol unfolded before her eyes.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Interest rates could rise sooner than forecast as the economy recovers more quickly than expected from the throes of the Covid-19 damage, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Monday. While most of his colleagues don’t see a rate hike coming through until at least 2023, Bostic said that he thinks the emergency measures the Fed has taken to combat the pandemic can start to be rolled back within the next two years if not sooner. … At their December meeting, members of the Federal Open Market Committee submitted their individual expectations for the next several years. The median expectation for the Fed’s benchmark lending rate was to stay in its current targeted range of 0% to 0.25% through 2023, with a longer-range estimate of 2.5%.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
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