Voting for the general election begins in one week, and for voters in Caldwell, that means deciding on a proposed 1% sales tax. The city administrator said that if the sales tax is approved, it will raise about $150,000 every year and be in effect for a decade. Read more: KSN-TV

The City of Emporia is preparing for the next phase of construction to replace an over century-old storm sewer that partially collapsed earlier this year. In late March, a police car was partially swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up on Commercial Street between Ninth and 10th avenues. According to a city engineer, the cause of the sinkhole was a 100- to 125-year-old 44-inch storm sewer pipe underneath the street that had collapsed. Read more: KSN-TV

The City of Garden City announced Tuesday that City Manager Matt Allen will retire in the first quarter of 2027. Allen began his career in public service with the City of Salina in 1996. In 1997, he became assistant to the city manager in Joplin, Missouri. In 2000, he became the city administrator of Oakley. He returned to his hometown of Garden City in 2002, becoming assistant city manager and was appointed city manager in 2008, succeeding Bob Halloran. Read more: KSN-TV

Hoisington voters will have a sales tax to consider come election day. The 0.5% proposed tax, an extra half-penny per dollar spent, has no sunset date, meaning there is no plan for the sales tax to end. Hoisington already assesses a 0.75% sales tax, so the total would rise to 1.25%. Including county and state taxes, shoppers would pay 10.25% of their bill in sales taxes. City Manager Jonathan Mitchell estimates the tax increase would generate around $180,000 a year. The money would go to directly to sewer and water systems he said are out of date. Read more: KSN-TV

Douglas County commissioners approved a pilot project that will turn tiny homes at the community shelter into extended-stay housing.  The pilot will use three of the 12 shipping container shelters currently at the Lawrence Community Shelter as part of the Monarch Village. Those Monarch CARES, or Crisis And Respite Extended Stay, units will be designated for longer stays of 30 days or more to provide support for people with complex needs who need a place to recover and receive care.  The commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to approve the pilot project, with Commissioner Erica Anderson opposed.  Read more: The Lawrence Times

A county administrator can help commissioners research issues, manage county departments and find solutions while leaving elected officials in charge of their own offices, according to a Miami County commissioner who spoke to the Riley County Commission Thursday. Riley County is amid its search for a new county administrator after county clerk Rich Vargo — who also fulfilled administrator duties — announced he plans to retire Nov. 30.  Vargo has endorsed the county’s current budget and finance officer Brittany Phillips to succeed him as county clerk. Read more: themercury.com

Kids take their chances squeezing through the stationary rail cars that regularly cut this small town in two. Sometimes they brave the high, narrow road bridge leading over the tracks. That gives Bret Glendening, the Osawatomie city manager, worries about how he’ll make things safer. He wonders how the town can afford to fix the once-elegant — now rusty — bridge that spans the Marais des Cygnes River. Or if it’ll ever catch up on basic street maintenance. But the railroad business that helped build Osawatomie is long gone, taking away hundreds of jobs and leaving a hollowed-out tax base that [...]

The Hutchinson City Council directed Public Works Director Cecil Weible to continue investigating the city’s options for dealing with brick streets when they need replacement during its meeting on Tuesday evening. Weible said the city has 19 blocks of brick streets 60 feet wide and 123 blocks of brick streets 27 feet wide. Or, rather, the city has that many blocks of uncovered brick streets. “Technically, almost every street in Hutchinson is a brick street under the asphalt,” Weible said. He said that brick streets can last indefinitely, but when problems occur, the problems stick around. Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

Another local government in Kansas is declining to put an ordinance banning data centers and battery energy storage systems on the ballot. On Monday, the Rose Hill City Council determined that the petition calling for the ordinance goes beyond what’s allowed under state law. The petition seeking to ban certain data centers and BESS in Rose Hill got 230 signatures, almost 100 more than needed. But the city said the proposed ordinance would be more administrative than legislative and is thus exempt from the ballot initiative process. Read more: KSN-TV

City officials are introducing a new text notification service designed to help Topeka residents stay informed about community events and local government initiatives. City officials announced in an Oct. 1 press release that a new texting service, TextMyGov, is now available for locals to sign up for. City staff said this initiative will be led by the City’s Office of Inclusive Communities and the Communications Department. Read more: KSNT 27 News