News – Page 1784 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Pandemic costs are ‘blowing massive holes’ in cities’ budgets

info2020-04-20T08:43:39-05:00April 20th, 2020|

The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and the National League of Cities (NLC) conducted a survey of more than 2,400 local officials, of which 88% of respondents said they anticipate the novel coronavirus pandemic will lead to "painful reductions in revenue this year." Of these respondents, 1,968 represent cities with populations of less than 500,000, which did not receive support from the recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) stimulus package. (Read more: Smart Cities Dive - Latest News)

Municipal bonds settle into steady after whirlwind weeks

info2020-04-20T08:44:16-05:00April 20th, 2020|

The municipal market was mostly quiet Friday as participants came off a week of a strong rally, an awakened new-issue market and the first fund inflows since February as they cautiously await another week with more deals on tap and continued questions of support out of Washington. Triple A benchmarks showed slight weakness with most off a basis point or two. While many new-issues are still on the day-to-day calendar for next week, more are being slated to price on specific days, signaling that dealers and issuers are ready to again test the primary. (Read more: The Bond Buyer)

The Case for Rental Assistance: Why It is Necessary and How Cities Can Fund It

info2020-04-20T08:50:46-05:00April 20th, 2020|

Housing instability plagued many Americans long before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the global health crisis has recently pushed it to the forefront of many policymakers’ minds as more families are urged to shelter in place. With orders to stay-at-home to help curb the spread of the virus, the question of who has a home to stay in, and how long they can afford it, is increasingly pertinent in light of the millions of individuals filing for unemployment or having their work hours significantly reduced. Given that nearly half of renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities and almost 11 million are severely cost [...]

Derby Public Library becomes temporary manufacturer

info2020-04-20T08:50:55-05:00April 20th, 2020|

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has become part of the common vernacular during the coronavirus pandemic, as the need for that gear among medical professionals continues to rise. Recently, the Derby Public Library jumped in to help address the current PPE needs – starting the 3-D printing of ear guards for health care workers about two weeks ago. DPL Technology Coordinator Justin Ball said the ear guards are intended to create support/relief in regards to the face masks (with elastic bands) medical personnel are required to wear. (Read more: Derby News | derbyinformer.com)

Caution advised in buying protective equipment

info2020-04-20T08:51:04-05:00April 20th, 2020|

Reno County’s EMS director offered a warning to participants in a daily conference call on Friday about the purchase of protective equipment during the novel coronavirus outbreak. “We were contacted by a local vendor who gained access to what he believed was a large quantity of N-95 masks and was wanting to sell those to us,” said Dave Johnston. “They appear to be KN-95s out of China.” “We’ve done additional follow up and they are nowhere close to the standard we need for N-95 masks,” he said. “They would work fine as a simple mask, but they would not work as [...]

Western Kansas records massive spike in COVID-19 cases

info2020-04-20T08:51:21-05:00April 20th, 2020|

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rocketed up in western Kansas this week from infection clusters involving at least six private businesses, state health officials said. The most dramatic increase was in Ford County, where the number shot up from just two cases on April 9 to 84 cases on Friday, accounting for nearly a quarter of all new cases in the state for the past two days. The increase moved Ford County into the fifth-highest case count in the state, behind Wyandotte, Johnson, Sedgwick, Leavenworth and Shawnee counties. More than two dozen cases are also now confirmed in Finney and [...]

Shawnee County to take ’step-wise approach’ to eventual easing of COVID-19 restrictions

info2020-04-20T08:53:00-05:00April 20th, 2020|

Shawnee County health officer Gianfranco Pezzino shared several nuggets of good news — at least, relatively speaking — at the health department’s weekly COVID-19 news conference Friday. But Pezzino added an important backdrop to his hopeful update: Now is not the time to get complacent. “I want to warn you: I decided to share these somewhat positive numbers with you, but also with some concern that they could be misinterpreted,” Pezzino said, “and could lead to people to lower their guard and think, ‘Oh, we are done. We don’t need to stay home anymore. We can just go out and get [...]

Police, firefighter unions challenge city of Topeka on pay cuts

info2020-04-20T08:53:51-05:00April 20th, 2020|

The unions representing Topeka’s police officers and firefighters are at odds with the city over a 3% pay cut announced last week. The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 3 and the International Association of Firefighters Local No. 83 sent letters on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, to city manager Brent Trout requesting additional information about the pay cuts and questioning how the city concluded that action was the most appropriate to address potential budget shortfalls stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. (Read more: Local - The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Topeka Metro to receive $6.58M in relief funding

info2020-04-20T08:54:04-05:00April 20th, 2020|

Topeka Metro announced Friday it expects to receive millions of dollars in economic relief from the $2 trillion federal coronavirus response bill passed in late March. Efren Mazas, president of the local transit union group that represents Topeka’s metro workers, announced in a news release Friday morning that Topeka Metro has been allocated $6.58 million in relief funds. Of the $2 trillion accounted for in the relief package, $25 billion had been earmarked for transit agencies across the U.S. Mazas said he expects Topeka Metro to use some of the funds to offset revenue losses resulting from decreased ridership during the [...]

Ark City commissioners hire new city manager, Randy Frazer (Moundridge city administrator)

info2020-04-20T08:55:03-05:00April 20th, 2020|

A new city manager in Arkansas City will be on the job by the end of May. Randy Frazer, the city administrator of Moundridge, Kan., accepted an offer from city commissioners and a contract was signed Friday. “I am excited the city commissioners have selected me to be the next city manager,” Frazer said in an email. “I look forward to joining the Arkansas City team and becoming part of the community.” (Read more: The Arkansas City Traveler)