News – Page 2054 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

Tax base from machinary and equipment also continues to disappear

info2019-07-29T22:01:31-05:00July 29th, 2019|

Besides the loss in appraised commercial property values for Hutchinson, the exemption on business equipment and machinery adopted by the state in 2006 continues to cut into taxes for the city and county. The value of machinery and equipment still being assessed by Reno County fell some $5.5 million, or more than 16 percent from 2018 to 2019. That brought it down to about $27.9 million, data from the Reno County Appraiser’s office showed. (Read more: Local - The Hutchinson News)

A look at what Lawrence’s new city manager has learned so far, and a peek at a possible debate to come

info2019-07-29T21:57:10-05:00July 29th, 2019|

With about one month on the job, City Manager Craig Owens already has made some observations about his new community. For one thing, we have plenty to say in public meetings. Owens has been to three City Commission meetings, and booked about 12 hours as part of them. The long meetings haven’t scared him away. “You care and you should,” said Owens, who previously served as city manager for Clayton, Mo., just outside St. Louis. Such a process may not always produce a quick consensus, but Owens said he’s OK with that. “It is hard and it takes time, but it [...]

Eudora entices new parks and rec director from city twice as large

info2019-07-29T21:58:03-05:00July 29th, 2019|

The newly named Eudora parks and recreation director said she is stepping down from a similar position in a much larger community because of the greater opportunities Eudora offers. Sally Pennington is wrapping up her duties as parks and recreation director at Neosho, Mo. She has had the job in the city of about 13,000 people 15 miles south of her hometown of Joplin for 2 1/2 years. “The size of a city has nothing to do with the recreational amenities available,” she said. “Neosha doesn’t have a rec center, aquatic center or ballfields.” Read more: LJWorld.com.

Kansas auditors predict Cabinet-agency IT consolidation to raise costs

info2019-07-29T18:43:11-05:00July 29th, 2019|

The cost to Kansas taxpayers of consolidating information technology services in the executive branch of state government could increase by millions of dollars depending on the level of IT staff retained and the replacement of outdated infrastructure, auditors said Monday. The Kansas Legislature’s auditing division estimated that continuing with existing consolidation plans for state Cabinet agencies could increase annual costs $2.6 million to $38 million, depending on how many of 230 targeted IT personnel were eliminated because of efficiencies and the unavoidable expense of addressing the “poor condition” of Kansas’ IT infrastructure. “Their plan will likely increase state costs instead of [...]

Federal grant to enable GraceMed to enroll 8,000 more Kansans into KanCare

info2019-07-29T18:40:48-05:00July 29th, 2019|

GraceMed Health Clinic says it will be able to enroll or re-enroll more than 8,000 Kansans into the state's Medicaid/CHIP program over three years with a grant from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has awarded GraceMed a grant of $1.095 million. GraceMed will use the funding for enrollment of Kansans in 29 counties in the south-central and eastern parts of the state. (Read more: Wichita Business Journal)

Pottawatomie County Commission at odds over contingency plan to fill county administrator position

info2019-07-29T18:39:38-05:00July 29th, 2019|

For the first time since Pottawatomie County Administrator Robert Reece announced his retirement, the county commission was tasked with discussing the next steps in filling the position during their Monday meeting. HR Director Crystal Malchosa presented commissioners with an estimate of hiring a third party search committee to recruit for the position. The county is currently a member of third-party firm ICMA which was presented as the most cost-efficient. “We’re already a member of ICMA and they range anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000 to do the recruitment for the administrator position,” Malchosa said. (Read more: 1350 KMAN)

County OKs more than $700,000 in parks and rec spending

info2019-07-29T18:37:32-05:00July 29th, 2019|

Shawnee County commissioners voted Monday to allocate more than $700,000 for parks and recreation repairs and improvements, including $200,000 to make the Lake Shawnee Trail safer in an area that was the scene of a fatal bicycle accident on a steep hill in 2007. Commissioners Bob Archer, Bill Riphahn and Kevin Cook voted 3-0 to re-purpose $200,000 the county previously borrowed by issuing bonds for other purposes to enable its public works department to flatten a section of the parks and recreation department’s Lake Shawnee Trail, which runs parallel to S.E. 45th Street. The work will be done as that department [...]

County officials discuss proposed $10 million in parks and rec spending

info2019-07-29T18:36:30-05:00July 29th, 2019|

Shawnee County Commissioner Kevin Cook isn’t against pickleball, he said at Monday’s commission meeting. Cook addressed dozens of pickleball enthusiasts — many of them senior citizens — who attended to show support for creating a “Family Park” featuring new trails and pickleball courts on county-owned land just south of S.W. 21st and Urish Road. Cook suggested the three-man commission would overextend the county government financially if it approved Commissioner Bob Archer’s proposal to incur $10 million in new debt to finance new construction in parks and recreation, with some of that going to develop the Family Park in an amount that [...]

Kansas auditors question lack of rules, transparency of $25 million jobs program

info2019-07-29T18:35:29-05:00July 29th, 2019|

The Kansas Department of Commerce operated an open-ended job growth program for five years that awarded $25 million without defining boundaries for making financial awards and in some cases didn’t mandate a formal application nor hold recipients accountable for delivering economic growth, state auditors said Monday. Under the Kansas Job Creation Program Fund created in 2011 to provide cash awards to companies to help create jobs and foster growth, the Kansas Legislature’s division of post audit said, the commerce department failed to develop written policy to dictate the size of cash awards and how recipients were to be selected. State law [...]

Newly renovated Eisenhower museum reopens in Abilene

info2019-07-29T18:32:32-05:00July 29th, 2019|

A museum honoring President Dwight Eisenhower in his childhood home in Kansas has reopened after undergoing a massive, yearlong renovation. Visitors got their first glimpse Monday of modernized exhibits in the 25,000-square-foot (2322-sq. meter) museum. They feature new graphic panels, display cases, theater experiences and digital interactive stations. The original schedule was to open in time for the 75th anniversary of D-Day in early June, but the federal government shutdown delayed the timeline. (Read more: Great Bend Post)