News – Page 2233 – Ranson Financial Group LLC

City of Parsons reinstates pay raises after 10 years

info2019-01-25T06:52:16-06:00January 25th, 2019|

Some city workers this year will receive pay raises that have been frozen for a decade. City Manager Debbie Lamb said Tuesday during a city commission meeting that staff is working to give employees the step raises that they would have received if the increases weren’t partially frozen 10 years ago because of budget constraints. Newer workers can look forward to receiving step raises as they reach yearly milestones. Since late 2008 city workers have received only two step raises, one after six months and the other after 12 months of being hired or promoted to a new position. They didn’t [...]

Is TIF Always Bad?

info2019-01-25T12:57:07-06:00January 25th, 2019|

Tax increment financing (TIF) is a financing method used by local governments, often to redevelop blighted or disinvested areas where market-rate development is seen as unprofitable without assistance. A TIF agreement incentivizes a developer to work in a designated geographic area (TIF district) by subsidizing a portion of the development costs through the sale of bonds to investors, and then gradually paying them back out of increased property taxes over the next 20 or 30 years. Any increased property taxes above the pre-development level are set aside in a TIF fund. That fund is reserved for gradually paying back the TIF [...]

Clearwater adding positions to keep EMS services in town

info2019-01-25T06:46:20-06:00January 25th, 2019|

The City of Clearwater makes a decision about what to do with the city's EMS Department after receiving a warning from the state about the number of volunteers. The city says volunteers are hard to come by and it's adding four paid positions to keep EMS services in the city and meet state regulations. City officials say although there's an increased cost, this is a step in the right direction. Marvin Schauf was Clearwater's fire chief for 53 years. He retired in 2017, but his son and grandson are first responders in town. Schauf says volunteer departments are getting harder to [...]

With 40 percent of trash now recycled, Olathe refocuses its efforts

info2019-01-25T06:45:07-06:00January 25th, 2019|

The city of Olathe says its residents diverted 40.03 percent of waste from landfills in 2018, well above the national average of 34 percent and the Kansas City area average of 36 percent. It’s slightly above the Johnson County average of 39 percent. “Our residents continue to make a positive impact on the environment by participating in the Olathe recycling program,” Public Works Director Mary Jaeger said in a news release.. “This year, more than ever, we focused on educating residents to not just recycle, but to recycle clean.” Olathe said it shifted its education focus last year in response to [...]

Groups ask Westar, KCP&L to lower rates, implore Legislature to order new study

info2019-01-25T06:42:11-06:00January 25th, 2019|

Advocates intent on lowering electric utility rates in Kansas appealed Thursday to state legislators, asking for an independent study that delves into ways to lower rates. Jim Zakoura, spokesman for the Kansas Industrial Consumers Group, which has been a leading voice in criticizing Kansas City Power & Light and Westar Energy for high rates, also challenged those two companies to show a good faith effort by immediately lowering rates by 10 percent. Zakoura’s request for a rate study that shows options the state can take to reduce electric rates was echoed by David Nickel, consumer counsel for CURB, or the Citizens’ [...]

City back on the hook for IRB payments on airport building

info2019-01-25T06:40:05-06:00January 25th, 2019|

On Tuesday, city manager Bob Myers had some bad news for the city commission — a new company at the City/County Airport is struggling, and the city is back to paying bond payments on a building. “Kansas Chemical Coatings is not currently able to meet its rental payment obligations under the lease, and the city is providing the funds necessary to ensure that the bond payment obligations on the building continue to be met,” Myers said. KCC is the second company in the building that has struggled to make the rental payment. The building, constructed for ABI Chemicals in 2014, cost [...]

Cargo container use debate continues in Miami county

info2019-01-24T08:24:45-06:00January 24th, 2019|

Miami County officials are debating whether or not cargo containers should be allowed to be used as residential building material. The topic was discussed by Miami County planning commissioners during their Jan. 8 meeting, and Planning Director Teresa Reeves gave a report on the meeting to Miami County commissioners Jan. 9. The discussion was initially brought up by an individual who was interested in the possibility of using cargo containers as building components for the construction of a dwelling. Reeves said the planning commissioners are split on the topic, with the main opposition being the issue of aesthetics. Cargo containers currently [...]

Louisburg offering grant money to residents to improve homes, businesses through FLIP (Facades of Louisburg Improvement Program)

info2019-01-24T08:23:49-06:00January 24th, 2019|

Elisha and Jess Reed spent a few weekends last year sprucing up the front of their home on Third Street, behind City Hall in the downtown district. The upgrades cost about $2,500, Elisha Reed said. The couple received $250 from the city of Louisburg that offset a portion of those renovation costs, according to city records. The Reeds obtained the funds by participating in the city’s Facades of Louisburg Improvement Program . The program provides money to homeowners, renters or businesses that make improvements to the fronts of their homes or businesses, according to a city of Louisburg news release. FLIP [...]

Crawford County hotels fill 100,000 rooms 

info2019-01-24T08:20:52-06:00January 24th, 2019|

History has been made for Crawford County in 2018, surpassing 100,000 rooms in local hotels in the course of one year. According to the Crawford County Convention & Visitors Bureau this is  the first time to ever reach that mark. The total demand for the year was 106,079 room nights. Several factors over the years have led to the growth needed to surpass the milestone, Crawford County CVB Executive Director Devin Gorman  said. “Ten years ago, the county hadn’t even hit the 60,000 mark,” he said. “Since then, everyone has played a part. New hotels and new event centers have opened.“ Older hotels [...]

After protest, Newton passes resolution of support for housing project

info2019-01-24T08:19:47-06:00January 24th, 2019|

The Newton City Commission was asked to consider a resolution of support for a senior housing project — a project that the commission sent back to the planning and zoning group for further consideration when asked to rezone the property from single-family residential to multi-family residential earlier this month. “Providing the resolution of support does not preclude the city commission from denying (that) rezoning application if they determine based upon the evidence and the recommendation of the planning commission that such a rezoning does not, in fact, sufficiently satisfy the criteria in which a determination can be made,” said Kelly McElroy, [...]