Lawrence City Commission to review policy for public police cameras

2018-11-13T06:35:07-06:00November 13th, 2018|

City leaders will soon provide input on the Lawrence Police Department’s policy for public cameras. As part of its work session Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will review the policy, which details how public cameras and camera footage will be monitored, stored and potentially released. It’s estimated that it will cost the city $108,000 for the cameras and the computer server expenses related to video storage. Read more: LJWorld.com

Lawrence hires Jeremy Willmoth as the city’s finance director

2018-11-13T06:36:43-06:00November 13th, 2018|

City Manager Tom Markus announced in a news release Friday the hiring of Jeremy Willmoth as the city’s finance director. Willmoth received his bachelor’s degree in public administration and his master’s degree in public affairs from Park University in Parkville, Mo., according to the release. He has served in finance and management positions in multiple municipalities throughout his 18-year career and most recently served as city manager in Winfield. Read more: LJWorld.com

Greenwood County Hospital To Receive Half-Cent Sales Tax For Three Years

2018-11-13T06:39:48-06:00November 13th, 2018|

Nearly 70 percent of the Greenwood County voters who took to the polls for the 2018 November General election voted in favor of a half-cent sales tax that would benefit the Greenwood County Hospital (GWCH). Earlier this year, Greenwood County Commissioners proposed adding the question, in lieu of 3 mills. The half-cent sales tax should generate a little more than $300,000 annually, which is more than GWCH has been receiving from the mill funding. Source: Eureka Herald.

Greenwood County Voters Approved To Add Commissioners And Redistrict

2018-11-13T06:42:40-06:00November 13th, 2018|

With a seven-percent margin, Greenwood County voters approved an increase in county commissioners at the polls last Tuesday, November 6. In order to increase from three commissioners to five, Greenwood County will also need to redistrict to accommodate five districts. District one commissioner Chuck Spradlin first proposed this notion at a commission meeting in May. In his proposal, he explained, “The way KOMA (Kansas Open Meetings Act) is set up right now, I can’t pick up the phone and ask one of these guys, ‘What do you think about this?’ It doesn’t work that way. If you have five, yes you [...]

Continuing Bond Disclosure: Are you up-to-date?

2018-11-09T11:24:17-06:00November 9th, 2018|

We have recently noticed several Kansas municipalities are NOT up-to-date on their "continuing disclosure" obligations for their outstanding bond issues. If your local government is not making timely filings (or if you don't know!), you can contact Beth Warren or Larry Kleeman for a quick checkup. If needed, we can assist with making the annual disclosures that may be required by entity's bond documents. More information can be found here.

Wichita prepares for rain and snow, salts 1,500 miles of city streets ahead of freeze

2018-11-09T10:53:12-06:00November 9th, 2018|

Salt trucks hit the roads Thursday morning ahead of “uncertain weather conditions,” said Alan King, Wichita’s public works director. Thursday morning, rain coated Wichita streets with water. Freezing temperatures are expected to hit overnight on Thursday, which could make the roads “very slick,” King said. King said one of the three different weather models the city uses to predict precipitation shows the Wichita area could get 1 to 3 inches of snow. To prepare, the city has deployed 60 trucks to dust 1,500 miles of city streets with a light mixture of sand and salt, King said. If conditions worsen, the [...]

Augusta tackles trail projects

2018-11-09T10:49:42-06:00November 9th, 2018|

Augusta City Council members spend a lot of time in planning sessions where they consider a number of quality of life projects. During a recent Pride & Progress planning session, council members identified two trail projects and set a goal for construction in 2019. “This is a 2019 project, but in order to get a jump start on the construction season, staff recommends that the council engage the city engineer now to complete the design process,” City Manager Josh Shaw advised. City Engineer Mike Stumpe explained the trail projects identified for funding by the City. (Read more: Augusta Gazette)

Shawnee Fire Department to launch online dashboard in push for transparency

2018-11-09T10:47:03-06:00November 9th, 2018|

In the name of transparency, the Shawnee Fire Department is launching an online platform for residents to see exactly what local firefighters are up to. Now that the Shawnee Fire Department is halfway through its 2016-2021 strategic plan, feedback from the public has been abundantly clear: Residents want more transparency. Sal Scarpa, deputy fire chief, said the push for transparency is a direct response to the department’s last collection of public input in 2015, which led to development of the online dashboard. “We’re not very good at telling our story,” he said. “They wanted to know more. And so this next [...]

Gardner City Council repeals resolution allowing their oversight of personnel issues

2018-11-09T10:46:21-06:00November 9th, 2018|

The Gardner City Council adopted changes to the city’s personnel policies and procedures, 2018 edition. The city amended section 4-108 of the manual by removing subsection 108.4 in its entirety. The subsection deals with the process through which an employee can appeal a negative performance review. The council amended section 7-108 to remove the following language from the manual: “In cases in which the employee directly reports to the city administrator, the employee can request a review of the disciplinary action directly to the governing body. In these cases, the governing body will assume responsibilities of the city administrator outlined in [...]

Johnson County parks department launches Culture Division for more arts, culture, history programming

2018-11-09T10:43:13-06:00November 9th, 2018|

Johnson County Park and Recreation District has created a new division dedicated entirely to culture. JCPRD kicked off the launch of the new division with a celebration Oct. 30. “We don’t launch new divisions; it just doesn’t happen,” said Susan Mong, who oversees the Culture Division. “So it’s a big moment in history for our organization to step into that space and be strategic about doing that well and providing that for the community.” Mong said JCPRD staff believes that arts, culture and history are an important part of a healthy community. “I think it’s a major economic driver and just [...]

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