Municipal News & Jobs

Wichita economist Bekah Selby-Leach discusses how AI, population shifts and aerospace growth will shape the region’s 2027 economy.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

The most-used incentive program for commercial development in the Wichita region is industrial revenue bonds, which are meant to encourage business expansion, retention and job creation. The Wichita area is one of the top regions in Kansas for approved property tax breaks through revenue bonds — a statewide program that has resulted in a significant increase in forgone tax revenue in the past decade as property valuations rise and higher-priced projects seek incentives, a state audit reported in July. Sedgwick County has foregone $209 million in property taxes through industrial revenue bonds since 2010, with the city of Wichita giving up $52 million.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Wichita is preparing to rethink its incentive strategies as a new city manager takes the helm and past missteps has led to frustration.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Wichita is reviewing its economic development incentives programs. This is an explainer of the current policies, including industrial revenue bonds and tax increment financing.
Read more: Wichita Business Journal

Treasury yields fell on Thursday, giving back some of the recent gains that propelled longer-dated rates to levels not seen in decades. The 10-year Treasury yield breached a level last seen in April 2002, before easing 5 basis points to 5.243%. The 10-year influences rates on mortgage and auto loans and credit card debt. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also hit its highest in 24 years before dropping more than 2 basis points to 5.613%.
Read more: CNBC Bonds

As demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cloud computing drives rapid data center development across the country, local governments are confronting complex decisions about water and energy use, infrastructure, economic development and community impact.
Read more: National League of Cities

Cowley County commissioners — to the applause of property owners — on Tuesday approved the hiring of a law firm to represent the county in the ongoing fight over the Buffalo Flats transmission line project in south-central Kansas. The contract authorizes the county administrator and county counselor to seek legal representation from Foulston Law Office of Wichita regarding the Buffalo Flats project, at a cost not to exceed $15,000.
Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com

Sedgwick County has continued to put data center development on hold through the year, enacting an interim control period on data center applications back in January. On Sept. 2, the Sedgwick County Commission extended that control period once again, now in effect through Dec. 24. As the development of data centers has become a national talking point over the past year, the lack of regulations for such development was identified as something to address in Sedgwick County – hence the control period. While the control period is in place, county staff is working on a set of regulations to help define how such developments could be handled locally.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The Rose Hill City Council is currently considering a petition to ban data centers in the community, which was addressed at a council meeting on Sept. 21.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com

A crash involving young Emporia riders — one of whom suffered a broken leg while another was flown to a hospital for medical evaluation — is intensifying concerns about the growing use of electric bicycles, scooters and motorized minibikes by children. During a recent Emporia City Commission study session, city and police officials discussed potential age limits, helmet requirements and sidewalk restrictions. No ordinance has been drafted or approved, but commissioners directed staff and police to research options and seek public input.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com

Garden City Community College is giving students and community members a new opportunity to develop practical drone technology skills through two eight-week courses offered in evening and weekend formats this fall. The courses, Introduction to UAS (UAST-100) and UAS Applications (UAST-103), will run from Oct. 12 through Dec. 10. Both will be taught by Adam Oyler in the GCCC STEM Success Center, located in the Warren Fouse Science/Math Building.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

Soon, the Harvey County Register of Deeds (ROD) will digitize historical records, including the ones in those large, bulky books. It’s something that Register of Deeds Raquel Langley says will eventually pay for itself. Langley told county commissioners Tuesday morning that the current recording system, CIC, couldn’t backload (historical) documents, so the ROD only has records digitized from 2017 onward.
Read more: Harvey County Now

A rear yard or side yard; what’s the difference? 18 feet when it comes to setbacks. The Newton Planning and Zoning Commission plunged into the semantic question of yard definitions Monday in order to settle a request by Newton Bible Church, 900 Old Main Street. The church hoped to build an eastward expansion that sat within 15 feet of its property line. This would be out of compliance with city setback requirements.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Images of buildings from Walton’s yesteryear will grace the outdoor mural on the Stone Building in town. The building recently was renovated into a community gathering place and fire department training location. An outdoor pavilion, complete with a stage, was added to one side of the building, as well, and the whole location was utilized on Friday night during Walton’s Sunset Festival, where the mural rendering was unveiled.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Stingers, Spikes, Steam engines, Twisters, and Gators: all mascots could soon be on the chopping block. The Newton School District will consider transitioning all schools to a single mascot, The Railer. Board Member Melissa Schreiber requested Monday night that the discussion be added to the district’s Oct. 12 agenda.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Overland Park voters will decide on a new 1/4-cent sales tax in March 2027 to help fund parks and recreation projects. If ultimately passed, that could raise around $176 million over 10 years, which would be used exclusively for parks projects. A 1/4-cent sales tax would apply roughly two cents to a $10 purchase. That money would go toward addressing a nearly $250 million delta identified in Playbook OP, the city’s new parks and recreation master plan, between currently anticipated spending and the full estimated cost of the new parks plan over the next decade.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Overland Park could pull in millions of dollars for projects around its future city hall under the recently approved Black & Veatch redevelopment incentive deal. The entire package — one of the largest in Overland Park’s history — is tied to Black & Veatch’s billion-dollar redevelopment project that will bring housing, commercial space and more to the firm’s headquarters campus at the heart of Overland Park. Nearby, the city has also plotted out its own investments, with a new city hall planned nearby on College Boulevard.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Leawood Police are crediting a dog with alerting an officer to help its owner, who was in need of medical attention at a residential home last month. Leawood PD posted edited clips of the officer’s body cam footage to social media this week, where it quickly picked up likes, shares and reactions. “Sometimes, our four-legged friends know exactly what to do,” the post began.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Ten new squirrels will be joining Marysville’s Black Squirrels on Parade this October 24 at 3:00 p.m. in the 700/800 blocks of Broadway. Wayne Kruse, OneMarysville Executive Director, said adding new squirrels isn’t an extremely common occurrence.
Read more: KCLY Radio

Yes. Kansas legalized self-driving vehicles for commercial and personal use in 2022. Autonomous vehicles are permitted if they comply with state and federal regulations and traffic laws and can reach a minimal safety condition, such as stopping on a road shoulder if the automated system fails. Operators must meet state licensing, registration and insurance requirements. They must also provide the Kansas Highway Patrol with safety information, including contact information for a fleet support specialist and plans for first responders in the event of a crash or fire.
Read more: KLC Journal

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 leaves Glendenning struggling to pay for roads and scores of other things to fend off rural decay. Now come plans to build a mid-sized data center flush with cash that would make the long-ago railroad boom look puny. “I mean it’s huge,” Glendening said. “It’s massive.” Yet data centers are wildly unpopular right now for straining electrical grids, drinking oceans of water, generating noise and powering artificial intelligence that’s increasingly seen as a threat to your job — or even your species.
Read more: The Lawrence Times

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

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

Deriva is proposing that the Tecumseh Energy Storage project would be 270 megawatt project and occupy between 17 and 18 fenced acres. The company deems it will have enough storage to support “tens of thousands of homes during peak demand.”
Read more: CJonline

Antora Energy, a leading U.S. energy storage company, on Oct. 1 announced 5.8-gigawatt-hour, multiday thermal energy storage project in Pratt. Upon completion, it will be one of the largest battery storage systems in the world.
Read more: CJonline

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of AA rated bond trades reported to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA® system. Every issuer’s credit is different, and other financing sources may be available. To obtain comprehensive Financial Advisory services for your local government, contact your Ranson Financial Municipal Advisor, Larry Kleeman, or Henry Schmidt.

The HEAL grant helps communities restore downtown buildings as spaces for new or expanding businesses, housing, arts and culture, civic engagement, childcare or entrepreneurial activities. For this round of HEAL funding, urban distressed downtown communities are encouraged to take advantage of the grant opportunity. Up to $750,000 will be made available for communities with 50,000 population or more. Downtown communities must be in a distressed census tract as identified by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Read more: Kansas Department of Commerce

Last week, the Pittsburg Police Department’s officer self-initiated activities nearly doubled while calls for service decreased. The self-initiated activities include follow-up visits with community members and periodic check-ins.
Read more: Morning Sun