Kansas Municipal News
City of El Dorado seeking public input for excess sales tax usage
The City of El Dorado is asking for the residents of the city to give their input on what projects to move forward in 2025 through sales tax funds. The Excess Sales Tax Committee is meeting routinely to make their recommendation to the City Commission and will take into account resident preference. On the website the City reports that $700,000 is available to allocate towards projects. Several items are on the list to vote on.
Source: Andover American
Airing concerns on feed yard
A public meeting has been scheduled for March 4 at the Pawnee County Courthouse, to offer information in opposition to the proposed 88,000-head feedlot to be located in Pawnee County by Innovative Livestock Services. The hour-long session, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., is intended to bring to light environmental concerns which, if the feedlot was allowed to be constructed, would exacerbate conditions already being experienced in Pawnee County.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Mayor: Halstead may have a lot to gain from a BESS
A year into the process and the community is just starting to get a picture of the benefits available to Halstead in allowing a battery energy storage system (BESS) to be built in its industrial park. Starting, because Concurrent made its first offer to the city, and Halstead Mayor Dennis Travis said there are ancillary benefits they’re not going public with yet. Concurrent announced on Feb. 13 that they were offering Halstead $500,000 a year in exchange for allowing their BESS to exist in its industrial park. That announcement came days before the Kansas House of Representatives passed House Bill 2083, which will exempt the BESS from property taxes for the first 10 years if it’s passed by the Senate and signed into law.
Source: Harvey County Now
Hillsboro announces new name of bowling alley
The Hillsboro City Council met on Wednesday, Feb. 19 where they voted on the new name of the bowling alley from the submissions of the bowling alley naming contest. The Hillsboro Rec staff narrowed the entries to two choices: The Spare Time Lanes and The Gutter Ball. Those who submitted the names for Spare Time Lanes were Becky Gage, Dominic Cardinell and Jeff Haslett. Those who submitted the names for The Gutter Ball were Kerry Hein and Trent Jones. They will be given bowling memberships for making it through to the finals. The council voted and chose to go with Gutter Ball.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
If mass deportations hit southwest Kansas
Southwest Kansas communities are feeling the effects of intensifying anti-immigrant rhetoric in politics. Promises of mass deportations have caused anxiety to spike throughout the region, where immigrants make up a large part of the population. Widespread misinformation on social media about Immigration Customs Enforcement raids is fueling fear in the region. As Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports, the resulting mental exhaustion has already hindered the daily lives of these Kansans.
Source: KCUR News
Southwest Kansans fear how mass deportations could wreck their communities
The story of southwest Kansas is hard to tell without including immigrants. The towns in the region have almost doubled in size following the establishment of meatpacking plants and the massive western Kansas beef industry. That has brought population, money, infrastructure and sustained communities that otherwise might have shriveled like many rural towns. And that influx of immigrants has also created diverse demographics in a mostly white state.
Source: KCUR News
Wichita school leaders will await final tally on bond issue before deciding next steps
Wichita school leaders said they will wait for final results of Tuesday’s bond issue election before deciding next steps on addressing the district’s facility needs. Unofficial results updated Wednesday by the Sedgwick County Election Office show bond opponents leading by just under 300 votes, with more than 4,000 potential mail and provisional ballots still to be counted. The district is seeking a $450 million bond issue to finance school construction, upgrades and repairs.
Source: KCUR News
Kansas sought homelessness success stories. It stumbled on a cautionary tale, too.
One phrase is increasingly frequenting the lips of Wichita and Kansas officials when talking about ending homelessness: functional zero. “Functional zero” is a milestone achieved when homelessness becomes rare and brief for a certain population, such as when more people are staying housed than falling into homelessness. It’s a term (and measure) coined by Community Solutions, a national nonprofit that helps communities evaluate whether they have “measurably solved” homelessness for a specific population. Bergen County, New Jersey, Wichita’s “community of inspiration” for reducing homelessness, is recognized nationally for being among the first communities in the nation to reach functional zero. Since its initial achievements, Bergen has been lauded nationally, consistently promoted as a success story in the efforts to end homelessness. It took functional zero from jargon to reality. But then came a shock.
Source: KLC Journal
School districts learn lesson from low voter turnout for USD 259 bond issue
There are several school districts with bond votes coming up in the next few months. Many are looking at how they can increase voter participation. Given the low voter turnout in USD 259’s bond election, districts are working to raise awareness for their projects. On April 8, Haysville USD 261 voters will decide on a nearly $80 million bond. KSN spoke with a parent on the Haysville school bond committee about how they’re working to raise awareness about the upcoming vote. He says that between now and election day, they’re stressing that this bond is focused on infrastructure improvements that will ensure that students, teachers, and employees have a clean and healthy environment.
Source: KSN-TV
Trego County hospital celebrates expansion for rural healthcare
Trego County-Lemke Memorial hospital has expanded, and it has taxpayers to thank for helping rural healthcare in their own backyard. “This is a very big deal,” said CEO Jeremy Rabe. “In 2021, the voters of Trego county passed a bond issue to do an expansion and remodel of the hospital. So we added 11 new private rooms. A brand new ER. And a new physical therapy area that includes aqua therapy.” Rabe also talked with Governor Laura Kelly, who was on hand for a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the hospital.
Source: KSN-TV
This Kansas community has the best tasting water in world
Emporia is known for many things. The city of over 24,000, which sits on the eastern edge of the Flint Hills, is the “Gravel Capital of the World,” the “Disc Golf Capital of the World,” and the “Official Founding City of Veterans Day.” What you may not know is that it is also the home of the Best-Tasting Municipal Tap Water, at least according to the Berkeley International Water Tasting. Every year, waters from across the world are brought to the historic spa town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, to compete to determine who has or produces the best-tasting water in the world. There are four competitive categories: Municipal Waters, Purified Drinking Water, Sparkling waters, and Non-Carbonated Bottled Waters.
Source: KSN-TV
Artists enhance drive-thru Route 66 attraction
Artists are adding their magic touch to a new drive-thru attraction on historic Route 66 in Galena. This metal Route 66 shield was just installed last year on old Route 66, between the historic Front Street Bridge and downtown Galena.
Source: KSNF/KODE
State funds to help turn historic Kansas hotel into modern hub
A project in Neodesha gets a boost from the Kansas Department of Commerce. The city is getting a cut of nearly 3.5 million dollars that will be spread out across the state for 12 housing rehabilitation and commercial revitalization projects. The money will help what’s happening at the historic Brown Hotel — which, as we first told you in November — is being transformed into apartments, a restaurant, an entertainment venue, and office spaces.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Topeka leader works to get homeless camps cleaned up
One Topeka leader is making sure some homeless camps in North Topeka will soon be gone. After the homeless camp cleanups in NOTO and other areas last year, people settled near the Sardou Bridge, but camp cleanups in that area will soon take place. District 2 Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala told 27 News her constituents have shared concerns about fires in the area, and even trash and human waste possibly contaminating the nearby Kansas River.
Source: KSNT 27 News
City of Topeka enters year-long hiring freeze
Topeka City Manager Robert Perez said the city has entered a hiring freeze while it looks at ways to balance its budget. Perez said the City of Topeka is effectively in a hiring freeze until the end of the year while city leaders work to address a projected $17 million deficit for 2026 and $21 million deficit for 2027 during a monthly press conference on Feb. 25. He said the city will look at positions as they become vacant to see if their duties can be absorbed by existing staff.
Source: KSNT 27 News
‘Til the last vote has been counted’: Wichita school district isn’t conceding bond election
The Wichita school district would not yet concede Wednesday morning in a close race for the approval of a $450 million school bond issue. “Yesterday didn’t end the way we had hoped, because we hoped we’d have a very clear answer by now, which we don’t,” said USD 259 Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld. “There was a very solid turnout with close results, and we’re going to wait til the last vote has been counted.” Updated results from the election office Wednesday afternoon showed the no vote leading by 295 ballots, or 1 percent of the vote. That is up from a lead of 228 votes at the end of Tuesday night.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Commerce CDBG Program Awards Almost $3.5M for Economic Development Projects
Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced the Kansas Department of Commerce has awarded $3.47 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to support 12 housing rehabilitation and commercial revitalization projects across the state. When matched with more than $4.33 million in local contributions, the rolling round of CDBG funds brings the total investment to approximately $7.8 million.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
House working on new plan to hold down local property taxes
A new plan for encouraging cities and counties to hold down spending is emerging in the House as a potential alternative to plans already on the table for lowering property taxes. Republican state Rep. Adam Smith, chair of the House tax committee, introduced a bill that would essentially recreate a fund that once was intended to help local governments hold down property taxes. The proposal calls for putting $60 million into a new fund called ASTRA, short for Acknowledging Stewardship of Tax Revenue and Appropriations.
Source: Sunflower State Journal
Municipal Bond Trends for February 26, 2025
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.
OCCK’s 81 Connection bus route to be free for three months
OCCK Transportation’s 81 Connection, which runs from Salina to Belleville and back, will become free-fare as part of a pilot program beginning on March 3 until May 30. …. with an aim to increase accessibility to transportation for residents in the region and to improve community health and mobility.
Source: Salina Journal