Municipal News & Jobs

Frank Meade originally lost his driver’s license nearly 40 years ago. When he was young, Meade was fined for driving drunk. But he couldn’t afford the cost and the state suspended his license. That didn’t stop him from using his vehicle for the many years following, and he wound up racking up a load of debt from traffic violation fines and court fees. He would need to pay those if he ever hoped to have a legal driver’s license again. “I just continued driving and continued driving and they just stacked up,” Meade told the Kansas News Service. “I had more fines and fees than I could even begin to deal with.” It’s a cycle many people get stuck in. They lose their license and can’t afford to pay the fines to get it reinstated. That means they drive illegally to places like work or risk losing their jobs and livelihoods. But that might become less common under a new law. Meade, a 62-year-old Topeka resident, is now retired and lives on a fixed income. He said at one point his debt was up to $3,000 — an amount he would never be able to cover. Kansas Legal Services, a nonprofit law group serving low-income clients, helped Meade resolve his remaining traffic violations and the state fees required to reinstate a driver’s license. Finally, for the first time in decades, Meade is driving with a legal license. He can now easily travel to important meetings with his probation officer and to Alcoholics Anonymous to help him remain sober. Otherwise, he would have had to spend hours using public transportation each day. “It’s already made my life so much simpler,” Meade said. Kansas Legal Services plans to help more low-income Kansans get similar help reducing fines, resolving court cases and getting their driver’s licenses back in good standing.
Source: The Lawrence Times

A Douglas County judge has ruled against a group of landlords who sued the City of Lawrence over an ordinance that bans discrimination against some prospective tenants. The Lawrence City Commission in February 2023 approved an ordinance change that creates a protected class based on renters’ source of income… Local housing advocates have said that the protections could significantly help lessen Lawrence’s housing and homelessness crises, because many families who qualify for housing vouchers are unable to find landlords who will accept them. The full memorandum decision is here.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday voted to approve the joint city-county strategic plan to end homelessness and heard an update on supportive housing plans and projects. The strategic plan, “A Place for Everyone,” breaks the issues into five focus areas: Equity and Inclusion; Affordable Housing; Supportive Housing; Systems; and Emergency Shelter. Staff members first presented the draft plan to the county commission in March 2023. The commissions had a joint meeting in January to hear updates on the plan’s progress. The plan includes an estimate of about $267.77 million for the five-year plan — that breaks down into about $218.3 million for affordable housing; $28.4 million for supportive housing; $21 million for emergency shelter; $45,000 for equity and inclusion and $25,000 for systems. The county’s entire approved 2024 operating budget is $194.74 million, and the city’s total expenditures for 2024 are $472.33 million. Lawrence city commissioners approved the plan during their meeting Tuesday. Both commissions — and the city manager and county administrator — made clear that the approval does not obligate either government to spend the estimated cost to fully fund the plan. Both commissions will consider specific expenses as part of their annual budgeting processes. In a work session ahead of the commission’s regular meeting, Assistant County Administrator Jill Jolicoeur and others gave an update on supportive housing, which has been the county’s primary focus in the plan.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Lawrence city commissioners approved most proposed changes to public comment procedures, including no longer broadcasting general public comment live. Commissioners hear public comment on specific agenda items they’re considering, but people may also address the commission about any topics “germane” to city business that aren’t on the agenda during the general public comment period — which has been near the beginning of meetings for years. Commissioners voted to: (1) Move general public comment almost to the end of the meetings, but not the very end. Frequent commenter Chris Flowers told the commission that people often make points in general public comment that commissioners at the end of the meeting ask city staff to address. Some commissioners said they thought that was a good point. The general public comment period will be after all the regular agenda items and work sessions, but before commission items. (2) No longer broadcast public comment on the meeting livestreams, but still include public comment in recordings of meetings. It was not clear whether the broadcast of meetings will be turned back on at the end of public comment to publicly share commission items. (3) Strongly encourage public commenters to give their names and zip codes, but not require signing up in advance or requiring speakers to share their full addresses.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Proposed changes to Lawrence City Commission procedures would move the general public comment period to the end of meetings, make it untelevised, and require signup in advance. Commissioners hear public comment on specific agenda items they’re considering, but people may also address the commission about any topics “germane” to city business that aren’t on the agenda during the general public comment period — which is currently near the beginning of meetings.
Source: The Lawrence Times