Municipal News & Jobs

A Senate bill seeks to prohibit conflicts of interests by banning local government officials from voting on major development projects in which they have a “substantial interest.” Senate Bill 66, introduced by Republican Sen. Mike Thompson of Shawnee, attempts to increase local-level transparency. Thompson, and other proponents, argue that local officials often vote on projects that would personally benefit them because they’re not required to recuse themselves. Supporters see the bill as increasing government transparency and constituents’ confidence, while opponents see the bill as overly broad with its definition of “substantial interest” and hypocritical, since the Legislature would not have to follow the same rules.
Source: Butler County Times-Gazette

When former Harvey County Administrator Anthony Swartzendruber announced his resignation in November, he still had an eye for working in government. Swartzendruber accepted the position of Finance Director for the City of Hesston, officially beginning back on Jan. 6. “In the preceding months, I had heard that there may be a future staff transition in the City of Hesston’s Administration department,” he said. “In turn, I started a conversation with City of Hesston and let them know that if a public finance position was available in the future, I would be interested.”
Source: Harvey County Now

Members of a House committee on Monday scrutinized a Senate plan to expand the use of STAR bonds to redevelop struggling malls. The proposal is part of Senate Bill 197, which would extend the state’s STAR bonds program through 2028 with revisions that include the elimination of eminent domain authority and new requirements for recording visitor data. The Senate passed the bill 32-8 on Feb. 19, with eight Republicans opposed. Sen. Jeff Klemp, R-Lansing, testified before members of the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee, where he revealed that he was responsible for adding the mall development provision to the bill. He said he had the dilapidated mall in Leavenworth in mind, and that more than a dozen other malls across the state would meet the criteria for a STAR bond project.
Source: Kansas Reflector

Property tax relief is something people are pushing for across the state. The legislature is considering putting new caps on property tax increases. How much you pay in property taxes depends on how much money your local taxing entities need for their budget. Sedgwick County, the City of Wichita, and Wichita Public Schools are all examples of tax entities. The state is considering reform that would limit how much those property taxes can go up year over year. There are two bills to highlight here. Both roughly cap property tax at the previous year’s levels plus inflation.
Source: KSN-TV

Cowley College and the City of Arkansas City are teaming up for a Community Cleanup Day on April 5 from 8 a.m. to noon. Volunteers from across the community will join forces to beautify Arkansas City by removing debris, bundling branches, and assisting residents in need. Community members, student organizations, and Cowley College employees are encouraged to participate and join us in making a difference. Volunteers will gather at Wilson Park at 7:30 AM for assignments and return at noon to wrap up the event. Participants are asked to bring their own rakes and garden gloves to assist with cleanup efforts.
Source: Local – Cowley Post

A pair of electric-powered school buses, acquired by USD 257 through a $690,000 EPA grant, have been online since January. “Is it running?” USD 257 Transportation Director Aaron Cole says this is a frequent question when people first see the district’s new electric buses in action. “They are very quiet,” he said, compared to the traditional diesel models. Thanks to a $690,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USD 257 has adopted clean energy for its school transportation. The district used the funding to purchase two electric buses, along with a dual charging station. The grant was made possible by the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, which was created through former President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The initiative, designed to modernize the nation’s school bus fleet, prioritizes electric vehicles (EVs) in an effort to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: The Iola Register

The Lawrence school district will make up snow days this year by tacking minutes onto the end of school days and adding a day and a half day to the end of the year. So far during the 2024-25 school year, the district has canceled nine full school days for inclement weather, and an additional day for Deerfield Elementary School last week because of a power outage. The Kansas State Department of Education forgives local districts the same number of inclement weather hours or days they build into their calendars and use.
Source: The Lawrence Times

Lawrence school board members on Monday approved a contract with Jeanice Swift to serve as the permanent superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools. Swift was named the district’s 10th superintendent last month, pending a formal contract. The negotiated contract, which runs from July 1 of this year through June 30, 2028, includes an annual salary of $235,000, with 2% raises each year “unless there are major (exceeding 0.5% projected annual revenue) reductions in local, state or federal revenues or an unforeseen financial crisis which adversely affects the funding of schools.”
Source: The Lawrence Times

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.

Freeman Health System plans to have a new hospital finished in about 24 months as officials break ground Friday morning. Hospital officials had renderings on hand as they put shovels to dirt.
There will be thee phases to the project, starting with utilities and internal roads. Then crews will start construction on an ambulatory surgery center with a medical office building on the second floor. Phase three will be the hospital building itself. The Freeman hospital will be near the intersection of East 600th Avenue and North U.S. 69, north of Frontenac.
Source: www.koamnewsnow.com – RSS Results in news/local-news of type article

The City of Topeka is reviewing how it does homeless camp abatements after a man was injured with machinery during one of the city’s cleanups. City of Topeka staff are reviewing policies and procedures following the incident. Now, the Behavioral Health Unit and the Property Maintenance Unit will mark all cleared tents with an ‘X’ to let machine operators know they have been checked.
Source: KSNT 27 News

The Kansas House on Friday passed with bipartisan support a bill giving taxpayers a new weapon to fight city and county spending while offering local governments a financial incentive not to raise property taxes. The House voted 115-6 to pass a bill that would essentially recreate a fund that once was intended to help local governments hold down property taxes but empowers taxpayers to fight excessive spending. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Source: Sunflower State Journal

Riley County officials unanimously approved a written testimony in support of the Home Rule Amendment to the Kansas Constitution at Thursday’s meeting. Constitutional home rule has been a legislative priority for Riley County, but it has stalled in the past because of a misunderstanding of what home rule is. County home rule is when a county can govern itself without direct oversight from the state. It means more local control over local issues. This letter addresses misconceptions about what county home rule is.
Source: themercury.com – RSS Results in news of type article

Children and teenagers riding e-scooters and e-bikes in Prairie Village could soon need to start wearing helmets. During its council committee meeting last week, the Prairie Village City Council agreed to formally consider an ordinance requiring people aged 17 and younger to wear helmets while riding e-scooters. The city council amended the drafted ordinance to include e-bikes. Police Chief Eric McCullough told the city council that e-scooter safety has become top of mind, with groups of children and adolescents frequently seen riding the devices around busy areas like Corinth Square and The Shops retail complex, oftentimes while not wearing helmets.
Source: Johnson County Post

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.

Inflation could prove sticky while prices might pick up again, Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler warned, signaling that the U.S. central bank should keep interest rates steady for the time. “I’m actually quite concerned about some of the persistence in inflation that we have been seeing,” she told CNBC’s Silvia Amaro during a fireside chat at the Conference on Monetary Policy Transmission and the Labor Market on Friday. She pointed to a recent acceleration of inflation expectations, which she said she watches closely for their effect on how businesses set prices and how workers negotiate wages. This in turn means they could feed back into inflation.
Source: Bonds

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the central bank can wait to see how President Donald Trump’s aggressive policy actions play out before it moves again on interest rates. With markets nervous over Trump’s proposals for tariffs and other issues, Powell reiterated statements he and his colleagues have made recently counseling patience on monetary policy amid the high level of uncertainty. The White House “is in the process of implementing significant policy changes in four distinct areas: trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation,” he said in a speech for the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum. “It is the net effect of these policy changes that will matter for the economy and for the path of monetary policy.”
Source: Finance

A federal judge on Thursday ruled in favor of the Lawrence City Commission in a lawsuit that had alleged commissioners violated a frequent public commenter’s freedom of speech. Justin Spiehs, 43, formerly of Lawrence, has been a familiar sight protesting in public places and regularly speaking during local public meetings since mask mandates were put into place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a case filed in November 2023 in federal court, Stilwell attorney Linus Baker detailed incidents of Spiehs being interrupted and asked to leave city meetings by commissioners. The complaint indicated that Spiehs believed he was being targeted for his views.
Source: The Lawrence Times

This appeal concerns three such petitions which sought voter approval by the residents of Prairie Village. The parties argue both procedural and substantive aspects of the statutes and judicial procedure in this case.
Read the decision here.

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.