Kansas Municipal News
Municipal Bond Trends for November 29, 2024
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.
Municipal Bond Trends for November 27, 2024
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.
Wichita City Council to vote on stricter illegal camping enforcement
The Wichita City Council is scheduled to vote Dec. 17 on whether to change a city ordinance to allow for stricter illegal camping enforcement. The move comes months after a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside and encampments, even if no shelter space is available…. If the Council approves a draft ordinance, police will be able to immediately remove the encampment.
Source: KLC Journal
Kansas Attorney General Opinion 2024-7: Annexation of Ag Land
Synopsis: Absent the consent of the land owner, a city may not annex any un-platted tract of agricultural land that is part of a larger tract of land of at least 21 acres.
Source: Kansas Attorney General Opinions
Little Sweden (Lindsborg) celebrates
Jul is the word typically associated with Christmas in Sweden and for Lindsborg, Jul is a time full of traditions all throughout the month of December in Little Sweden. The city, which was founded by Swedish Lutherans in the 1800s, will have sacred and secular Christmas celebrations including with Bethany College, churches, the Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum and more.
Source: Salina Journal
Kansas has the oldest fire code in country. An update was ‘derailed’ by new law
Fire marshal Mark Engholm shared the news during a presentation to the Legislative Budget Committee on Monday … “Kansas has a 2006 version of the fire code,” Engholm said. “We are the oldest fire code in the United States of any state in existence. We were fairly close to getting to a more updated code but were derailed, unfortunately. “We were derailed by some of the the actions in the last session as far as rules and regulations and dealing with the economic impact studies. It’s very difficult for us to say how would a fire code economic impact across the state. So we’re having to back that off and revisit it.”
Source: CJonline
Municipal Bond Trends for November 26, 2024
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.
Governor Kelly Announces More than $320,000 for Seven Kansas Water Plan Partnership Initiative Projects
Governor Laura Kelly announced on Friday that more than $320,000 will go toward seven new partnership initiatives for the second year of funding through the Kansas Water Office’s Kansas Water Plan Partnership Initiative (KWPPI). KWPPI invests State Water Plan Fund resources into projects centered around conserving and protecting the High Plains Aquifer, improving state water quality, reducing vulnerability to extreme events, and increasing awareness of Kansas water resources. “These projects continue the work we are doing to secure our state’s water future,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “The investments we make today will affect generations to come. The Kansas Water Plan Partnership Initiative ensures progress on meeting the water needs of communities in our state.”
Source: Governor of the State of Kansas
Governor Kelly Announces Nearly $6M in KDOT Cost Share Program Projects
Governor Laura Kelly announced Thursday that $5.9 million will be awarded to seven transportation construction projects through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Cost Share Program for fall 2024. This cost-share investment will leverage $9.8 million in community matching dollars for a total investment of more than $15 million. “Infrastructure projects funded through the Cost Share Program aren’t just about roads and bridges; they are about increasing job growth and retention and strengthening the economic climate across Kansas,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “By leveraging this partnership with KDOT, communities are able to address necessary, long-term solutions to their local transportation issues.”
Source: Governor of the State of Kansas
City to consider funding park upgrades with naming sponsorships
Manhattan city commissioners on Tuesday will consider funding part of the CiCo Park improvement project with a proposed resolution allowing parks and recreation staff to authorize naming rights for new and existing facilities and their amenities. The goal is to reduce the overall tax subsidy of the park upgrades by increasing private funding through donations and sponsorships. If passed, the resolution would allow for sponsorship opportunities ranging from $3,000 to $100,000. Commissioners only will discuss the proposed resolution on Tuesday. The resolution will come to a vote at the commission’s Dec. 17 legislative meeting.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Suit filed against commissioners, solar panel companies
The Board of Bourbon County Commissioners and companies with agreements for solar developments in the county are the defendants in a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in Bourbon County District Court.
Source: Fort Scott Tribune
Amtrak moving forward on Newton improvements
Amtrak is moving forward on upgrading the train loading and drop-off deck at the Newton depot. As for other projects, such as the Heartland Flyer Extension and the state of the Depot itself, more information should be available in December. Zach McHatton, Blank, said he recently met with Amtrak officials and primarily spoke to them about the project to update the deck at the Depot. The project would add lighting, make the deck ADA-compliant, and generally upgrade the area.
Source: Harvey County Now
Municipal Bond Trends for November 25, 2024
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.
Hillsboro plans for the future
The Hillsboro City Council, along with several other city leaders, spent close to three hours in a strategic planning meeting on Tuesday, Nov 12. The meeting began with City Administrator Matt Stiles explaining that the strategic plan started in January 2020 and has been updated quarterly. Stiles led the group through a review of the vision, values, goals and status of the past five years of the current strategic plan with a promise to work on a three-year plan in the rest of the meeting and another two or three meetings. He said the hope is to have marching orders to work on by the end of the meeting process.
Source: Hillsboro Free Press
Overland Park’s property tax rebate pilot takes shape — Who will qualify?
The details for Overland Park’s new city property tax rebate pilot program are starting to firm up. On Wednesday, the Overland City Council Park Finance, Administration, and Economic Development Committee voted unanimously to recommend an agreement with the Community Capital Fund to administer the pilot. The action also effectively endorsed the pilot program’s eligibility rules and extra priority criteria. Previously, the city set aside $200,000 for the rebate pilot program as part of its 2025 budget, but at the time, the parameters for it were unclear. The decision to start a pilot of this sort followed several months of sometimes heated discussion — some dating back to 2023. Multiple other Johnson County taxing jurisdictions, including neighboring cities and the Johnson County government, have also started property tax rebate programs of their own in the last few years.
Source: Johnson County Post
JoCo OKs $6M for 5 projects addressing housing and homelessness
After months of talking about how best to tackle homelessness in Kansas’ most affluent county, the Johnson County commission on Thursday allocated $6.35 million in federal funds for various proposals intended to increase affordable housing and support services for individuals experiencing homelessness. Commissioners took separate votes on five items that ranged from building new houses and apartments to expanding space and providing supplies for county homeless shelters. The vote secured the final destination for federal coronavirus relief funds that earlier this year had been pegged to be spent on a homeless shelter and services center at the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Lenexa.
Source: Johnson County Post
Panasonic aims to hire 200 more workers ahead of March production start
Panasonic is ramping up hiring efforts as it prepares to begin electric-vehicle battery production in De Soto this spring. Workers will begin producing lithium ion batteries at Panasonic’s 4.7 million-square-foot plant in March, though an official opening date has not been announced. The Japanese manufacturer announced its executive leadership team for the De Soto facility in September 2023 and began hiring for plant jobs last fall.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Olathe approves STAR bond plan for $320M entertainment hub
With public financing secured, developers are set to break ground this summer on an all-abilities theme park in Olathe. On Tuesday, the Olathe City Council unanimously voted to approve a series of tax incentives to support the development of a $320 million entertainment district called Olathe Gateway. The project will get about $104 million in state and local tax incentives. Developers plan to begin construction by July 15. On Sept. 17, the City Council approved creating a sales tax revenue (STAR) bond district on roughly 130 noncontiguous acres at the southwest and northeast corners of 119th Street and Renner Boulevard for the mixed-use project. STAR bonds provide upfront cash for a project and then are paid off using sales tax revenue from the development once it’s finished.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal
Economic push in Reno County brings funding, new ideas
A process that brought together local stakeholders to try new methods for growing the Reno County entrepreneurial ecosystem is considered a success. According to StartUp Hutch Director Jackson Swearer, one of the Reno County Heartland Together program’s original advocates, the energy provided by the program led to the acquisition of $120,000 in funding over two years from the K-State 105 initiative. Founded last year, the university program aims to reach residents in all 105 Kansas counties through various extension programs, including entrepreneurial ecosystem support.
Source: KLC Journal
Efforts in Liberal solidify link between leadership and growth
If the southwest Kansas community of Liberal has learned anything over the past few years, it’s to not settle. The city of just over 19,000 people has a dynamic economic development office that has spent the past year rolling out small-business loans, announcing major industrial growth and helping small businesses. In 2023, business leaders and community members in Liberal gathered for a program called Heartland Together, funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and designed by the Kansas Leadership Center, which publishes The Journal. Liberal residents discussed how to stay engaged in the community and how to make the city’s entrepreneurship ecosystem better.
Source: KLC Journal