Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

JoCo government questions sheriffs power to bring civil lawsuit

Johnson County government is locked in a dispute over whether Sheriff Cal Hayden can independently bring litigation against an Overland Park man accused of making hundreds of harassing phone calls to sheriff’s office deputies and employees. The county this week asked a Johnson County judge for permission to intervene in the lawsuit brought by the sheriff against Leonid Khayet, who according to the court records called the sheriff’s office 503 times during the last four months of 2022. During that same time frame, the sheriff’s office said that Khayet sent 381 emails to 21 deputies.
Source: Sunflower State Journal

Hutchinson raises chicken count

Hutchinson residents can bring more chickens home to roost. The Hutchinson City Council voted Tuesday to increase the number of chickens a resident can own, changing it from three to eight chickens on most city properties, the Hutchinson News reported. Jim Sietnater, interim planning director, told the newspaper that keeping chickens is a growing trend. If someone wants a larger flock of chickens and has the area to do that, they can add an additional chicken for every 250 square feet. That maxes out at 20 chickens. All chickens must be fenced in, with coops being kept neat in appearance. However, roosters are still not allowed in Hutchinson, and the public slaughtering or processing of chickens remains off limits. Mayor John Richardson saw a discrepancy with the ordinance with regard to rural lands in the city, the newspaper reported. In the rural areas, there remain allowances for cattle, horses, sheep, deer, goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks, gamebirds, geese and other poultry. However, pigs are no longer allowed.
Source: The Iola Register

Municipal Bond Trends for June 23, 2023

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. 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.

Shawnee deputy city manager up for job in nearby Merriam

Shawnee’s Deputy City Manager and long-time city employee Caitlin Gard is the final candidate for one of the top jobs in Merriam city government. During its upcoming meeting on Monday, the Merriam City Council will vote on Gard’s appointment to serve as the assistant city administrator.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Man shot with live rounds during Cowtown gunfight slated to get $500,000 from Wichita

A man who was shot with live rounds by a fellow performer during a staged gunfight at the Old Cowtown Museum in September 2020 is expected to get $500,000 from the city. The Wichita City Council will vote on the settlement Tuesday. The victim, who was 24 at the time of the incident, was struck in the head, face and upper body with the live shotgun rounds. His injuries included a punctured aorta and pellets lodged in his skull and left eye socket, and required surgery. “The claimant has offered to accept a lump sum payment of $500,000 as full settlement of all of the claimant’s claims against the City of Wichita,” a city staff report reads…. The agenda report notes that paying the victim, whose name has not been made public, does not constitute an admission of liability from the city.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle

By a narrow margin Overland Park voters OK raising sales tax for road construction

By a relatively slim margin, Overland Park voters agreed to raise the city’s sales tax to fund road construction and repair work, extra money that officials say will help slow the use of the controversial chip seal method to resurface streets. In a mail-in election that concluded Thursday, 53.4%, or 19,157 voters, agreed to raise the tax, while 46.6%, or 16,703, voted no. The city saw nearly 25% voter turnout, with 35,897 people casting ballots. The infrastructure sales tax will jump from one-eighth of a cent to three-eighths. The tax will last for 10 years, starting next April. The lower tax had been in place for 25 years and has since been approved three more times by much wider margins than this month’s vote. In 2013, 72% of voters renewed it, and 75% did so in 2008.
Source: Joco 913 News

Hutchinson residents can now keep 8 chickens, but still no roosters

The Hutchinson City Council also decided to increase the number of chickens a resident can own, changing it from three to eight chickens on most city properties. However, roosters are still not allowed in Hutchinson. Jim Sietnater, interim planning director, said keeping chickens is a growing trend. If someone wants a larger flock of chickens and has the area to do that, they can add an additional chicken for every 250 square feet. That maxes out at 20 chickens. All chickens must be fenced in, with coops being kept ‘neat’ in appearance.
Source: Hutch News

Powell Says Interest Rates Likely to Rise Further

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank didn’t raise interest rates last week as it wanted to slow down its historically rapid pace of increases, but stressed it would likely lift rates again in coming months. “We moved very quickly at the beginning, and we’ve gradually slowed down. This is just a continuation of that,” Powell said Thursday at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. The decision to hold rates steady, after 10 consecutive increases, was designed “to give ourselves more time—to stretch out the time for making these decisions.” Inflation and economic activity haven’t slowed as much as many officials anticipated this year, casting more uncertainty about how high they might lift rates. “We’re close but there’s a little further to go with rate hikes,” Powell said. At their policy meeting last week, officials left the benchmark federal-funds rate in a range between 5% and 5.25%. Most of them projected two more increases this year, which would take it to a 22-year high.
Source: WSJ.com: US Business

Officials work to deliver weather warnings to Spanish-speaking population in southwest Kansas

National Weather Service meteorologists and media professionals in southwest Kansas are working to reach more underserved populations by offering bilingual weather information. NWS-Dodge City meteorologist-in-charge Lindon Steadman said his office is creating and distributing materials, such as safety posters, that are printed in both Spanish and English. He said he is currently the only Spanish speaker working in the western Kansas weather office, in a region of the state where the population of native Spanish speakers has grown in the past decade.
Source: Kansas Reflector

Labette County obtains funding for firefighters from state insurance department

Labette County has received $91,253.76 from the Kansas Insurance Department to benefit firefighters. The department made its annual distribution to local Firefighter Relief Associations (FRAs), according to Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt. Pursuant to the Kansas Firefighters Relief Act, $16,863,037.79 was distributed among 554 local FRAs throughout Kansas. “Firefighters put their lives on the line to keep us safe, and the Kansas Firefighters Relief Act acknowledges that by providing additional protections for firefighters and their loved ones,” Schmidt said. “The act not only gives first responders needed safety nets, but it also allows local communities to provide their citizens with improved firefighting equipment and resources.”
Source: Parsons Sun

Municipal Bond Trends for June 22, 2023

Overland Park voters OK increased sales tax for street maintenance

A three-eighths cent special sales tax dedicated to street and infrastructure maintenance has won approval by Overland Park voters with just over 53% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Johnson County Election Office. The results from by-mail and dropbox voting showed the measure passed with a total of 19,157 votes in favor, to 16,073 against. Turnout was 24.6%. Voting closed at noon Thursday. Results will be canvassed and official totals finalized on Wednesday, June 28.
Source: Prairie Village Post

County poised to liberalize dress code

Bare midriffs, form-fitting pants, and short shorts were among items discussed by county commissioners in a 1¼-hour discussion Tuesday of county personnel policies. County clerk Tina Spencer suggested that the county’s rarely enforced dress and appearance code might need to be updated and possibly liberalized. Commissioners suggested changes that would allow employees to wear overalls, painter pants, and military-type pants.
Source: PEABODY Gazette-Bulletin

Re-ride late but mail was delivered

Marysville’s Pony Express Barn and Museum was humming at dawn Saturday. Expectant riders, with families along to watch, prepared to drive horse trailers out on the National Pony Express Trail and wait their turn to relay the mail to St. Joseph, Mo., on horseback. Dressed in the bright red shirts and buckskin vests of the National Pony Express Association, Marysville brothers Mike and Rich Pacha were ready for their turn on the trail. Mike Pacha held the Bible and read the association’s oath to the group of riders before they dispersed.
Source: The Marysville Advocate

USPS changes slow water sample deliveries to KDHE

For Jackson County water customers, whether they get their water through a rural water district or a city water supplier, knowing that the water they get from their kitchen faucets is safe to drink is of high importance – and the people who provide that water to them feel the same way. Just ask Dennis Ashcraft, who oversees water treatment and distribution for Public Wholesale Water Supply District 18 and the city of Holton, who collects several water samples every month and sends them to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment lab in Topeka.
Source: Holton Recorder

‘Dollar Store onslaught’: Topeka group fighting against new Dollar Store city responds

A community group is taking a stand against dollar stores by bringing a petition to Topeka city leaders. Fighting the Onslaught of Dollar Stores (FOODS) is a local group that seeks to bring awareness to Topekans regarding the number of dollar stores, such as Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, in the city. Specifically, the group has its sights set on the planned installment of a new Dollar Tree in the 1400 block of SW 17th St., which FOODS claims the city approved without proper notification to local neighborhoods.
Source: KSNT 27 News

Topeka’s new ordinance could hold landlords accountable

Local leaders are taking action to hold corporate and individual landlords across the city accountable. On Wednesday, members of Topeka’s Public Safety and Health Committee voted to move forward on action they hope will better protect Topeka tenants. The proposed ordinance would prevent a tenant, in good standing, from being evicted for alerting a landlord or government agency about health and safety complaints. It would give tenants the option to fight their landlords without fear of eviction. Topeka has roughly 560,000 housing units, and 40% of those units are rentals.
Source: KSNT 27 News

Prairie Village hosts first housing forum

Prairie Village residents will get a chance to weigh in this evening on the city’s much-discussed housing recommendations. The city, along with design firm MultiStudio, is hosting the first of two forums today from 4-7 p.m. at the Meadowbrook Park Clubhouse. It’s billed as an “open house-style event” where residents can visit different stations to learn about the current recommendations. According to the city, the topics to be covered include “the current state of zoning districts, what could change, and what people want.” The recommendations, which were first released last summer by a specially appointed committee, are aimed at addressing housing affordability in the increasingly expensive suburb.
Source: Prairie Village Post