Kansas Municipal News
Is panhandling legal in Topeka?
People looking for financial help can be seen dotting roads and intersections in the Capital City, but is this a legal activity? The question of panhandlers in Topeka came up three years ago during a City Council session where members voted on whether or not to pass a new ordinance to ban panhandling. While not a total ban, it prevents panhandlers from congregating at certain places in Topeka. Panhandling is described as “a form of solicitation or begging derived from the impression created by someone holding out his hand to beg or using a container to collect money,” according to Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
Source: KSNT 27 News
Community-Police Oversight Work Group discusses hopes, concerns at first meeting
To the relief of its members, the Community-Police Oversight Work Group met for the first time Monday. Members shared their hopes, concerns and needs to move the process forward. The work group is intended to review the Lawrence Police Department’s current complaint process and make recommendations for the Community Police Review Board’s oversight of the complaint process. (Read more on the background at this link.) The group’s work was originally supposed to conclude in November, but the process has been delayed.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Lawrence school district will sell land to Tenants to Homeowners, start process to sell East Heights
The Lawrence school board on Monday voted to sell surplus property to Tenants to Homeowners as well as begin the process to sell East Heights and transfer the student programs held there to one of the elementary schools that will soon close. As part of the board’s consent agenda for Monday — a list of items that are considered routine and approved with one vote unless a board member or the superintendent pulls an item for further discussion — the board unanimously approved the sale of the property the district owns at 2600 W. 25th St., just north of the athletic fields at Holcom Park.
Source: The Lawrence Times
City committee recommends consolidating or changing most of 18 advisory boards
A city committee has reviewed the city’s advisory boards and recommends consolidating 13 boards down to five, nixing another and making the police review board the “Safe and Secure Board.” Over the last five months, the Board and Commissions Structure Committee was tasked with limiting the number of boards to 10, not counting those required by state statutes. The committee has discussed the city’s strategic plan, and the scopes and charges of all its boards and commissions, according to a Friday news release from the city. “As a result of this work, each relevant board and commission has been sorted into the outcome or commitment area to which it is most closely aligns,” according to the release.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Municipal Bond Trends for May 22, 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.
Fed Chair Powell says rates may not have to rise as much as expected to curb inflation
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Friday that stresses in the banking sector could mean that interest rates won’t have to be as high to control inflation. Speaking at a monetary conference in Washington, D.C., the central bank leader noted that Fed initiatives used to deal with problems at mid-sized banks have mostly halted worst-case scenarios from transpiring. But he noted that the problems at Silicon Valley Bank and others could still reverberate through the economy. “The financial stability tools helped to calm conditions in the banking sector. Developments there, on the other hand, are contributing to tighter credit conditions and are likely to weigh on economic growth, hiring and inflation,” he said as part of a panel on monetary policy. “So as a result, our policy rate may not need to rise as much as it would have otherwise to achieve our goals,” he added. “Of course, the extent of that is highly uncertain.”
Source: CNBC
What’s going on with food sales tax, explained
Where are the food sales tax savings? … In the last five months, the state passed legislation decreasing food sales tax down to four percent. However, that decrease isn’t always reflected on the bill. And depending on the grocery store, some bills show two different sales taxes applied to different parts of the purchase. … A law went into effect in January to stair step down the state’s food sales tax rate from 6.5 percent to zero percent by 2025. Currently, the sales tax rate is at 4 percent. While the law applies to food, the devil’s in the details on what the state defines as food. The state law lists food and food ingredients as exempt. The law defines food as items meant for “Ingestion or chewing by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value.” That definition extends to things like fruit, flour and uncooked meat as well as items like dietary supplements. But, that definition has limits, you can buy plenty of food that’s not sales tax exempt.
Source: Harvey County Now
Kansas governor approves shift of tax dollars to private schools, but rejects cuts for small districts
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a controversial school funding bill Thursday that lets more families use state tax dollars to pay for private or home schools. But Kelly vetoed portions of the bill that could hurt some rural school districts. That line-item veto could set up a court fight between Kelly and the Kansas Legislature over the governor’s powers to tweak a funding bill crammed with policy changes. The state constitution grants Kelly the power to veto individual items of appropriations bills, but lawmakers in recent years have separated the education budget into a bill that includes both spending and policy.
Source: KCUR News
After fire and smoke incidents, electric bus is an anomaly, Wichita city officials say
City officials are calling an electric bus that caught fire early Wednesday morning an anomaly. The incident was reported around 1:30 a.m. at the Wichita transit maintenance building at 777 E. Waterman. Maintenance staff and security noticed a lithium-ion battery powered bus had caught fire. The bus is powered by 10 lithium-ion batteries. Eight are mounted on the roof and two sit in the rear of the bus. The fire apparently originated from a single battery placed on the top, said Michael Tann, director of transit for the city.
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Incentives, infrastructure: Here’s what drew an $80M plastics plant to Maize
An 80-acre site within Maize Industrial Park “checked all the boxes” for a North Carolina-based manufacturer looking to build its eighth plastics plant in the Midwest, said Brad Muller, a spokesperson representing the company. Announced last week, the $80-million project from Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Co. will be built near 119th Street West and 53rd North in Maize. The company says it plans to create 50 new jobs over the next three years. Muller said Maize had a number of draws for the manufacturer, which produces cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings, predominately for wholesale plumbing distributors. “Maize is fast growing, it’s pro-business, a well-educated workforce,” he said. “We’re conservative financially, culturally, politically conservative, and so we wanted someplace that kind of reflected our values and someplace where we can draw a workforce that’s going to appreciate those family values.”
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Zoning changes help Barton County rural businesses
In an effort to both make it easier to start a business in rural areas of Barton County and to protect the county’s interests, the County Commission Wednesday morning approved amendments to the zoning regulations and map. “We’re trying to catch situations where we’re protecting the county, we’re protecting landowners that live near these businesses, and also just making it as easy as we can to set up these businesses in the county,” said Environmental Manager Judy Goreham, who oversees zoning matters.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Incentives offered to Great Bend water customers
As a way to encourage Great Bend city water customers to return the lead and copper pipe questionnaires, the city will offer a $25 credit on the utility bills for those who respond by the Aug. 31 deadline. The surveys are part of a local pipe inventory mandated by federal and state agencies. Those who miss the deadline are not eligible. The survey is on the city’s website and will also be mailed to all 6,700 active account holders, said Public Works Director Jason Cauley. It is also being promoted on the city’s social media sites.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Local tourism makes big impact in Great Bend
One youth softball tournament can bring in over $500,000 into the community. That is just one of the impacts tourism has on the local economy, said Great Bend Community Coordinator and Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes said, speaking to the City Council Monday night. “Last week was National Tourism week,” she said. “I just want to go over a couple facts, because as a board member for the (Kansas Tourism Office) it is part of our job to share what Kansas tourism does with our councils and boards.”
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Sedgwick ups the ante in battle over empty buildings
The owners of abandoned buildings could soon face fines up to $500, thanks to an ordinance passed Wednesday evening during Sedgwick’s city council meeting. City Administrator Kyle Nordick suggested an annual registration fee of $25 for residential and $100 for commercial vacant buildings to try to combat the blight that empty spaces create in the community. He said they discourage economic development and decrease appreciation of other property values.
Source: Harvey County Now
Summer kickoff to draw crowd in Halstead
With attendance forecast at anywhere from 400 to 500 people, the Kansas Learning Center for Health’s free Summer Kick-Off is expected to be bigger than ever this year. Held on Wednesday, May 31, from 4 to 7 p.m., the event is described by Elizabeth Hingst, assistant director, as a mix of a block party and a resource fair. “The entire town is invited, and it’s a one-stop shop for all things summer,” Hingst said. “You can sign up for family pool passes and swim lessons, the library will have their signup for the summer reading program […] my kids ended up with goody bags packed full of crafts that I used all summer long, last year.”
Source: Harvey County Now
Municipal Bond Trends for May 18, 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 County says Kansas law prevents tax deal with Heartland Park
Kansas law bans Shawnee County from complying with a request by the owner of Heartland Motorsports Park that the two sides cut a deal to resolve a years-long property tax battle, commissioners said Thursday. They quoted a Kansas law that says the county cannot “release, discharge, remit or commute” past tax liability if the valuations involved have not been appealed or challenged by the taxpayer. In a signed statement put out Thursday, Commissioners Kevin Cook, Aaron Mays and Bill Riphahn said they are sympathetic to the situation facing Chris Payne but that he hasn’t availed himself of the options available. Payne hasn’t appealed or protested the valuations for the Heartland Park property for the tax years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 or 2023, meaning the county can’t change those valuations, the statement said.
Source: CJonline
Topeka and Lawrence leaders to further develop ‘good locker room mojo’ with ‘City Swap’
Topeka and Lawrence will look at each other with fresh eyes to understand how the cities can work together. On Friday morning, the Greater Topeka Partnership and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce announced the 2023 Topeka-Lawrence “City Swap” event. The effort is aimed to bring together business leaders, community stakeholders and elected officials to tour each city. The two-day event will be Oct. 12 in Topeka and Oct. 13 in Lawrence and will feature speakers, networking and opportunities to learn about the exciting developments in each community.
Source: CJonline
How a childcare desert drives families away from Saline
In Saline County, like much of the nation, childcare availability is diminishing for families. [Kathi] Barton doesn’t like turning people away, but she’s only licensed for so many children. “With a waiting list a mile long, we get people who call in tears, crying that they can’t find anybody,” Kathi Barton said. “They just don’t know what to do.” As of early 2023, there are an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 fewer available childcare spaces than needed in Saline County, according to data from Childcare Aware, a statewide resource and referral agency. Meanwhile, local childcare centers and at-home providers alike are operating at capacity. While at home providers face their own unique challenges, care facilities are having trouble hiring staff due to poverty level wages, among other issues.
Source: Salina Journal
Saline County’s new jail is five months away from being complete
Progress continues at a steady pace at the new Saline County Jail, and with five months to go before it’s expected to be complete, the county continues its recruiting efforts to staff it. County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes shared a project update this week, with an appeal to the public for ongoing recruiting efforts. Much of recent discussions among county officials about the new jail facility has been about the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to fully staff certain parts of the building. The department has been shorthanded at its current facility on 10th Street, and plans for the new facility included additional programming for inmates.
Source: Salina Journal