Municipal News & Jobs

The City of Arkansas City has reorganized its Neighborhood Services Division to form a new Community Development Division, bringing all development-related services under one coordinated team. “This reorganization allows the City to better align planning, development and enforcement functions under one division,” said Shana Adkisson, city spokesperson. “By coordinating these services, we can improve efficiency, provide clearer guidance for residents and developers, and better support long-term growth and neighborhood revitalization.” The new division aligns planning and zoning, permitting, building inspections and code enforcement, supporting the City’s Comprehensive Plan and City Commission goals.
Read more: Cowley Post

One of the first things South Hutchinson City Administrator Jeff Schenk pursued when he took the position more than two years ago was rebranding the city’s image. “I want us to be a good neighbor, and it took a while for everyone to get on board with the rebranding,” Schenk said. “But now it’s starting to pay off.” The good neighbor mantra isn’t just new logos on the city’s website and other materials, it’s the overriding philosophy when it comes to not just how the city provides services to its residents but to its relationships with other Reno County governing bodies and how it works with existing businesses and to bring new businesses into the city, he said.
Read more: The Hutchinson Tribune

A new program aimed at recruiting remote workers to the Manhattan area experienced positive early results, local officials said Thursday. Representatives from the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce and Riley County Planning and Development updated the Riley County commission Thursday on efforts of MakeMyMove, a relocation incentive program that is also part of the state’s Home in the Heartland Initiative.
Read more: themercury.com

The Kansas City Chiefs’ plan to build a new domed stadium on the Kansas side, along with a new training facility and headquarters in Olathe, would be supported by a special incentive package for entertainment and tourism draws. Called STAR bonds, for Kansas Sales Tax and Revenue bonds, this type of incentive involves issuing bond debt to cover part of a project’s price tag that is then paid back over a set period of time using sales tax revenues generated by retail and dining sales within a project’s defined boundaries. State and team officials last month unveiled a deal that would have public dollars account for up to 60% of the cost of a new Chiefs stadium and team facility in Kansas, with the team picking up the other 40%. The STAR bond package shaping up for the Chiefs’ project is different and much larger in size, scope and total projected dollar amount than the typical STAR bond deal. Still, Johnson County has experience with these incentives: there are already three such active STAR bond districts in the county — two in Overland Park and one in the works also in Olathe.
Read more: Johnson County Post

… a county may not implement a tax rebate program unless it is authorized by, and complies with, a state statutory scheme. Harper County instituted the Ad Valorem Rebate Program to offer tax rebates from county ad valorem property taxes to program participants. … for the Rebate Program to be valid, it must be based on, and comply with, a state statutory tax rebate scheme.
Read more: Kansas Attorney General Opinions

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.

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.

How dry has it been in Crawford County since early October? Very, very dry. In fact, according to the National Weather Service’s weather data at Atkinson Municipal Airport outside of Pittsburg, since Oct. 1, the airport area has received just two-hundredths of an inch, with that two-hundredth of an inch falling early Monday morning. Add wind speeds approaching 15 miles per hour throughout the past several weeks, and you get a very high risk of fire, which has prompted a burn ban. Burn bans have been issued nine times over the past two months. A new one was issued Monday morning by Crawford County Emergency Management. It is in effect until early Tuesday morning.
Read more: – Morning Sun

That school bus drivers are in short supply is not news. Districts across the U.S. have been struggling to fill vacant positions for a long time. But in Pittsburg’s USD 250, the situation is getting critical.
Read more: – Latest Stories

The director of the Riley County Police Department says he rejects any suggestions that local police are siding with federal immigration enforcement or pushing back against it. “We don’t actively participate in immigration detention, but we do follow the law,” Brian Peete said. Peete joined Within Reason with Mike Matson Friday on News Radio KMAN, responding to controversy involving Manhattan Municipal Court Judge Sarah Barr, who reportedly asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to leave her courtroom Dec. 4. They were waiting to arrest a woman appearing on DUI and hit-and-run charges.
Read more: News Radio KMAN

As freshmen legislators last year, Rep. Allen Reavis and Rep. Lon Pishny began having conversations about the unspoken impact state laws and regulations have on city and county governments. Bills were being debated, Reavis said, “and it just felt like the effect it would have on local government wasn’t being fully measured.” “If you’re a legislator who lives in a large city, you may not have the understanding of what happens in a small town with that same legislation,” he added.
Read more: www.derbyinformer.com

City officials in Allen have approved a reduction in the city’s ad valorem tax rate and plan to issue rebates to residents after sharp fluctuations in property valuations led to unexpected increases in some property tax bills this year, according to Allen City Clerk Cary Miles. Miles said the city noticed property tax increases that ranged widely — some seeing increases of more than 25%, while others experienced little change or even decreases. The variations stemmed largely from shifts in property valuations conducted by the county appraiser, combined with budgeting decisions made before the full impact of those valuation changes was known.
Read more: www.emporiagazette.com *

Garden City has a new, advanced tornado siren. Mike Muirhead, Garden City Public Works and Utilities Director, said the city’s newest emergency siren, installed at 300 Jennie Barker Rd., is more advanced than the city’s 22 other emergency sirens. “Some of them were manufactured in the 1950s and the 1960s,” he said. Each year they try to replace one of the old sirens, and every year when they replace a siren, there’s a newer style that comes out, Muirhead said. Some of the newer styles now have voice activated sirens or warning devices with pre-recorded messages that can be broadcast, Muirhead said.
Read more: Garden City Telegram

County Attorney Heather Figger recently informed commissioners that she plans to transition the county’s case management system to Guardify, due to its artificial intelligence capabilities, which enable searching files with specific direction. Figger said the issue is the amount of digital storage the county is accumulating and the time its current system, Prosecutor by Karpel (PBK), takes to manage data. She said in June, they had around three terabytes of digital evidence, are now at five terabytes, and expect to be at seven next summer.
Read more: Harvey County Now

Earlier this year, the Holton City Commission approved an updated dog and cat ordinance that would limit Holton residents to three dogs and three cats each, outside of per­mits for additional pets that were “grandfathered in” at the time of the ordinance’s approval. Starting Thursday, Jan. 1, the city will enforce that limit on the number of pets that may be kept, according to Holton City Manager Teresa Riley.
Read more: The Holton Recorder

The city of Overland Park is lending its voice to an effort aimed at limiting homeowners associations’ power to ban residential solar panels. As part of its annual state legislative platform, the city is supporting state law changes that would remove HOAs’ ability to ban solar panels on homes within their jurisdictions. Instead, HOAs would be able to have rules governing things like their appearance, location and installation, but could not prohibit them outright.
Read more: Johnson County Post

Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Pioneer Electric) announced its intent to acquire electrical distribution service territory owned by the City of Hugoton. Pioneer expects the transition to take effect late summer 2026. “We are humbled by the trust expressed by the city in this decision,” said Lindsay Campbell, Pioneer Electric CEO. “Our hope is that this opportunity acts as a benefit for both the community of Hugoton and Pioneer Electric. We appreciate the opportunity to grow the cooperative and, in return, serve as a community partner by providing safe, reliable, and affordable electrical service.” Pioneer Electric currently serves members in 10 counties in southwest Kansas, including portions of rural Stevens County and the town of Moscow.
Read more: Hugoton Hermes News

A Prairie Village woman is able to keep her 15-month-old spider monkey but must meet a laundry list of conditions to do so. The Prairie Village City Council in a 7-4 vote on Monday approved a conditional license that allows Toni Skelton, a longtime resident of the city, to keep her spider monkey, Oakley. Councilmembers Betsy Lawrence, Terry O’Toole, Nick Reddell and Jim Sellers cast the dissenting votes. The license comes with 12 conditions, including that the monkey is prohibited from public spaces and that Skelton must provide the city with documentation on where Oakley originates from and the monkey’s birth date. Skelton told reporters following Monday’s meeting that she doesn’t believe the city council knows what they voted on, and if so, “I think they’re in for a rude awakening because my legal team is already on it right now.”
Read more: Johnson County Post

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday approved a change to temporarily remove the limit on how many short-term rental units — such as AirBnBs — property owners may hold.  The change, which city staff members said will help ensure there are enough accommodations for thousands of visitors anticipated to come to town for the World Cup, will go into effect May 25. Commissioners asked staff to start the process to add to city codes that the change will sunset July 26 and to increase penalties for violations. 
Read more: The Lawrence Times

Anderson County commissioners have established new regulations governing the placement of solar farms. The regulations were approved after a two-year moratorium on all industrial solar projects, the Anderson County Review reported. Under the new regulations, commercial solar projects of up to 160 acres are allowed only through a special use permit in agricultural and industrial zoning districts, the newspaper reported. Utility scale projects exceeding 160 acres are restricted to industrial zoning districts and also require a special use permit.
Read more: The Iola Register