Municipal News & Jobs

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

“The only way that you could ensure that a district has rural representation is that the district only has precincts that are not in the City of Lawrence,” [Douglas County Clerk Jami] Shew told the Journal-World Friday. “That’s why that map was presented, some people said they wanted to make sure that there was a rural commissioner. Well, that’s the only way you can get it, because both the U.S. and Kansas Constitutions state that if you reside in a district, you have a right to file for and serve in any office that is within that district.” Because the districts are required by state statute to be contiguous and as equal in population as possible, doing much more than that is impossible based on the percentage of the population that lives in Lawrence, Shew said.
Source: LJWorld

City leaders will soon consider a recommendation to spend more than $8 million in federal pandemic relief funds on projects related to housing and homelessness, including a proposal to spend $4.65 million to build tiny, modular homes for people experiencing homelessness. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider a recommendation from city staff to spend the city’s remaining $8.29 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds on eight projects related to housing and homelessness.
Source: LJWorld

After nine months of construction, the new tennis courts at Kenwood Park are all but complete, with just a few punch list items and final approval from the city to go. The new facility includes 12 state-of-the-art tennis courts with lighting, new parking space and a clubhouse with restrooms and other amenities. Liz Bothwell, Executive Director of Salina Tennis Alliance Inc., said the organization is already planning clinics, tournaments and other events to be held at the facility this spring. People can view events as they are planned and get involved at the new facility by visiting salinatennis.org.
Source: Salina Journal

Applicants for west Topeka’s vacant District 9 seat on the Topeka City Council will be asked Tuesday to explain how they handle conflict and tell what primary goal or agenda they hope to accomplish. Those are among the nine questions Topeka’s mayor and city council plan to pose to the five people seeking the seat recently vacated by the resignation of Councilman Michael Lesser, which took effect Nov. 1. The mayor and council plan during Tuesday’s 6 p.m. meeting to interview the applicants. They may then either vote to choose someone to fill the seat, or postpone that decision until later.
Source: CJonline

It is a promise that most residents are used to and rely on: Dial 911, and an ambulance staffed with paramedics and EMTs will be there in a flash to help with an emergency. In Doniphan County, however, a service that many take for granted almost stopped. After years of staffing difficulties, the two entities providing emergency medical services in the county — the city of Troy and a rural fire district based in Highland — found themselves on the brink of closure earlier this year. “We were to the point where we felt that if we didn’t do something, we wouldn’t have an ambulance service for our county,” Doniphan County Commissioner Wayne Grable said. The tale is one familiar to many communities across the state, particularly in rural areas — though the challenges are increasingly spreading to larger communities as well.
Source: CJonline

The interest rate table above illustrates recent changes in a sample of MBIS “investment grade” yields. Every issuer’s credit is different. For rates that may be applicable to your municipality, contact our Municipal Bond Advisors, Larry Kleeman and Beth Warren.

The Center was approached by Wallet Hub last week to answer a few questions about the labor market troubles. We thought that the interaction would be of value to the business and community leadership within Kansas.

• Why do employers have difficulties in filling employment positions?
  • The three driving forces behind employers experiencing a lack of qualified candidates are demographics, an overly heated economy, and friction within the labor market. First, U.S. population growth, along with immigration, has restricted the labor supply. Within the demographic shift, which has been well published, are Baby Boomer exits, leaving behind a labor gap.
  • The second thing to consider is the economic state of the economy. After four years and a pandemic, we faintly remember what the economy was like in 2018. It is important to note that the economy was nearing full capacity. The pandemic itself paused parts of the economy but was not a correction within the market. With the injection of federal funds, the economy bounced back quickly, returning us to a heated economy where firms have already soaked up all of the high, moderate, and low-quality labor. When we look at the percentage of the employed population (employment-population ratio), Kansas returned to its pre-pandemic typical levels in mid-2021. Thus, in 2022 we see increased competition among employers for remaining labor.
  • The third perspective, which doesn’t seem to get much attention, is that there are lots of pressure on the labor market. Firms have changed products and processes, requiring a different combination of occupations, skills, and knowledge to produce goods and services. That sudden shift in demand, along with increased home prices, mortgage rates, cost of education, uncertainty, and the time needed to reskill, adds friction to the labor market’s ability to adapt to demand. However, the reality is the labor market is responding quickly, and it will take years for households to move and gain the education and experience that firms are demanding today.

• What are the main factors that are influencing the high turnover rates in the labor market?
  • Now the economy has returned to full employment and demand for labor is higher than supply, the market power has shifted. The market power is akin to housing, which moves between buyers and sellers. The difference is that firms have had monopsonistic power for over a decade, and human resource teams are uncertain about how to react to this paradigm shift.
  • From the household’s perspective, labor opportunity hasn’t been this bright in a long time. When evaluating one’s skills and experience along with the work environment and compensation, a share of the labor market is using the increased power to move up in their career, creating a high turnover effect.

• What will be the economic impact, if any, of this trend?
  • The impact from the household perspective is positive for the short and long run, as there doesn’t appear to be any significant policy or structural changes on the current horizon that will reduce demand and the subsequent power they currently have over firms. The upside is that there will likely be upward mobility, where people in low and moderately-skilled jobs will have an opportunity to move up and gain experience and increased income.
  • One might expect that the impact of unfilled positions would have a negative effect on the firm. In the short run, some businesses will experience hardship because they cannot find the labor to fill the demand; however, we might need to look at the labor market differently since we are at full employment. It is not that households are not willing to work; they are willing, provided that the compensation and environment align with their expectations. The impact on businesses is they need to shift their perspective. Suppose labor remains a critical component of competitiveness. In that case, they need to increase compensation to attract employees, train lower-skilled staff to allow for upward mobility, or add technology to increase the productivity of the current employees. These efforts will cut into corporate profits, which will likely shake out weaker players and industries.

• How can employers attract and retain employees during this troubling period?
  • Manufacturing and service-related sectors have dramatically changed their compensation packages over the last two years. Although there has been a reluctance to continue that pace of change with the high level of uncertainty, the pressure will likely continue into 2023 and beyond. Firms in Kansas have shared that the return on investment to attract labor in a tight market had decreasing returns over the last six months. The head-to-head competition with larger firms or markets made it cost-prohibitive; instead, businesses have found it more cost-effective to focus on improving their internal environment and making technology investments.

• In your opinion, will this imbalance in the labor market continue to be an issue throughout all of 2022 or will it get solved faster?

A tight labor market is likely here to stay, meaning that searching for and retaining labor will remain difficult for some time in the future; however, three things will help relieve struggling employers. First, a recession will take some pressure off of the labor market. Second, the labor market will continue to adapt by moving and gaining more education. Third, firms will be forced to invest in technology and utilize labor more efficiently than they did in the past.
Source: CEDBR