Kansas Municipal News
Smaller, rural communities in danger of missing out on infrastructure boom
As federal officials hail a coming infrastructure decade, tens of thousands of mostly smaller, rural communities may miss out because they lack capacity to compete for the funds. That’s according to data from Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research firm focused on community development and land management that developed a rural capacity index to analyze which and how many communities may have a hard time snagging infrastructure funding. “It’s hard to advocate for resources, it’s hard to navigate complicated grant applications and meet compliance requirements, all of that is very difficult for smaller communities, so it’s logical that the communities that are winning the awards tend to be higher capacity, affluent, urban areas,” said Patty Hernandez, co-founder and executive director of Headwaters. Large sections of the country have communities that need investments in staffing, resources and expertise to adequately compete, the firm found.
Source: The Bond Buyer
For assistance with grants and federal funds for your community, please contact our specialists, Rose Mary Saunders or Crystal Hinnen.
Municipal Bond Trends for May 12, 2022
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.
Legal sports betting is coming to Kansas
Legal sports gambling is officially coming to Kansas. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday signed a sports wagering bill into law, setting the stage for fans to place bets on teams like the Chiefs, Royals and Jayhawks as soon as this summer. It will also bring in some money to the state government. The Kansas Lottery estimates taxes on legal sports betting would bring in up to $10 million a year by 2025. … The law comes as dozens of other states had previously made betting on sports legal ever since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 struck down a federal law banning sports gambling in most states. … The law goes into effect on July 1. However, whether casinos will have their sports books up and running by then is unclear.
Source: KCUR News
City of Hillsboro prepares to auction off thousands of museum items
From classic cars to unique samples of taxidermy, roughly 2,500 items will be auctioned off at the Marion County Fairgrounds this Saturday, May 14. It’s all a part to clear out the city’s museums and storage facilities, which city officials say are so full, a number of them have actually become unsafe. “Everything that you see here represents a multiple, in some cases, many multiples of items that we have that are still on display in our museums,” Hillsboro Mayor Lou Thurston said. Dozens of volunteers across multiple city departments helped make this weekend’s auction possible.
Source: KSN-TV
Inman USD-448 bond passes by six votes
Tuesday night, there was no clear winner for the Inman USD-448 bond election. Unofficial results list 377 yes votes and 379 no votes. On Tuesday night, there were still two mail-in ballots that were dropped off at a polling site that needed to be processed and 14 provisional ballots that were investigated before the final count, and results were recorded on Monday, May 9. Mail-in ballots that arrived between May 4 and May 9 and were postmarked by May 3, were counted, bringing the total to 383 yes votes and 380 no votes. … The final vote count listed 387 yes votes and 381 no votes, with the bond passing by a very narrow margin.
Source: McPherson Weekly News
Working for Lenexa: assistant city attorney uses life experience from the farm to find solutions at work
Growing up on a family farm in the outskirts of Independence, Mo., Lenexa Assistant City Attorney Steven Shrout learned how to care for animals, work with his hands and find solutions to problems. Summertime meant spending a lot of time outside doing chores like moving hay bales and scooping manure in the barn. … Watching his dad do the daily chores around the farm ingrained a work ethic that Steven has exercised in other areas of his life. “Having that role model just kind of instills in you that work ethic that maybe some of us might not see or may not experience in the same way,” he said. “I’ve applied that same work ethic into my education and have carried it into my work here at the City.”
Source: Prairie Village Post
Overland Park Police respond to recommendations from state commission, local groups
Overland Park police have already accomplished many of the recommendations from a governor’s commission on racial equity and a citizen civil rights group, and are actively working on others, Deputy Chief Eric Houston told the city council’s Public Safety Committee Wednesday. Houston filled in for Police Chief Frank Donchez to give the department’s response on recommendations from the Kansas Commission on Racial Equity and Justice, as well as an update on five priorities of a Johnson County civil rights group seeking better ways to give feedback on police conduct.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Under new sports betting laws, Ruffin poised to reopen Wichita Greyhound Park with historical horse racing
New sports betting legislation that Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law Thursday is expected to bring historical horse racing, a new form of electronic gambling, to the long-shuttered Wichita Greyhound Park in Park City. “We’ve been working on it for about a year, and we finally got it done,” said track owner and Las Vegas casino magnate Phil Ruffin.
Source: Wichita Business Journal
Fuel prices forcing Lyon County to cut maintenance
Everyone seems to be pinching pennies, or maybe dollar bills, when it comes to fuel prices. Even the Lyon County budget is feeling it. “The amount has almost doubled for gasoline and doubled for diesel fuel,” county commission chair Rollie Martin said Thursday. “I believe the county uses between 8,000-10,000 gallons a month.” Add that to what Martin calls “wage pressures,” and the county budget for 2022 already is looking perilous. “We’ve got to start thinking in different ways, to keep things under control until the end of the year,” Martin said. For instance, the County Commission voted Thursday to chip seal a section of Americus Road between U.S. 50 and Road 180. That half-mile strip will cost $80,000, but it’s not as much as Martin prefers.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Maize School District changes who’s eligible for bus rides because of driver shortage
Students in the Maize school district who live within 2.5 miles of their school will not be eligible to ride the bus next school year. Maize USD 266 said it is because of a bus driver shortage. Transportation Director Kathy Massell said she’s already having to cancel routes three to four times a week this year. “Some of these kids, we’re the only way they can get to school, and as a mom, that, I understand that,” Massell said. “That’s insanely difficult to tell a family that, ‘I’m sorry, we just… we can’t do it anymore.’”
Source: KAKE – News
Newly signed Kansas law transfers $1 billion to cover KPERS outstanding debt
Gov. Laura Kelly signed Thursday legislation transferring more than $1 billion from state coffers to cover historical underfunding of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. These transfers will take place over two installments, totaling $853.9 million in 2022 and two additional payments subject to State Finance Council approval in 2023 of remaining funds. Kelly said the payments would provide immediate and long-term value by reducing debt owed and improving upon historically strong financial footing in the state.
Source: Kansas Reflector
10-year Treasury yield pulls back to 2.84% as investors rotate into bonds for safety
U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday morning, as investors digested hotter-than-expected inflation data, released in the previous session. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped 7 basis points to 2.8407% at 4:25 a.m. ET. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond moved 4 basis points lower to 2.9942%. April’s consumer price index, released Wednesday, rose 8.3% year-on-year. That was higher than the anticipated 8.1% growth in inflation, but was below March’s 8.5% CPI reading. … The latest inflation reading supports the Federal Reserve’s plans to more aggressively hike interest rates to combat persistent pricing pressures, fueling recession fears.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Inflation barreled ahead at 8.3% in April from a year ago, remaining near 40-year highs
Inflation rose again in April, continuing a climb that has pushed consumers to the brink and is threatening the economic expansion, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The consumer price index, a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, increased 8.3% from a year ago, higher than the Dow Jones estimate for an 8.1% gain. That represented a slight ease from March’s peak but was still close to the highest level since the summer of 1982.
Source: CNBC
President Biden gives shoutout to Reno County-based IdeaTek for offering free internet
Buhler-based internet provider IdeaTek received a shout-out this week from President Joe Biden during a press conference at the White House on an initiative to bring free or reduced-price internet service to those who struggle to afford it. IdeaTek is one of about 20 providers in the nation participating in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, and the only Kansas-based one. The company has participated in the program since it was started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it is expanding the effort further as additional federal funding was authorized, said Jade Piros de Carvalho, the company’s director of industry & community relations. Under the program, the federal government will cover $30 a month for service for those who qualify.
Source: Hutch News
Haven Police Department removes “In God We Trust” from department vehicles
The Haven City Council voted to remove decals stating “In God, We Trust” from Haven Police Department vehicles at the City Council meeting Monday, May 2. Haven Police Chief Stephen Schaffer described the varied support from the community, some in favor of removing the decals and some against the removal. “(The Haven City Council) brought it up as a motion during council concerns. Within a few minutes, they just voted and seconded that it was a done deal,” Schaffer said.
Source: Hutch News
‘God’ decals to remain on Cowley sheriff’s vehicles
A recent decision in a Reno County town to remove decals with “In God We Trust” from police department vehicles has led to questions about similar items on Cowley County Sheriff’s Office trucks, with local officials saying the decals have mostly been well-received. The Haven City Council voted May 2 to remove “In God We Trust” decals from all police vehicles after a citizen complaint, according to The Wichita Eagle. The motion, which was approved unanimously, also required Haven Police Chief Stephen Schaffer to remove a post including a scripture quote from the department’s Facebook page.
Source: ctnewsonline
Lenexa improves pay, benefits to attract talent
he key to providing exceptional services is having excellent employees. But like many other organizations, the City of Lenexa has found it difficult to attract and retain staff over the last few years. New enhancements to pay and benefits are designed to bring in great new employees and keep them on the job. At the beginning of 2022, the City had a historic 50 vacant full-time positions. Most of those were in entry-level positions, which are critical to providing day-to-day services like public safety; parks, streets and stormwater maintenance; and pool lifeguards. A pay and benefits study completed in late 2021 revealed that inflation and economic factors had led comparable public organizations in our area to significantly increase their wages since Lenexa’s last pay study in 2018. The new study concluded that employee pay had fallen behind, making it difficult to recruit and retain staff in such a competitive market.
Source: City of Lenexa
Municipal Bond Trends for May 11, 2022
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.
Riley County to require licenses for Airbnb, Vrbo owners
Residents operating short-term rental properties in unincorporated areas of Riley County now must apply for a license, with yearly renewals, following updated regulations passed by the County Commission May 5th. This applies to Airbnb and Vrbo rentals. Licenses will be granted only once properties are in compliance with a list of requirements in the updated Riley County Land Development Regulations. That includes having working smoke detectors in each bedroom, weekly trash collection and appropriately sized egress windows for the property. Planning and Development Director Amanda Webb says the goal of the new short-term rental license program is to protect the health, life and safety of occupants.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Rural Pottawatomie County residents voice concerns over potential rock quarries, wedding venue requests
Conditional use permits for proposed rock quarries in Pottawatomie County are getting some attention, primarily from local residents uninterested in living too close in proximity. One of them, requested by Mid-State Materials, would be located on Reves Road, south of Wheaton. But the planning commission recently recommended denying approval. The Pottawatomie County Board of Commissioners can override that decision with a two-thirds majority on the three seat commission. Resident Travis Ross is a fourth generation farmer in the area and spoke against the Mid-State Materials request at Monday’s meeting. “As a resident we are concerned about the gas line by Wheaton, Blaine and Westmoreland, not to mention the water lines that feed some of these residents. Also, some of our biggest concerns are the natural springs. Everyone out there has a well and relies on these waters. The possibility of pollution that will float downstream. All of this is going to go down Rock Creek as this (proposed) quarry is at the head of Rock Creek,” he said.
Source: 1350 KMAN