Municipal News & Jobs

Kansas Municipal News

Senate advances extension of Kansas rural workforce recruitment and retention tool

A year after the House chose to continue offering financial incentives to Kansans moving to rural areas that are struggling with workforce, state senators followed suit, with their own added flare. The proposal would extend the Rural Opportunity Zone program by five years and expand eligibility to any county with a population less than 40,000. The program provides these designated counties the opportunity to offer income tax credits and student loan repayments to reverse population decline. Supporters said the bill provides for the program to continue while allowing the Legislature to focus on any needed tweaks. “Our rural areas continue to depopulate, and we have nothing that I see currently on the books that’s going to stop that,” said Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City. “As long as my rural peers in the Legislature continue to support this, particularly for those counties that continue to shed population, I will trust them on this because make no mistake, your rural brothers and sisters are trusting you when you do the big economic development deals.”
Source: Kansas Reflector

Labette County USD 506 receives $60,000 for new busses

EPA Awards Rebates Totaling $17 Million to Fund Clean School Buses that Reduce Diesel Emissions and Protect Children’s Health. … The $7 million in American Rescue Plan funding is directed toward school districts in underserved communities to replace old diesel buses with new, zero-emission electric models. The $10 million in DERA rebates will assist with 444 school bus replacements across the country… The $7 million in American Rescue Plan funding is directed toward school districts in underserved communities to replace old diesel buses with new, zero-emission electric models. The $10 million in DERA rebates will assist with 444 school bus replacements across the country. Labette County USD 506 is among the 17 school districts receiving money. The EPA will award the district with $60,000 to replace old busses with eco-friendly options.
Source: KOAMKOAM

Kansas bill could require light mitigating technology on wind turbines

Some Southeast Kansas residents say they’d like to see the state do more to limit the annoyance of wind turbine lights. “We were traveling home from doing some industry work and came upon one on one highway to head home towards Mound Valley, Kansas. and we noticed just a bunch of red flashing lights that just went miles from about this view,” said Debbie Cramer. Cramer is a concerned resident of Labette County, she says the lights from the wind turbines that guide aircrafts hit rural residents like herself the hardest. “When the sun goes down, the sky becomes a big long red line of flashing lights that goes for miles,” said Cramer.
Source: KOAMKOAM

Pittsburg begins seasonal work on potholes

The city of Pittsburg is asking for residents help as it repairs its roads. The city will begin pothole repair this week. Crews will be treating the roads with cold patch asphalt. This will act as a temporary solution until weather conditions improve and better materials become available. Officials say while winter weather can be rough on roads, the freeze and thaw cycles the area has seen over the past two months could cause potholes to get bigger. The city is asking residents to help report potholes so staff can better plan for repairs.
Source: KSNF/KODE

More than 800 applicants for remaining $721 million in SPARK relief funding

The state task force working to target $721 million in federal relief dollars into economic, health, connectivity and education investment projects received proposals for $12.8 billion in expenditures — about 17 times available funding. The Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas, or SPARK, advisory panels have been combing through 840 proposals, including 400 tied to $7.9 billion in economic development initiatives. The legislators, business people and state officials on the SPARK executive board plan to narrow the list in April. That report would be forwarded to the State Finance Council, which is comprised of state legislators and Gov. Laura Kelly. Greg Orman, a member of the executive board of SPARK, said the four advisory panels should define a set of investment principles and outline which projects connected to those objectives.
Source: The Iola Register

Search firm hired to help find new Wichita police chief

Wichita City Council members have approved the hiring of a California consulting firm to guide the search for a new police chief. Public Sector Search and Consulting, Inc. will help with the process of finding candidates to take over for Gordon Ramsay, who resigned effective March 1st after serving six years. City Manager Robert Layton said the firm has outlined a robust community engagement process that will begin with creating the priorities for the search. The plan is to have community forums, focus group meetings, and online surveys for Wichita Police Department staff and the community. The search process is expected to take about five months. Deputy Police Chief Lemuel Moore is serving as the interim chief. Council members Brandon Johnson and Becky Tuttle said they served on a selection committee with Public Sector Search during the police chief search six years ago. Johnson said this will be a great opportunity for community engagement. Tuttle said the firm outlined a process that will keep the community engaged and informed in the search.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI

City of Manhattan looking for answers with housing issues

The Manhattan City Commission met Tuesday night to hear a presentation which focused on the current housing market situation in the city. The presentation was given by Development Strategies and is part of a larger project by the City of Manhattan to focus on the challenge of ensuring the availability of housing that is suitable to the growing community. A 2019 survey cited by one of the presenters showed housing attainability and rental housing condition were key areas of concern for Manhattan residents. As the presenters on Tuesday pointed out, there are many difficulties standing in the way of average citizens being able to afford adequate housing in Manhattan. “We’re not recommending anything yet, we’re getting the information out there about the needs… current needs and future needs, where we see demand going and some of the implications for future land use and what potential target markets might be in the future,” Andy Tsister, a member of Development Strategies, said.
Source: KSNT News

Johnson County’s co-responder program is growing

Johnson County’s co-responder program is in its 11th year — and it continues to grow. Co-responders are mental health professionals who accompany police officers on 911 calls. By the end of 2022, Johnson County will practically double its number of co-responders, said Tim DeWeese, director of Johnson County Mental Health Center. The impact: Merriam Police Chief Darren McLaughlin said at the Feb. 28 city council meeting that the co-responder program is one of the most impactful things to happen in his 33-year career.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Great Bend opts for first responders profit-sharing plan

The Great Bend City Council Monday night rejected two options for bolstering uniformed first responders pensions council members feared were unsustainable using only the sales tax approved by voters in November and could lead to property tax hikes. Instead, they opted for using the sales tax money to create an in-house profit-sharing plan for firefighters and police officers. On the table were three options, said Mayor Cody Schmidt. These included: Switching to Kansas Police and Fire through the Kansas Public Employment Retirement System; augment current Mission Square money purchase plan; or create the new Mission Square profit-sharing plan. … Under the profit-sharing option, the city would equally divide annual sales tax receipts among uniformed police and fire employees, based on an as-yet-to-be-determine formula.
Source: Great Bend Tribune

Helping new businesses develop

The first Charlie Walker Entrepreneurial Challenge started this week in Salina. Community members can view pitches and see what fellow Kansans think would be a good business for Salina and neighboring towns. Last month, several groups, including Startup Salina, got together and offered a challenge for local residents to come up with a new business, complete with a business plan. The challenge was open to residents of Dickinson, Ellsworth, McPherson, Ottawa and Saline counties who were wanting to start a business.
Source: Salina Journal

Municipal Bond Trends for March 7, 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.

Quiet bedroom community east of Wichita wakes up, thanks to a big new development

Andover Mayor Ronnie Price has a friend who has always said, “Andover’s just a road.” “And I couldn’t argue the point,” Price said. “We’ve always been known to be a bedroom community. The opinion was — before me — if you want to shop, you can go to Wichita.” That’s changing, in large part due to the new 110-acre Heritage development. The mixed-use development just east of Andover Road and north of Kellogg already has two housing developments in the works and this week will break ground on Heritage Square, the city’s first 5-story building that will include apartments, public parking and commercial spaces. Construction also will begin on Heritage Plaza, a kind of a Main Street gathering spot with restaurants, service businesses and a town square that’s meant to be Andover’s first downtown.
Source: Wichita Eagle

Johnson County neighbors file lawsuit to stop new addict recovery home from opening

A Kansas City nonprofit’s plan to open a home for recovering addicts in an Overland Park neighborhood has sparked a bitter fight between neighbors this year about whether such a program belongs in a residential area. A small group of residents in Shannon Valley Estates, just southwest of College Boulevard and Antioch Road, raised safety concerns about having people in treatment in their neighborhood despite assurances from the group, Artists Helping the Homeless, that the house would be staffed round-the-clock and secured like its other sober homes across the metro. City officials and neighborhood association leaders in Overland Park declined neighbors’ requests to intervene, citing the federal Fair Housing Act’s protections for recovery homes, which prompted a weeks-long dispute between residents about the future of the nonprofit’s project.
Source: Joco 913 News

More than 800 Kansas applicants for remaining $721 million in federal recovery assistance

Former Johnson County court accountant accused of embezzling more than $1 million

A former accountant for the Johnson County District Court Clerk’s Office is accused of embezzling more than $1 million in payments that were made to the clerk’s office over the course of 10 years, according to a federal complaint. Dawna Kellogg, of Paola, Kansas, is accused of running a fraud scheme in which she re-directed payments made to the clerk’s office into her personal account. A criminal complaint outlining the case was filed by federal prosecutors in the U.S. District of Kansas on Friday, alleging eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing a false tax return. According to court records, Kellogg was employed as an accounting supervisor between April 2003 and June 2017. Her role gave her control over the court’s finances, including management of the accounting department, collecting funds from county systems and depositing funds into the clerk of court’s trust account.
Source: KC Star Local News

Shawnee considers legalizing fireworks sales and bringing back city Fourth of July event

Shawnee is exploring ways to legalize the sale and use of fireworks within city borders, while also possibly bringing back a community fireworks show for the first time in more than a decade. After some discussion at its meeting Feb. 28, the Shawnee City Council directed city staff to look into options for fireworks to be legally purchased and fired off, particularly around the Fourth of July. The sale and use of fireworks is fairly restrictive in Shawnee, as it is in most other cities in Johnson County, with the exception of De Soto.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Senate expands incentive to lure urban dwellers into rural areas

The Senate on Monday agreed to expand a development incentive enticing residents to move from urban parts of the Kansas to rural areas as part of program intended to keep the state from draining population. The chamber approved a bill extending the state’s rural opportunity zone program to Kansans who move from Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte counties to rural areas that have lost population. The program has already been under scrutiny with a 2020 study suggesting it has not boosted the state’s population like it had been hoped while lawmakers have expressed concern that it has gotten overly big.
Source: Sunflower State Journal

Senate approves $157 million tax bill

The first major piece of tax legislation cleared the state Senate on Monday, offering a package of tax credits and property tax cuts that are believed to be worth $157 million in the first year. The Senate tax package included elements of several bills tied together, including tax credits for teachers buying school supplies and a general tax break on school taxes.
Source: Sunflower State Journal

Senate bill mandates limit on local governments, school boards amid public health threats

The Senate Judiciary Committee plowed into a bill Monday mandating state-imposed limits on actions of cities, counties, school boards and higher education institutions in a health emergency that was so complex it took more than 30 minutes for a legislative staff member to summarize. The Kansas Chamber, attorneys filing lawsuits against during the pandemic and individuals irritated by city or school board actions praised the bill. It was denounced by organizations representing city and county governments, public education and proponents of child vaccinations. A House member suggested references to religious freedom in the bill could be stricken, because worship was constitutionally protected.
Source: The Lawrence Times