Kansas Municipal News
Winfield natural gas fees lowered
Fees assessed to City of Winfield natural gas customers to cover costs from Winter Storm Uri last year have been lowered after penalties were waived from the city’s pipeline company, according to Winfield City Manager Taggart Wall. It was previously reported that residential customers would pay an average of $29 per month more over the next six years to help cover repayments for a state-backed loaned taken out by the city to cover natural gas costs incurred during the storm. However, with penalties waived it lowers the average to around $19 per month.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Plot fees increased at county-owned cemeteries
To better cover the rising costs of upkeep for Barton County owned and operated memorial parks and cemeteries north of Great Bend, the County Commission Wednesday morning OKed an increase in plot fees. These apply to both Golden Belt Memorial Park and Hillcrest Cemetery located on NW 50 Road. “The regulations were last passed in 2015,” Register of Deeds Pam Wornkey said. Due to the continuous increase in expenses to maintain and keep things up at the memorial park and cemetery, she suggested the price increase from $250 to $350 for all plots. Plot recording fees will remain the same because they are regulated by statute in the state of Kansas. There will also be no increase in marking and transfer fees.
Source: Great Bend Tribune
Siemens Gamesa lays off workers in Hutchinson
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Inc. plans to lay off workers in Kansas and Iowa because of a reduction in orders for commercial wind turbines. The company, which manufactures wind turbines, announced Wednesday that 69 employees will lose jobs in Hutchinson, Kansas, and 121 jobs will end in Fort Madison, Iowa. That will leave 117 workers in Hutchinson and 254 in Fort Madison. Company spokesman Andrew Luther said future furloughs at the plants remain possible…
Source: KAKE – News
Food System master plan approved by city and county leaders
The food insecurity issue in Wichita just got one step closer to getting relief after the food system master plan was approved by county leaders Wednesday. It’s part of a joint effort between city and county leaders to help the community get more healthy, sustainable and regionally sourced food to areas that need it in the county. Fresh locally grown produce, limited food waste, and new job opportunities are just a few of the things local leaders hope to accomplish with a new food system plan. And Wednesday that plan was finally approved by Sedgwick County commissioners.
Source: KAKE – News
Wesley hires private ambulance company, a blow to struggling Sedgwick County EMS
One of Wichita’s largest healthcare systems dealt a blow to Sedgwick County’s struggling ambulance service Thursday, announcing plans to break with the county and hire a private ambulance company starting next month. Wesley Healthcare is set to begin contracting with American Medical Response (AMR) on March 1 for patient transfers between Wesley-owned medical facilities. Those transfers have been a financially important part of the county’s EMS budget for decades and were seen as a key piece to rebuilding a department that has faced high turnover and slow response times. Wesley accounts for 77% of interfacility hospital transfers (4,873 in 2020) done by EMS and 7.8% of the county’s EMS income.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Municipal Bond Trends for February 10, 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.
Inflation surges 7.5% on an annual basis, even more than expected and highest since 1982
Consumer prices surged more than expected over the past 12 months, indicating a worsening outlook for inflation and cementing the likelihood of substantial interest rate hikes this year. The consumer price index for January, which measures the costs of dozens of everyday consumer goods, rose 7.5% compared with a year ago, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That compared with Dow Jones estimates of 7.2% for the closely watched inflation gauge. It was the highest reading since February 1982.
Source: CNBC
Petitioner gathering signatures for ballot question to expand Pottawatomie County Commission
A special question to expand the Pottawatomie County Commission may end up on the November ballot if a petition effort is successful. Doug Kern, who currently sits on the Planning and Zoning board, tells KMAN that he’d like to see the county commission expand from three to five seats. So I thought, if they had five commissioners, then they could talk to each other outside of the commission meetings on Monday morning, without potentially violating that open meetings law. So that’s really what’s motivating me,” he said. A five-member commission would mean two members could talk privately about county business. A majority of Kansas counties have three-member commissions, but a few have expanded to five. The most recent to expand was Reno County in 2021.
Source: 1350 KMAN
As fires engulf Kansas, volunteer departments don’t have enough first responders
Across vast stretches of the country, the first responders to a fire are all volunteers. But the number of calls for help has tripled in recent decades, even as the National Volunteer Fire Council reports that the ranks of volunteers look decidedly thinner. Then came the pandemic. When an enormous wildfire raced toward his hometown on the high plains of Paradise, Kansas, last December, volunteer fire chief Quentin Maupin put down his farm work and sprang to action. He took the department’s 18,000-pound pumper truck out alone. “Normally, our policy is you need two people on a truck, so if you have trouble, the other person can help out here or there,” Maupin said. “But that day, there wasn’t anybody here. And I knew we just gotta get a truck out there right now.” That initiative nearly cost Maupin his life when a wall of flames twice the height of telephone poles suddenly engulfed the truck, destroyed its brake lines and melted its flashing lights. Maupin escaped to check on his family in the path of the blaze and went back to work fighting the fire.
Source: KCUR News
EPA seeks Kansas community input
The past can sometimes be hard to forget, especially for one southeast Kansas town. Traces of a former zinc smelter plant can still be found in the City of Weir, even after it went out of service in the 1920’s. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment began looking into the environmental impact of the former zinc smelter site back in 2004. “That’s when the state went out and looked at different areas where there were former smelters and they did different sampling of the soil and the sediment and the water, to see if there were any impacts,” said Liz Blackburn-Vigil, EPA Remedial Project Manager. KDHE found elevated levels of lead in the soil and soon the EPA got involved to help clean up affected properties. To date 54 have been remediated, but work continues to be done to solve the issue city-wide.
Source: KSNF/KODE
Topeka homeowners could get $20,000 for home repairs
A grant program in Topeka designed to assist homeowners with bringing their residences up to code has recently received a large amount of funding to benefit local residents. According to the City of Topeka, a total of $750,000 in grant money was received from the Federal Home Loan Bank for the purpose of assisting low-income homeowners in the city. The grant money will be going to the City of Topeka’s Property Maintenance Rehabilitation Program, managed by the city’s Housing Services Division, which aims to help residents to maintain a safe environment in their homes. “Many of the people we serve are not only low-income, but elderly, and sometimes disabled,” Corrie Wright, Division Director of Housing Services, said. “This grant will allow us to help over 50 families with property maintenance rehabilitation on their homes this year.”
Source: KSNT News
Winfield residents ask commissioners to reconsider golf cart use
A group of Winfield residents are petitioning the Winfield city commission to review an ordinance regulating the use of golf carts in the city limits. The residents are requesting that the ordinance be revised to allow limited golf cart use on city streets, something allowed in surrounding communities such as Udall, Oxford, Cheney and Wellington, according to Winfield resident Stephen Campbell, one of the people trying to get the ordinance changed.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Arkansas City board considers new city entrance signs
While Arkansas City officials work to revitalize downtown, beautification committee members think city entrances could be more inviting, too. Public Information Officer Andrew Lawson said the welcome signs at each major entrance to the city are in poor condition. Wooden arches with local club logos and other community information have had to be taken down due to disrepair. Lawson estimated that those signs were put into place during the late 1990s. During a recent meeting, Beautification and Tree Advisory Board member Candace Hendricks said that she would like to see that signage replaced. The board is looking into costs and hiring an architect help with the design.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Gardner has a plan for those late on electric bills
Gardner is doing something new this winter with customers who don’t pay their electric bills: shutting off their power for 15 minutes every hour. Utility officials can impose the intermittent shutoffs through new “smart electric meters,” which should be fully deployed by mid-March throughout the city. The intermittent shutoffs were to begin when testing was complete, perhaps as early as mid-February. “The feature allows the city to give utility customers the ability to maintain a livable inside temperature while encouraging them to pay their past-due balance or make payment arrangements,” Amy Foster, business services manager, said by email.
Source: Joco 913 News
Wyandotte County passes Safe and Welcoming Act, providing municipal IDs for immigrants
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County’s Board of Commissioners passed the Safe and Welcoming Wyandotte Act late Thursday night by a vote of 6-4, a move advocates call a win for immigrants, people experiencing homelessness, elderly residents and the formerly incarcerated. The new measure will provide municipal IDs to residents without legal identification. Yazmin Bruno Valdez, a community organizer for Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, was among the supporters who attended Thursday’s meeting. Valdez is an immigrant who said she lived without legal identification for more than 20 years. … According to Valdez, 20% of Wyandotte County residents do not have photo identification. … Cross Border Network President Judy Ancel said the ordinance will help establish trust between Wyandotte’s immigrant community and police, by blocking police from cooperating or reporting to Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless there is a public safety emergency or they have a warrant signed by a judge.
Source: KCUR News
Kansas judge OKs lawsuit that claims gas price gouging by energy titan BP last winter
Residents of the tiny southeast Kansas town of Mulberry have won the first round in a lawsuit claiming energy giant BP gouged them on natural gas prices during the freeze emergency last February. A Crawford County judge dismissed a motion by BP to shut down the lawsuit and ruled Wednesday that several Mulberry townspeople have the right to sue the mega-corporation, formerly known as British Petroleum. “The big issue here is the Kansas Consumer Protection Act and the right of individuals to file a claim,” said James Zakoura, a lawyer representing Mulberry and its municipal gas consumers. “The judge said yes, we have that right under the law.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Municipal Bond Trends for February 9, 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.
Wichita Public School district keeps mask mandate
The Wichita Public School district’s positive test rate for COVID is about 16%, Sedgwick County is at about 15%. This is one of the reasons that some Wichita Board of Education members voted against dropping the mask mandate in the district, but other members still say parents should be able to decide. After an open discussion Monday night, the BOE voted 4 to 3 in favor of keeping the mask mandate in place for the district. “I’m disappointed that the vote didn’t support looking at the mandate,” said Diane Albert, one of the newest BOE members. Albert made a motion to lift the mask mandate immediately saying that many surrounding districts such as Maize and Derby have already dropped the requirement.
Source: KAKE – News
Fed’s Bostic says more than 3 hikes possible this year, but needs to see how economy responds
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Wednesday he anticipates hiking interest rates three or four times this year, but he stressed that the central bank isn’t locked into a specific plan. Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” the policymaker signaled a view that is less aggressive than the market’s on rates. “In terms of hikes for the interest rates, right now I have three forecast for this year,” he said. “I’m leaning a little towards four, but we’re going to have to see how the economy responds as we take our first steps through the first part of this year.”
Source: CNBC – Bonds
How the Local Government Credit Ratings Strengthened in 2021
In the midst of the COVID-19 public health emergency and tumultuous economic outlooks, local governments managed to build onto their fiscal strength—credit to federal economic stimuluses and diverse revenue sources that helped them to weather the COVID-19 storm. Furthermore, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) views all local government sectors as having a positive/stable outlook going into 2022, except for high education; these local government sectors were viewed with a negative outlook by S&P ratings in the beginning of 2021. However, the undeniable long-lasting impacts of COVID-19 are likely here to stay: employers adjusting to their workforce working from home, changing travel patterns for domestic and international travel, dynamic consumer behaviors, and students adjusting to remote learning. In this article, we will take a closer look at the fiscal health of local governments going into 2022 and how they will need to adjust to changing market patterns.
Source: Municipalbonds