Kansas Municipal News
JoCo EMS may change how it responds to 911 calls amid latest COVID-19 surge
The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has placed added strain on local hospitals’ emergency rooms and Johnson County’s emergency medical response team. As a result, the Johnson County EMS System is considering possible changes to how it responds to 911 calls. Ryan Jacobsen, medical director for the Johnson County EMS System, said the circumstances are challenging now, particularly with the rise in 911 call volumes, coupled with a pre-pandemic shortage in emergency providers and staff.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Working for Lenexa: National tragedy spurs police officer’s career path
Watching the 9/11 terrorist attacks unfold on national television was the moment Hunter Tschippert decided he wanted to become a police officer. He was 5 years old. “Being in kindergarten and seeing the second plane hit was what pushed me toward the line of work to begin with,” he said. “Since then, this is the career path I knew I wanted to go into.” It wasn’t until Tschippert got older that he really understood what happened that day. But watching emergency responders moving toward the crisis is what made him feel called to the line of duty.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Overland Park advances backyard chicken pilot program — Here are the details
A new ordinance that would allow backyard chickens on smaller lots is headed for the Overland Park City Council now that a second council committee recommended it Wednesday night. The proposal, which revamps how the city handles applications for residential chicken keeping, is the product of months of work and negotiation among councilmembers who have previously tended to deny chicken permits in the northern part of the city, where yards are generally smaller.
Source: Prairie Village Post
Parsons Police enter Covid Protocol, what this means for residents
The Parsons Police Department enters COVID Protocol again, with staffing levels at a critical state. “If we can get our staff out of the red and healthy, we can return to a sense of normalcy,” According to Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks. “We want what is best for all parties involved. So if you see an officer keeping their distance or asking you to step outside or out of a vehicle please comply and know that we are just trying to stay safe but still be effective.” The Police Department had a spike and logged 6 positive COVID cases in the last week. In a release, the department says it put their already minimal staffing levels to a critical state. They want to keep the public safe from sickness as well as crime.
Source: KOAMKOAM
Ongoing Dispute Over Whether WPD’s Use of “Gang List” is Constitutional
The United States District Court for the District of Kansas denied significant portions of the City of Wichita’s motion to dismiss the class-action lawsuit challenging Wichita’s “Gang List.” The ruling allows plaintiffs to proceed with their central claims that the gang database itself, as well as WPD’s use of it, is unconstitutional. The case was filed in April of 2021. The City of Wichita and the police department’s motion to dismiss was filed on July 9, 2021. … Attorneys bringing the suit are asking for injunctive and declaratory relief, challenging Kansas law and WPD policy and asking that the City of Wichita immediately cease its use of the Gang List and prohibit the operation of a Gang List in the future.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Pittsburg USD 250 cancels school for rest of week
Pittsburg USD 250 closes for the remainder of the week (Jan. 13-14). The district sites staff shortages due to Covid-19 as the cause. According to an email sent to parents, “Due to staff shortages, USD 250 will be closed on Thursday, 1/13/22 through Friday, 1/14/22. As a reminder, Monday is a scheduled day for No School. Students and staff will return on Tuesday, 1/18/22. Please see the attached letter for more information.” Monday is a holiday, so students and staff will be in school again on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. USD 250 is not requiring students to engage in school work in an online format during cancellation. “This will provide us with a five (5) day period to help our positive students and staff recover and diminish the chance of person to person transmission in our school buildings,” states the district in a letter attached to the email.
Source: KOAMKOAM
Fed hikes are a certainty. It’s the pace and end point that can rock markets: Rates expert
The Federal Reserve is going to raise rates, and based on the latest inflation reading this week, the central bank is likely to start its rate hike cycle in March. The Fed has telegraphed the rate hikes, but the market remains on edge because the hawkish turn from Fed Chair Jerome Powell has occurred quickly and goes beyond higher rates to an unwind of the Fed’s massive balance sheet. It’s the pace of the tightening cycle that remains an unknown, says Priya Misra, global head of rates strategy at TD Securities, and that will contribute to volatility this year.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Fed’s Harker calls for ‘action on inflation,’ sees 3 or 4 rate hikes this year
Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker said Thursday he foresees three or four interest rate hikes will be appropriate this year as the central bank tackles a nagging inflation problem. His thinking, outlined in a live interview on CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” is consistent with estimates the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee released in December. But while officials then penciled in the likelihood of three quarter-percentage-point increases this year of the Fed’s benchmark overnight borrowing rate, Harker said he may be open to even more.
Source: CNBC – Bonds
Emporia discusses smaller lot sizes in potential housing development
As Emporia continues to battle its housing shortage, the city commission discussed the possibility of decreasing lot sizes in a potential development area. At its study session Wednesday morning, the commission heard a proposal from planning and zoning specialist Justin Givens to create a Housing Opportunity Overlay in a 16.8-acre vacant parcel of land directly east of the intersection of Soden’s Road and South Exchange Street. A Housing Opportunity Overlay would allow a developer to decrease lot sizes from the 9,000 square feet minimum requirement in city codes to 5,800 square feet, which would consequently increase the number of residential units that could be built within the area.
Source: Emporia Gazette
Governor Laura Kelly Announces $1.5 Million Available in Tourism Grants
Governor Laura Kelly today announced a new grant opportunity to help communities develop or enhance tourism attractions to boost their local economies. “Our tourism industry supports Kansas jobs, injects millions into our economy and preserves our state’s unique history for future generations,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “These grants will enhance local community efforts to develop quality tourism assets that will grow the economy and improve the quality of life for all Kansans.” The grant program is the Tourism Attraction Sub-grants for Kansas (TASK) program available through the Kansas Tourism Department. The program offers funding support for public and not-for-profit groups to pursue new or improved tourism attractions, with a total of $1.5 million available. TASK is funded by the American Rescue Plan U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation state grants.
Source: Kansas Department of Commerce
Kansas governor proposes to set aside $600M, spend reserves
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has proposed that Kansas put $600 million of its surplus revenue into a rainy day fund and spend nearly $1.8 billion of the excess revenue on a long list of projects. Parts of Kelly’s proposed spending blueprint for state government through June 2023 are likely to meet strong resistance from the Republican-controlled Legislature. It assumes that Kansas will expand its Medicaid coverage, which GOP lawmakers have repeatedly blocked, and give a one-time $250 income tax rebate to residents who filed state income tax returns last year. Before Kelly’s budget director outlined her proposals to a joint meeting of the House and Senate budget committees Wednesday, Republicans suggested that the state’s good economic fortunes could sour quickly.
Source: 1350 KMAN
Supreme Court blocks OSHA vaccine or test mandates
The Supreme Court has stopped the Biden administration from enforcing a requirement that employees at large businesses be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask on the job. At the same time, the court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most health care workers in the U.S.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
More details released for Governor Kelly’s proposed state budget
Governor Laura Kelly is proposing that Kansas set aside $600 million of its surplus revenues in a rainy day fund and spend nearly $1.8 billion more in cash reserves on a host of one-time projects. The Democratic governor’s budget director on Wednesday outlined proposed spending blueprint for state government through June 2023 to the Republican-controlled Legislature’s budget committees. The projects Kelly proposed in her spending blueprint for state government through June 2023 included paying off bonds early and undoing financial maneuvers lawmakers did in previous years to deal with budget shortfalls. She’s also proposing a one-time rebate of $250 to all Kansans who filed state income tax returns last year.
Source: Country 101.3 KFDI
Vandalism of Wichita parks puts other projects on hold
The City of Wichita said that every time it has to make repairs from vandalism, it has to use money that was supposed to go to other projects. It is becoming a more significant concern because of the increase in destruction at city parks. Thursday morning, Troy Houtman, Wichita Parks and Recreation director, said the costs are adding up. For example, someone damaged a control panel at a Aley Park. Part of the panel was knocked off the wall. Houtman said they will have to pay $5,000 to replace it. Vandals also broke into the building at the swimming pool in the Park. They trashed the inside of the place and left behind a big mess.
Source: KSN-TV
‘It would just be a battle’: Wichita-area leaders avoid COVID restrictions amid surge
As COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations top record numbers in Wichita, local officials say there isn’t enough public support to issue any public health orders aimed at slowing the spread. The Sedgwick County Commission and Wichita City Council signaled this week that they will instead continue encouraging people to get vaccinated, a long-term strategy that would do little to slow the current surge, as most COVID-19 vaccines aren’t considered fully effective until five or six weeks after the first dose (two weeks after the second dose).
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Parsons Registered Offender Program begins
The Parsons Police Department has launched a new program to keep registered offenders in compliance with their required conditions of release or sentencing. In late 2021, the department’s officers became concerned after an audit of registered offenders in Parsons found 44% in violation of registration requirements. Acting Commander Kyle Wiford developed what would become the Parsons Registered Offender Program. Wiford worked with selected patrol officers, the Labette County Sheriff’s Office and the Labette County Attorney’s Office to develop the process and procedures for PROP.
Source: Parsons Sun
Lenexa will prioritize certain homes for popular exterior grant program reimbursing improvements
The city of Lenexa is revising its increasingly popular exterior grant program to prioritize home projects most in need of improvements. After expanding the city’s exterior grant program from a few select neighborhoods to citywide, Lenexa is now revising the program in order to reduce the number of eligible applicants and focus program funding on older homes and those with lower appraised values in order to make the biggest impacts on neighborhoods. In 2021, the city funded 11 of the 356 exterior grant applications it received, according to a city memo. In turn, the program generated more than $100,000 in investment in single-family homes.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Lawrence Public Schools considering closing several schools in proposed scenarios
Multiple school closings were proposed by the Lawrence school district’s Boundary Advisory Committee Wednesday in an attempt to lessen an impending budget crisis. Executive Director of Data and Technology Zach Conrad presented four scenarios, each of which involves closing or repurposing at least two schools at the elementary and middle school levels. So far, these scenarios are still just ideas for the school board to consider – the school board will ultimately make decisions moving forward. Kathy Johnson, executive director of finance for the district, said the school board should publish proposals and host public hearings by the Feb. 14 board meeting, and make decisions on closures in late March or early April.
Source: The Lawrence Times
Commission adopts commercial wind regulations for unzoned portions of Reno County
The Reno County Commission Tuesday finally adopted new regulations for the development of commercial wind turbines in the county after 18 months of debate. The board then voted to create a new countywide overlay zone that will apply those regulations to parts of the county that are otherwise not zoned. The commission previously voted to ban commercial wind development in the fully-zoned portions of the county.
Source: Hutch News
Municipal Bond Trends for January 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.