Kansas Municipal News
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s money will help run Sedgwick County’s 2020 elections
Sedgwick County is turning to private funds to help run its 2020 election. Sedgwick County, the second-largest county in Kansas by population, has been awarded $816,458 from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a nonprofit foundation, to boost the efforts of the county election office to hold an election in the midst of the pandemic. The money comes from a $250 million donation by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and his wife, Priscilla Chan. The billionaire married couple said in a news release that they hope the money helps “ensure that every voter who intends to cast a ballot is able to, and ultimately, to preserve the integrity of our elections.”
Source: Local News | Wichita Eagle
Harvey County speeds up voting equipment upgrade
Thanks to a grant, the Harvey County Clerk’s Office was able to take a bite — about 12 percent — out of a planned upgrade to voting equipment upgrades planned for 2021. The Center of Tech and Civic Life awarded a grant of more than $67,629 to the Harvey County Clerk’s Office to use for elections. The county commission will be asked to consider a purchase of $45,475 — new ballot tabulation and auditing equipment — Oct. 6. That purchase comes early, and removes the equipment purchase from capital improvement funds for the county clerk’s office.
Source: Newton Kansan
Sabetha sees increased sales tax distributions
Sabetha’s sales tax distributions are above last year’s distributions for September. This is according to the September County/City Local Sales Tax Distribution Report released by the Kansas Department of Revenue. The state issues these distributions two months after collection, so the September distribution is a reflection of July sales. Sabetha saw increased sales tax distributions in the month of September alone — with distributions of $40,202.07, a 7.3 percent increase from the $37,480.93 distributed in September 2019. Sabetha’s local sales tax rate is 1 percent.
Source: Sabetha Herald
It’s a ‘new normal’ at Iola High School
It’s 7:57 on a Monday morning, and Brett Willis and his friends are walking up the sidewalk to the high school. Brett forgot his mask. He throws his water bottle into the courtyard and stomps away, while his friends make their way through the line of fellow students waiting to get their temperatures checked before they can enter. “It made me really mad because I had to go back out to my car,” Brett says. This is just a “new normal” day at Iola High School during the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought several changes in terms of safety and hygiene to prevent its spread.
Source: The Iola Register
Neosho County’s economic recovery stumbles
Neosho County’s economic recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic suffered a hiccup during August in unemployment numbers and sales tax totals. In August, Neosho County had 5,772 people working and 527 unemployed for a preliminary rate of 8.4 percent. Revised figures for the previous month showed 71 more jobs but 58 more people unemployed for a higher rate of 9.1 percent. Since April, the county has recovered 313 jobs, but the number of people out of work is still more than twice what it was before COVID-19.
Source: www.chanute.com
Municipal Bond Trends for October 2, 2020
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.
City Economic Recovery and Relief Sales Tax Question on the Ballot in Manhattan
A 10-year special sales tax question of 0.5% will be on the November 3, 2020 ballot for Manhattan. If the sales tax is passed by Manhattan voters, it will go into effect January 1, 2023. … Sales tax proceeds would be used to stimulate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce the ad valorem (assessed by value) property tax burden on City taxpayers.
Source: Manhattan – News Flash
Paint the town: Spread the Love duo unmasked as project concludes in Hutchinson
Hutchinson’s vigilante artists have finally unmasked. Over the last few months, heart-shaped murals featuring the number 13 cropped up around town. The street art features the same image and message — spread the love. Last week, the duo responsible for sharing the message of love and positivity unmasked and answered questions the community had about their mural work. The “secret heart ninjas” — Kylee Baldetti and Shaelee Mendenhall — live on the same street. They noted how odd it is for two artists to live so close. The duo started painting when they teased out ideas about new mural projects in Hutchinson.
Source: Local – The Hutchinson News
Health officials say 60% of JoCo public schools have had to use quarantines to try to stop COVID-19
Less than a month after schools around Johnson County began reopening for in-person learning, about 60% of the county’s public school buildings have had to put least one person in quarantine for exposure to the novel coronavirus. That’s according to Johnson County health officials, who briefed the Board of County Commissioners Thursday. Public Health Director Sanmi Areola, Ph.D, said 104 of the 169 public school buildings in the county have “something going on related to COVID,” while community transmission overall remains high. Elizabeth Holzschuh, an epidemiologist with the county health department, told county commissioners that quarantines linked to schools include students and staff, and that there are a variety of reasons, including school athletics, for positive cases and exposures. The schools and the county have been working together to handle the overwhelming workload of contact tracing, she said.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post
Despite the pandemic, or perhaps in part because of it, Wichita new home sales thrive
As the coronavirus pandemic struck in March, there was a collective holding of breaths in many industries about what the impact might be. New home builders and developers braced themselves for potential catastrophe. “I’m like, oh, great, is this going to be like the 2009 recession again?” said developer Jack Ritchie of Ritchie Development. “We thought the world was going to come to an end, and we wouldn’t have any sales,” said developer Jay Russell of J. Russell Communities.
Source: Carrie Rengers: Business Columns & Blogs |
Kansas counties prepare to send advanced ballots ahead of election
Counties across the Sunflower State are preparing for the 2020 General Election on November 3. Due to the pandemic, county clerks are noticing a major focus on mail-in ballots. “We are sending out close to 10,000 ballots which is huge for our county,” said Butler County Clerk, Tatum Stafford. Inside the Butler County Election Office there is an assembly line of envelopes. Workers are stuffing them one at a time. “October 14 we will be mailing this whole state of Kansas will be mailing all advanced ballots and last I knew we have close to a little over 400,000 ballots going out in the state of Kansas,” Stafford said.
Source: KSN-TV
Girard Fall Festival commences amid pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has halted many activities, but the Girard Fall Festival will not be one of them. Taking place October 1-3, the Girard Fall Festival has made some precautionary changes, but is still going on as planned. Celebrate Girard! has organized several events to be held as part of the Festival, including Paint the Town, vendors, food trucks, kids games, and more. A full list of the scheduled events can be found on Celebrate Girard!’s website. “I think that the town has been very appreciative in seeing how much we all pulled together with this pandemic this year with the fall festival coming together, and everybody in the entire town, really, pitching in, to make sure that this happened for normalcy,” said Nelle Lehman, Celebrate Girard! vice president. “It brings everybody together as a community to support each other, pulling their part.”
Source: KSNF/KODE
WSU police department starts bicycle patrol
Wichita State campus police began a bicycle patrol on Monday to allow officers to interact more and be able to patrol places vehicles may not be able to access. Officer Matthew Feldt asked Police Chief Rodney Clark if there was interest in a bicycle patrol program and was the one who led the initiative to bring it to campus. Clark said the bike patrol will add another level of safety. “It’s hard to approach someone in a vehicle, it’s much easier to approach someone on a bike and that’s what I want students to take from the bike patrol, it’s just an additional method of safety,” Clark said. Being more visible and more approachable is a goal Clark says the campus police is hoping to achieve with this form of patrol.
Source: The Sunflower
Hutch library glad to see visitors back in the stacks
Although their hours have changed and some of their services have changed, the staff at Hutchinson Public Library want residents to know the library is open and able to serve them. “People can come in and browse,” said Nathan Towle, a public services assistant at the library. The library opened back up in July. During October, its store is having a half-off sale. They also offer virtual story time on Fridays through Nov. 27. “It’s good to see people back in the library,” Towle said.
Source: Local – The Hutchinson News
100 Years of Women Voting: Boot Hill host new exhibit
Boot Hill Museum will welcome a traveling exhibit starting Oct. 4 and running through Oct. 18 that will tell the life of the women’s suffrage movement in the lead up to women gaining the right to vote. According to Jacqueline Lightcap, co-chair of the League of Women Voters of Kansas, the exhibit has visited dozens of towns across the state over the last year in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The theme of the seven-paneled mobile museum is “Learning from the Past, Imagining the Future.”
Source: News – Dodge City Daily Globe – Dodge City, KS
Restoring Salina downtown a constant throughout 2020
As years go by and downtown continues to be remodeled, it can be hard to recall or to see the history that is a significant element of most downtowns. When you are on S. Santa Fe, if you look up to the roof line, you will see the names of buildings that date back over 100 years. At ground level, you may also notice an effort being made to retain history, while adding a fresh modern style. One of the current projects is being done by Restore Construction in a stretch of buildings from 137 — 143 S. Santa Fe. This includes the historic Thomas Watson, T.W., Roach Building at 141-143. This will be the new home of Apron Strings, a kitchen store that is opening in October.
Source: News – Salina Journal
Johnson County home prices approach new milestone
Limited inventory and skyrocketing demand have pushed up home prices across the Kansas City metro area. But Johnson County is approaching a new milestone: In August, the average sales price of new and existing homes reached nearly $400,000, according to the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors. While the booming market is good news for sellers, it does underscore longstanding concerns that Johnson County homes are becoming increasingly out of reach for many working- and middle-class families.
Source: KC Star Local News
Inspired by Topeka leaders and community members, local artist creates portrait series
Like everyone else, local artist Becky Drager was handed a box of lemons when COVID-19 made its presence and caused many businesses to shut down. But instead of letting those lemons sour, Drager chose to turn them into lemonade and create a portrait series of Topeka leaders and community members that inspire her every day. Drager created 20 portraits from April 1 to Sept. 25, and the full collection will be on display from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at the NOTO Arts Center during the Decade of NOTO celebration. The people in Drager’s portraits range in age from toddlers to adults and capture a diverse group of people.
Source: Local News | Topeka Capital-Journal
Kansas Court of Appeals: “When you do business with a city in Kansas, you must be cautious.”
There is a lot of history and discussion about the Cash-Basis Law and the Budget Law in this opinion. The opinion begins:
When you do business with a city in Kansas, you must be cautious. It differs from doing business with an ordinary person or company. There are many complex laws and rules that govern a city’s actions that do not apply to others. A failure to understand this complexity can lead to losing what once was thought certain. This case is an example of that peril.
Farmers Bank & Trust thought it had a loan guaranty from the City of Junction City but later found it was unenforceable. Farmers also made tort claims against the City and some of its officers but disregarded a fundamental notice provision in the law. Farmers lost when the court granted summary judgment to the City and the individual officials. Because the laws and the cases that interpret them constrain what cities may do with tax expenditures and how they can be sued for redress, we hold the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the City and the other defendants was proper. We affirm.
Read the opinion of Farmers Bank & Trust v. Homestead Community Development, et al.
Municipal Bond Trends for October 1, 2020
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.