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Municipal News & Jobs

Municipal News & Jobs2018-08-05T16:28:50-05:00

Kansas Municipal News

COVID-19 pandemic forces local governments to adopt tech solutions, host meetings online

Local government has been shoved and shoved hard by the coronavirus outbreak. And yes, things are bad.
But in one way, the pandemic is having a positive effect. It has pushed councils, boards and committees hard into the technology of the 21st Century. Elected officials, usually constrained by five-year plans, the bidding process and endless committee meetings, have been thrown headfirst into the world of virtual meeting apps.
Suddenly, there’s not enough time for preliminary discussions and staff investigations. Officials are forced to just try them out. And — temporarily at least — government has become a bit easier to access because of it.
Meetings from even the small cities are available to watch from home. Roll calls are being done where voice votes used to suffice. And soon, some viewers may be able to offer public comment without leaving their computers.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)

Muni-Bond Market Reviving After Fed Moves to Ease Cash Crunch

The Federal Reserve is helping revive the $3.9 trillion municipal bond market.
… as many as 200 new negotiated state and local debt offerings will price over the next few days, almost double the amount issued last week, fixed-income strategist Kevin Giddis said in a note to clients.
That would mark a turnaround for a segment of the capital markets that had virtually shut down after concerns about the coronavirus prompted a series of steep sell-offs last month when investors pulled out their funds. The market has since been steadied, with the Federal Reserve last month moving to increase liquidity for money-market funds and last week rolling out a plan to lend as much as $500 billion to states and local governments to help them avoid a cash crunch in the middle of the pandemic.
(Read more: Bloomberg)

Wamego coaches use technology to train and inspire student-athletes

Coaches at Wamego High are going above and beyond to keep their student-athletes in shape. With every squat, push up, and crunch, they get closer to their fitness goals, but how they’re continuing to establish a culture during a pandemic is equally impressive.
Red Raider coaches are facing challenges like every other school in the nation, usually, they inspire in person.
Now they need to do it from home.
(Read more: KSNT News)

Shawnee county leaders say their employees don’t need to worry about a pay cut

Shawnee County leaders said Monday their employees don’t need to worry about taking a pay cut right now.
County Commissioner Kevin Cook said the county’s emergency cash reserve has $33 million in it.
He said the county started saving that money more than seven years ago in case of a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are not looking at having that budget cut to our employees,” Cook said. “That does not say that we are not susceptible to economic downturns, but we do have a healthy cash reserve.”
In some parts of the country, governments are pushing back property tax deadlines, but Shawnee County officials haven’t yet decided whether to push them back locally.
As of Monday afternoon, property taxes are still due by Sunday, May 10th.
(Read more: KSNT News)

Shawnee County health officer: Store employees should cover faces at all times

Staff members in stores “should cover their faces with masks or scarfs at all times,” Shawnee County health officer Gianfranco Pezzino said in a letter sent Monday to Shawnee County retail establishments.
The letter also outlines specific steps Pezzino is asking stores to take to maintain adequate social distancing.
“We hope to address the uneven compliance regarding social gathering restrictions by strongly recommending and encouraging these measures,” Pezzino said in a news release put out late Monday afternoon. “We trust that our county’s retail partners will do their part and adhere as best they can to the recommended measures set forth to help mitigate the transmission of COVID-19.”
Monday’s letter said operators of large stores, shopping malls and other retail establishments where large numbers of people are present should monitor the areas around their stores and ensure people are appropriately directed to store entrances.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Training a constant for Topeka firefighters

Repetition is important when it comes to firefighter training.
Fire crews may run through one scenario in which a building is on fire, then run through the same scenario but this time it is a house fire. The third round may be a high-rise fire.
Making sure firefighters are prepared for any sort of situation is critical, and the repetitive nature of the work can be found in how many hours crews spending training each year.
“It takes at least two hours of training every day they work to make their minimum total,” said Alan Stahl, public education officer for the Topeka Fire Department.
Six men ran a variety of scenarios this past Wednesday afternoon at the department’s headquarters, 324 S.E. Jefferson St., as part of their training.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Holton Community Hospital, Jackson Co. EMS find ways to overcome challenges amid coronavirus outbreak

Like many other hospitals and EMS crews across the country, Holton Community Hospital and Jackson County EMS are doing their best to make do with what they have during the coronavirus pandemic.
Being a smaller hospital, Holton Community Hospital has been faced with some challenges amid the outbreak, like limited access to supplies, having enough space and being able to treat those in need of intensive care. But, they’re finding ways to overcome them.
“We’ve learned to think outside the box to come up with things we have on hand, buildings that we have and how can we utilize what we already have here,” said nurse Jennifer Collins.
Whether that’s setting up a make-shift drive-up testing center in a garage out back or setting up tents outside the building to separate patients with coronavirus symptoms from other patients.
(Read more: KSNT News)

Topeka library using social media to connect people during stay at home order

Topeka librarians are on a mission to keep people reading, even though its doors are closed.
You can now ask a librarian for recommendations on the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s social media sites.
Every Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., they make a post asking people to share what books or shows they’ve been loving. They use those answers to suggest more options they think you might like.
Miranda Ericsson, one of the employees who came up with the idea, said it’s been a great way for people to make connections online while staying at home.
(Read more: KSNT News)

City of Wichita to re-open 2 local golf courses with safety precautions

The City of Wichita says it will re-open two golf courses closed due to the coronavirus pandemic after an overwhelming response from local golfers.
The city said it will re-open Auburn Hills Golf Course and MacDonald Golf Course on Tuesday, April 14. A list of safety guidelines will be enforced, and golfers will need to follow social distancing practices and the health of our staff will be monitored to ensure our commitment to the community’s safety.
“Circumstances are constantly evolving as we navigate through the pandemic,” said the city. “With courses opening, all members of Golf Wichita will be charged for half the month of April. Staff from the closed courses will be assisting at Auburn Hills and MacDonald until the remaining two courses open.”
(Read more: KWCH News)

EMS, hospital recycling masks

Local healthcare professionals are now relying on rows of paper sacks to help protect them in the battle against the novel coronavirus.

Both hospital personnel and emergency responders have been going through hundreds of high-quality N-95 facemasks daily since the outbreak reach Kansas and Hutchinson, to protect themselves from catching the dangerous virus that is spread through aerosolized droplets from those who are infected.

Under normal circumstances, a provider would discard all the gear after dealing with a single patient, to protect against the spread of the virus.

(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)

Shawnee County commission authorizes departments to use Zoom

Shawnee County commissioners on Monday authorized county departments to use the Zoom videoconferencing application.
Commissioners Bill Riphahn, Kevin Cook and Aaron Mays voted 3-0 to approve a consent agenda that included a proposal that enables employees to use Zoom to meet by video instead of face-to-face, with individual departments paying for the subscriptions.
Commissioners Cook and Riphahn were among the 10 people physically present for Monday’s meeting in the commission chambers in the County Courthouse, which is closed to the public. Also on hand were five other county employees and three journalists.
Mays took part by speakerphone, as did several county department heads.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

Shawnee County Commissioner: Strong financial reserves help county deal with crisis

The decision by Shawnee County commissioners to strengthen the county’s reserve fund is paying off in this time of crisis, Commissioner Kevin Cook said Monday.
He made reference at that morning’s meeting to an announcement Topeka’s city government made Friday indicating the coronavirus crisis had forced it to reduce salaries and implement a hiring freeze.
Shawnee County’s government doesn’t need to reduce salaries or workforce at this time, as its reserve balance rose from $3 million to $33 million after Cook and former Commissioner Bob Archer joined that body seven and a half years ago, Cook said.
“Fortunately, Shawnee County has a strong reserve balance to draw from in a time of crisis,” he said.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)

NABL asks Congress, Treasury for direct-pay bonds, advance refunding

The National Association of Bond Lawyers proposed a plethora of actions Congress and the Treasury could take to help state and local governments weather the pandemic.
In a letter sent to the Treasury and Congress late last week, NABL asked for several legislative and administrative actions to help state and local governments as well as 501(c)(3) organizations dealing with cash flow and liquidity issues due to COVID-19. NABL wants those actions to be done as soon as possible in a new coronavirus stimulus bill.
“Adopting these proposals will enable state and local governments to access much-needed capital at a time when support to our communities is of paramount and immediate concern,” wrote Rich Moore, NABL president.
(Read more: The Bond Buyer)

State and local governments face budget crunch, hurting hopes for a quick economic recovery

Spiking unemployment around the country and dire predictions for second quarter economic growth have created a budget crunch for many state and local governments, and it could be a long-term drag on the United States economy.
Robert Dye, chief economist at Comerica, said that sharp declines in employment and consumer sales will hurt tax revenues for state and local budgets, which often have legal restrictions that keep them from filling shortfalls with debt, and weaken a key source of jobs in the country.
“That certainly is a big load of challenge for state and local governments … they can’t run deficit financing. And the other thing is that state and local government spending is bigger than federal spending, so it’s very important to the economy,” Dye said.
Read more: CNBC.

Municipal Bond Trends for April 9, 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.

Sen. Moran Announces $325 Million to Kansas Hospitals & Health Care Providers

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today announced $325 million in relief funding to Kansas health care providers and hospitals. This information was confirmed to Sen. Moran by Vice President Mike Pence this morning. The funding, which will support hospitals fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines, is part of the $100 billion provider relief fund established in the Phase III Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and is being administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“The CARES Act created a fund to help meet the needs of hospitals and health care providers, and today over $325 million is being distributed across Kansas,” said Sen. Moran. “As hospitals are seeing significant revenue losses and others see their costs go up because of COVID-19, these new resources will be a necessary benefit not just to our hospitals, but to the communities and patients they serve. In the fight against COVID-19, these new resources will put our health care providers in a better position to keep us healthy and meet the needs of Kansans.”
(Read more: Sen. Moran)

Sedgwick County asking for volunteers or else could mandate furloughs

Sedgwick County is looking for employees to voluntarily furlough or officials could have to choose who isn’t essential.
The Sedgwick County Commission is expected to weigh in during its meeting Wednesday. Commissioners received an email about the furlough Friday when a separate email from County Manager Tom Stolz went out to the 2,500-plus employees, notifying them about the voluntary furlough as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I think every employee of Sedgwick County knows that our manager has the best interest in mind when he makes these tough decisions,” Commissioner Michael O’Donnell II said. “And I have full faith in Tom Stolz as well.”
(Read more: Local News |)

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