Kansas Municipal News
Insurance Commissioner warns Kansans of potential scams
Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt, today, put out a warning to Kansas consumers and investors about potential scams in the insurance and securities industry related to COVID-19.
“Scammers don’t take breaks,” Commissioner Vicki Schmidt said. “While Kansans are adjusting to their new everyday lives, scammers are out there looking to take advantage of the situation.”
The department’s warning can be found on the home page of the Kansas Insurance Department’s website insurance.kansas.gov. It advises Kansans of nearly a dozen fake insurance scams and potential securities schemes including fake coronavirus insurance, bogus travel insurance, off-market securities and get-rich quick schemes.
(Read more: Hiawatha World Online)
Manhattan city pools likely won’t open in time for Memorial Day
The Northview Park Swimming Pool as seen Monday, may look a lot like this when the Memorial Day holiday weekend rolls in next month. Parks & Rec officials aren’t anticipating city pools to open on time for the annual kick off to summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manhattan parks remain open during the pandemic, but not to the extent they normally would be.
Playgrounds are fenced off to thwart of the spread of germs, social gatherings of more than 10 people are discouraged and spring activities are on hold.
(Read more: 1350 KMAN)
Amid coronavirus, investors need to understand credit quality now
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives and our financial markets. It is hard to assess the long-term effect of the virus, but it is clear the short-term and mid-term effects on the markets are and will be significant. This is especially true in the tax-exempt market. From traditional municipal bonds to conduit financing issued by municipal authorities, the impact will be vast.
As state and local governments continue to enact measures to control the spread of COVID-19, obligors of tax-exempt financing are likely to continue to see a significant drop in revenues. Because of this, revenue bonds may see a deterioration in credit quality. While some types of revenue bonds may be less adversely affected than other types of revenue bonds, the entire market could see significant stress as the pandemic continues.
(Read more: The Bond Buyer)
Money Direct to Residents: Making Sense of CARES Act Payments
The federal government will be sending money directly to people as part of the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or the CARES Act. Local leaders can take action now to make sure their residents keep more of those dollars in their pockets that can be spent in the local economy.
The funds being made available to individuals is an advance on their tax refunds for 2021. Those that earned less than $75,000 in 2019 will be eligible for the full $1,200. Couples who filed jointly and earned less than $150,000 will get $2,400. An additional $500 per child will also be provided. If a person earned more than the limits their payment will be reduced by $5 for every $100 of income that exceeds the limit. The IRS will use the information on Form SSA-1099 or Form RBB-1099 to determine the eligibility of retired people for funds. As of now, the timeline for these funds getting out is a few weeks away via direct deposit for those who have filed their 2019 returns. For those who have not filed their taxes in the last two years, the IRS is creating a web-based portal where they can verify where they would like their funds sent. At this time, it is unclear if individuals whose tax refund went to a paid tax preparer in exchange for a rapid anticipation loan or those that had their tax refund sent to a prepaid debit card should verify their information on the IRS web-based portal.
The IRS has created a webpage that will be updated with information about the stimulus payment.
(Read more: CitiesSpeak)
Reno County establishes COVID-19 self-reporting form
The Reno County Health Department has released a self-reporting form hosted on its COVID-19 Information Center (https://www.renogov.org/741/COVID-19). As a result of Reno County’s last confirmed COVID-19 case coming from confirmed community transmission, the Health Department seeks to mobilize residents to self-report their symptomology through the self-report form to better assist in quantifying and tracking case contact and spread within the county.
(Read more: Hutchinson, KS – News Flash)
New grading systems cause confusion among Kansas high schoolers
With school buildings closed and classes looking very different from what we’re all used to, many K-12 schools are changing their grading systems, too. But that’s creating a new sort of confusion, especially among high schoolers looking toward college.
“I mean it’s really kind of upsetting,” said Caleb Hicks, a Maize High School senior.
Hicks is the captain of his high school baseball tame, or was. He dreams of playing college ball next year.
Not only has the pandemic interrupted his senior year of play and made getting a scholarship harder, it’s made figuring out what grades he needs to remain eligible, a headache.
“I mean you work your whole…high school career to get to a college and then you’re given an option of pass or fail,” Caleb said. “But if you take the pass or fail, then you’re going to be given a D as a pass.”
(Read more: KAKE – News)
Lawrence outdoor pool will again provide a place to shower for those in need
Facilities at Lawrence’s downtown pool will be open twice this week in an effort to provide people in need a place to shower and hand-wash clothing.
The City of Lawrence’s Parks and Recreation Department will open the Outdoor Aquatic Center, 727 Kentucky St., on Tuesday and Thursday, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting, the city said over the weekend in a post on social media.
The city previously had showers open to the public at its recreation centers, but recreation facilities have been closed to the public because of health orders to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Despite lifting moratorium, Douglas County has not received any applications to subdivide land under new codes
Although Douglas County recently lifted a monthslong pause on processing requests to subdivide land in the rural parts of the county, residents have not yet taken advantage of it.
Tonya Voigt, the director of zoning for the county, said Friday that no applications have been submitted since a moratorium on processing the applications was lifted on March 22.
The lack of requests could be because of the county’s newly installed regulations on subdividing land, which include a new step in the process that allows the public to weigh in. But it could also be because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has stymied many aspects of life in Douglas County.
Read more: LJWorld.com.
Municipal bond yields decline as market settles into sustained volatility
Municipal bond yields fell more than 15 basis points Friday, gaining back a portion of the pronounced losses from the past two sessions. The market is settling into what appears to be sustained volatility after more than a month of dramatic swings in yields.
In what used to be considered a normally functioning market, a 10 to 15 basis point cut or bump in one day in benchmarks would be considered quite drastic, but in the current context in which 50 basis-point daily moves have occurred, participants said benchmark weakness or strength to the tune of double digits feels almost steady.
(Read more: The Bond Buyer)
Municipal Bond Trends for April 3, 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.
Scott County Hospital has protocols, ventilators ready if … or when … COVID-19 arrives
Ever since the coronavirus first emerged in the U.S. and even as it has evolved into a pandemic, many Western Kansas residents have been ambivalent to the risk.
Few have chosen to practice social distancing. Many thought the governor’s decision to close schools for the remainder of the year was an overreaction.
But the Scott County Hospital has taken the threat seriously.
“I’m proud of how our staff has responded in preparing for this situation,” says Scott County Hospital CEO Mark Burnett. “We hope that, if anything, we’ve over-prepared and that we won’t need all the measures that we’ve ut into place.”
(Read more: Scott County Record)
Johnson County says church gathering size restrictions still in effect after clarification from state
The 10-person limit on gathering sizes will still apply to religious services, Johnson County officials said Friday night after receiving clarification from the governor’s office.
The statewide stay-at-home ordered issued by Gov. Laura Kelly March 28 led to some confusion here in Johnson County about whether churches and other religious institutions were still subject to the gathering size limit of 10 people instituted as part of the CORE 4 partners’ stay-at-home order, which was announced a week prior.
The metro-area order did not provide a blanket exemption for religious institutions. However, Kelly’s order made gun shops and churches exempt from the gathering size limits along with essential businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)
Mission votes to ‘take care’ of full and part-time city employees during COVID-19 stay-at-home order
The Mission city council during a special called meeting on Wednesday evening unanimously approved employee compensation and benefit amendments to the city’s state of emergency and disaster proclamation, which was originally issued on March 13 and first amended on March 18.
The amendments ensure full-time and part-time city workers are compensated for hours worked or hours scheduled, and employees that must physically show up to work will accrue extra vacation time. These plans differ from the neighboring community of Overland Park, which ordered that 200 part-time employees be furloughed.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post )
Rural Kansas’ Ambulance Crews Will Be Doubly Strained By Coronavirus
The Finney County Emergency Medical Service department, with its staff of 23, is conserving its N95 masks and only using them when a patient is positive for COVID-19. Like large hospitals, U.S. cities and entire European countries, rural EMS workers aren’t shielded from the medical supply shortage. And that’s just one of the challenges rural EMS agencies across Kansas stare down as COVID-19 is being confirmed in their communities. They’re stretched thin, covering hundreds of miles, and seeing the ripple effects from the pandemic that’s shut down communities — something emergency plans hadn’t accounted for.
(Read more: RSS Feed)
Kansas counties to receive portion of Strategic National Stockpile
FEMA has delivered Kansas’ portion of the Strategic National Stockpile and the Kansas Division of Emergency Management will coordinate distribution of these critical resources to all 105 counties starting this weekend to help communities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Strategic National Stockpile is the nation’s largest supply of potentially life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.
(Read more: KSN-TV)
Kansas City area has spent years planning for a disaster like this one. Is it ready?
Parked at hospitals and secret locations across the region, dozens of trailers are jam-packed with hundreds of cots, masks, gowns and other medical supplies.
Except for routine inspection, the doors to many are never opened and haven’t been widely used since Kansas City-area emergency planners acquired them nearly two decades ago with federal assistance. Only a few have ever rolled out. Once to provide aid after an ice storm in St. Louis, and once to help out New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina nearly 15 years ago.
Now, for the first time the hospital trailers — and all the planning and coordination in the bi-state disaster response process they support — might be needed for an expected surge in coronavirus cases in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.
(Read more: KC Star Local News)
Sedgwick County residents concerned about toilet paper in price gouging complaints
Toilet paper has been a concern in price gouging complaints, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office said.
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office put the Kansas price-gouging law into effect on March 12, less than a week after Kansas’ first novel coronavirus case was announced. Since then the AG’s office has received at least 157 reports, a spokesperson said this week.
Sedgwick County cases had been referred back to it.
(Read more: Local News |)
Kansas, Wichita do better than most in coronavirus economy, but it likely won’t last
In these days of coronavirus closures, about 103,000 of us are in essential industries in Sedgwick County and 117,000 are classified as non-essential.
And while Kansas is suffering less than most from the COVID-19 economic crisis in the short term, the state and Wichita in particular will likely have a harder time bouncing back than other areas that are bearing a bigger brunt now.
Those are among the key findings of economic research released in the past week by Wichita State University.
(Read more: Local News |)
Special assignment: Lindsborg police deliver 96th birthday party
Thursday Lindsborg police chief Michael Davis had a special assignment for officer Terry Reed — one that would put a smile on more than just a few faces.
The police department had received a tip to follow up on. There was a 96-year-old woman in town that needed a special welfare check.
“They told me that Aleda [Penn] had a birthday today, and that she was feeling lonely,” Davis said.
She was feeling lonely because she’s stuck at home — like so many others — due to COVID-19 and stay at home orders at the state level. Restrictions on groups of 10 or more made a party out of the question. There was, apparently, no one to visit her on her birthday,.
(Read more: McPherson Sentinel)
New system helps many needing food in Pratt
A line of vehicles snaked their way through the parking lot at the Pratt Community Center as new guidelines went into effect for distributing Retired and Senior Volunteer Program commodities.
Tiffany Ailstock, RSVP director, said the new system worked well although more families showed up than expected and a few families did not receive supplies.
Ailstock said there were 224 families at the event and that is an increase of about forty families over the 166 families that were signed up in February. The 2020 numbers are an increase over the 149 families that were signed up in November 2019. Those 224 families account for about 440 people.
(Read more: News – PrattTribune – Pratt, KS)