Kansas Municipal News
Mural takes shape in St. John
An old, blank wall in St. John is being transformed into a history lesson as a gifted artist brings the history of the founding of the town to life on a canvas of mortar.
Artist Inga Ojala climbs a scaffold and draws in the likeness of William Bickerton, a member of the The Church of Christ, that founded the town in 1875.
The wall is roughly 15 feet tall and 55 feet wide. The mural will be a depiction of Bickerton and his wife Dorothy arriving at Ion Valley, the site where St. John would be established, Ojala said.
(Read more: News – PrattTribune – Pratt, KS)
Sedgwick County’s dash for supplies to protect against COVID-19 tangled in red tape
Wichita hospitals are facing a shortage of personal protective equipment as the coronavirus pandemic continues its community spread in Sedgwick County.
But a worldwide scramble for supplies, layers of red tape and a lack of coordination are making it increasingly difficult for those supplies to get to the front lines of the fight against COVID-19, according to local and state officials.
To gear up for a surge of patients, estimated to reach Kansas later this month, Sedgwick County is pushing the Robert J. Dole Veteran’s Affairs hospital to hand over a stockpile of respiratory protective gear and medical supplies to help local hospitals and first responders fight the coronavirus.
(Read more: Kansas City Breaking News, Crime & Sports |)
Wyandotte County ramping up stay-at-home enforcement after rapid increase in cases; UG employee dies
Officials in Wyandotte County are stepping up enforcement on the stay-at-home order after seeing a rapid rise in coronavirus cases, including the death of a Unified Government employee.
According to the county’s chief medical officer, there have been 137 cases of in Wyandotte County as of Friday night. Dr. Allen Greiner said that’s a 191% increase from one week ago.
…County health officials are stressing that residents and businesses need to take the stay-at-home order seriously. …Residents can report any businesses or individuals whom they believe are not complying with the order by calling the KCK Police Department’s special reporting line …
(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)
Shawnee County’s health officer thrust into spotlight after years of relative anonymity
In 1994, Gianfranco Pezzino had a decision to make. As one of his mentors put it, he would have to choose between being a “big fish in a small pond” or a small fish in a bigger — but possibly nicer — pond.Pezzino chose Topeka. Today, Shawnee County’s health officer calls it “the best decision ever” and takes exception to those who once questioned his move or even said they felt sorry for him.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Kansas Supreme Court balks at price discrimination against home solar producers
The Kansas Supreme Court said Friday state regulators engaged in illegal price discrimination by allowing utility companies to assess higher electric fees on residential customers who generated their own wind or solar power. The decision means Kansas utility companies can’t charge customers producing their own energy more than the companies charge other customers based on that distinction.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Gov. Laura Kelly signs bill for new transportation program
Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday signed legislation to launch a 10-year transportation program. The Legislature before adjourning in March adopted the $9.9 billion Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program to replace the expired T-Works program. The new plan includes completion of T-Works projects left marooned by a decade of annual funding sweeps."Investing in Kansas’ infrastructure means putting people to work," Kelly said. "It means fixing our roads and bridges.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Hospitals, cities suffer revenue shortfalls
Arkansas City commissioners were warned Friday to expect a big financial hit to the city and hospital due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
During a study session Friday, City Manager Nick Hernandez predicted serious problems in the next few months.
The city does have reserves, but might also have to borrow from other sources to cover expenses.
“I’m telling you straight up right now, we’ll probably have to transfer some of our utility funds over to help cover the offset in lost revenue,” he said. “If sales tax decreases 50 percent, you’re talking about a $1.6 million hit to the budget.”
Hernandez added that he doesn’t expect to see that big of a drop. His guess is a 20 to 25 percent drop overall due to the loss of local sales.
(Read more: www.ctnewsonline.com)
Reno Commissioner offers challenge to community in video
In a brief video recorded Thursday in the Reno County Commission chambers, Commissioner Bob Bush challenged he community to keep the county’s death toll from the novel coronavirus at zero by everyone staying at home and, if people must go out, practicing the oft-repeated health guidelines of social distancing and good hygiene.
Bush touches on the efforts being made by local public and health agencies, who gather on a conference call each morning to “talk about how to unity and come together so we have the resources when people get sick,” as well as the county’s burn ban and the need to conserve medical resources.
(Read more: Local – The Hutchinson News)
Early projections have Johnson County government losing $18-$38 million in tax revenue due to pandemic
The county could lose anywhere from $18 million to $38 million in tax revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the earliest projections prepared by budget director Scott Neufeld. And that doesn’t even include parks and library budgets.
Johnson County commissioners got a sobering look at the potential impact of the business shutdowns on sales and other taxes collected for the rest of the current budget year. Biggest losses were estimated to come from lagging sales tax, but the county could also expect to lose substantially on investment income because of cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve, he said.
Meanwhile, the county manager’s office furloughed 46 motor vehicle registration employees, since those offices are now closed to the public. The furloughs save about $240,000 a month.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post )
Gardner forgives many March electric bills for residents, businesses
With many residents and business owners hurting financially because of the new coronavirus, the city of Gardner is forgiving many of the electricity charges it billed during March.
The move, which will cost Gardner about $790,000 in lost revenue, eliminates the entire monthly bill for residential customers and will grant credit for the first 5,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity used by businesses.
“We know we have residents who are financially struggling with bills and other obligations due to the impacts of COVID-19,” Gardner Mayor Steve Shute said in a news release. “We are fortunate that we own our utilities, so we can authorize these changes and provide this much-welcome relief for all in our community while they wait for federal government assistance.”
(Read more: Joco 913 News)
“Pittsburg Strong” shirts aimed at helping local businesses affected by COVID-19 outbreak
The Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce has come up with a unique way to help local businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
he chamber has partnered with Jake’s Fireworks to sell “Pittsburg Strong” t-shirts.
The shirts are $10, and every dollar will help businesses affected by the current coronavirus outbreak.
Participating businesses will be provided t-shirts free of charge and will keep 100% of every sale, thanks to the generous support of sponsors.
(Read more: KSNF/KODE – FourStatesHomepage.com)
Munis again roiled by coronavirus-led volatility as spread-widening grows
The municipal market is facing never-before-seen challenges. A work-from-home workforce scattered about, liquidity constraints, ever-growing credit concerns and a mostly shut down economy that still somehow must provide market access.
Like the middle of March, the tone in the market has moved from a strong seller’s market to one where bidders could name their price.
Credit concerns are impacting the municipal market in a large way, according to Karel Citroen, head of municipal research at investment manager Conning.
“The spread widening is causing deals that were set to price, either get repriced or postponed, now showing up as day-to-day,” Citroen said Thursday before the close of trading.
“I believe two things are happening; at more attractive levels one is starting to see good crossover demand come in, and, at the same time, the traditional investor base is becoming more concerned with the credit implications of the COVID-19 virus,” Citroen said.
(Read more: The Bond Buyer)
Municipal Bond Trends for April 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.
Riley County Clerk pushing for all mail-in election; logistics still a huge question
Depending on the length of the COVID-19 pandemic, some questions are beginning to mount over what effect, if any it will have on the 2020 elections.
Current state law prohibits all mail ballot elections in an election with a candidate’s name on the ballot. They can only be used for special questions. Kansas State University Department of Communications Associate Professor Dr. Tim Shaffer says if a change is made, it will need to happen quickly.
“The reality is, voting by mail is going to require a lot of logistics if we were to do it on a national scale, at this level. The clock is ticking, the election’s in November, especially if we were to think about it from a logistical standpoint. When Amazon and everyone else can’t even mail you toilet paper, how do we do something like this.” he said.
(Read more: 1350 KMAN)
Kansas plans to increase testing soon in fight against virus
Kansas expects an influx of coronavirus tests in the compig weeks that should help with efforts to bring the pandemic under control, the state’s top health official says.
Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health and environment, said Wednesday that he expects to have up to 64,000 test kits that can produce results in 45 minutes, the Lawrence Journal-World reports.
“Very clearly we need to do population studies, meaning testing people who are well,” Norman said. “It’s very fundamental work and will push the analysis (of the virus) upstream. But until that time, social distancing is the name of the game.”
(Read more: 1350 KMAN)
State tax revenue steady in March; Gov. Kelly expects ’huge hit’ in April
The calm-before-the-storm state revenue report for March revealed a narrow uptick in income and sales tax collections.
In one month, the April report from the Kansas Department of Revenue is expected to reflect economic damage of a massive business slowdown and the influence of a decision by Gov. Laura Kelly to extend the deadline for filing state income tax returns until July 15.
“As consumer spending patterns change, retail sales tax and compensating use tax collections could experience a major decline in the months to come,” said Mark Burghart, secretary of the state’s revenue department. “We expect the uncertain business and employment landscape to negatively affect withholding and estimated income taxes.”
Read more: Community – Cherokee County News Advocate)
State looks for compliance in GPS data gleaned from cellphones; infections at 552 with 14 deaths
A promotional flyer last week beckoned Norton-area residents to “get out of the house” and cruise the town’s main drag “like we used to do,” a welcome respite from increasing pressure by health experts to avoid transmission of the coronavirus by sheltering at home.
About 300 showed up for Friday Night Lights in the small western Kansas town near the Nebraska border, where revelers stayed in their car and practiced social distancing before, during and after the event.
Norton County’s rating for social distancing dropped from an A to a F in a trendy scorecard promoted by Unacast, a private company that collects and sells GPS data from cellphones. The company has deployed a free online graphic that grades counties and states by overall reduction in movement reflected in the GPS data.
(Read more: Community – Morning Sun)
How the CARES Act Will Benefit Local Government and School Districts
Last Friday, the president signed into law House Bill 748, the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.” In it, the Federal government authorized more than $2 trillion in emergency relief aid for individual taxpayers, businesses, public health institutions, and state and local governments. We’ve looked through the bill to see where local governments might find some relief from the impact of the pandemic response and have identified a number of potential avenues.
The bill itself is little more than a list of authorizations for various expenditures with qualifications and formulas to determine where the money flows. There is still plenty of work to be done to create the mechanisms for distributing the money. Most of the appropriations are required to be invested on impacts related to the Coronavirus pandemic, although there are exceptions.
From what we see in the bill, there are a number of avenues for local governments and school districts to receive funds, both as pass-throughs from other agencies or as grants from specific programs, using pre-existing processes.
Below are areas of the bill that contain potential funding opportunities for counties, cities and school districts.
(Read more: ELGL)
Good Neighbor Program serves a need in Shawnee County
For those of you who are stuck at home, there is help nearby when it comes to getting your essential goods delivered. The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office has a new program to deliver groceries and other necessities straight to your door.
Jackson, Geary and Brown County sheriffs’ offices are doing something similar. If you need assistance you can place your order with a participating store and then call the sheriff’s program number to provide them with the details.
The number for Shawnee County is 785-251-2444. The service is offered Monday through Friday from 8:00am until 4:00pm.
Sheriff Brian Hill said “the sheriffs’ office just wants to do what they can to help out during these difficult times. I know there’s a lot of people that are elderly, disabled or live out in isolated locations, maybe with minimal family contact, and we’re trying to assist those folks.”
(Read more: KSNT News)
Sedgwick County launches page to report Stay-at-Home order violations
Sedgwick County residents now have a way to report violations of Gov. Laura Kelly’s order to stay at home to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The county launched its Stay at Home Order Reporting page on Thursday.
The county says each report will be documented and reviewed. If it is determined that a non-essential business is operating or a non-essential activity is occurring, the appropriate parties will be contacted.
(Read more: KWCH News)