The city of Topeka wants to hear your voice in the search for a new city manager. A survey has been shared to the city website where residents can answer questions and guide the governing body on what qualifications they want to see in the next city manager. The governing body was to begin to preview the responses Friday, and the survey will end on May 13.
Source: CJonline
The City of Lawrence is seeking feedback from community members on two proposed changes to the city’s governmental structure, as city leaders consider adding a question to the November election ballot. One of those changes would see a nonpartisan mayor elected directly to a four-year term, a change from the current arrangement where the commission chooses one of its own members each year to serve a one-year term as mayor. The other would create six voting districts in Lawrence, bumping the size of the commission up from five to six members, each serving staggered four-year terms.
Source: LJWorld.com
Following a vote of approval from the Douglas County Commission on Wednesday night, regulations for possible future solar farms in the county are now official. … those regulations set specific limits for elements like the maximum size of a solar farm — 1,000 acres — and how far they must be set back from roads, homes and other structures. With the commission’s approval, solar energy firms and others wishing to develop solar farms here will be able to file applications for conditional use permits.
Source: LJWorld.com
Major changes are being considered at the state’s pension fund, ones that could impact its fiscal outlook and relations with the Legislature — even as lawmakers voted to add $1 billion to its coffers. The KPERS Board of Trustees is weighing a controversial decision to reduce the estimated profit generated by the pension fund’s investments, a metric dubbed the assumed rate of return. Kansas currently projects its investments will bring in 7.75% each year. Officials voted to reduce the assumed rate of return in 2016, dropping it from 8% previously. But even with that move, Kansas has the highest assumed rate of return in the country, according to data compiled by the National Association of State Retirement Administrators.
Source: Salina Journal
Winfield Fire/EMS Department personnel were among the first responders sent to help in the immediate aftermath of the tornado that struck Andover on Friday. Winfield Fire Chief Vince Warren said that Cowley County dispatchers received a call from Andover authorities on Friday night, requesting search and rescue aid. They relayed the call to the Winfield Fire Department, which sent five firefighters, a vehicle and a rescue trailer to help. Warren said they staged in the Andover Dillons parking lot, and the Winfield unit was assigned to do secondary residential searches, following teams who had done an initial search to ensure residents were not trapped in their homes. The initial crew was relieved of their duties on Saturday morning and three more people from Winfield were sent. That crew was released a short time later Saturday and returned to Winfield.
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
Dale Angleton said he had just heard the “all-clear” from a Wichita TV news station when his nephew Ron Bradford burst through the front door. “Tornado!” Bradford said. It was the only warning Angleton would receive Friday night before a house on 31st Street that has been in his family since 1972 collapsed on top of him. Bradford grabbed his uncle and pushed him into a bedroom, where the two men hit the floor right as the tornado struck the house.
Source: Wichita Eagle
The big number for Lyon County emergency dispatchers Thursday may not have been 911, but $1.00. The county commission accepted a proposal to provide dispatchers with a one dollar-per-hour raise. The starting pay for some of them will increase as well. The commission did not vote on the raises, after hearing from Emergency Communications Director Roxanne Van Gundy. Chair Rollie Martin said it wasn’t necessary. “As long as she can work it within her budget this year, we said go ahead,” Martin explained after the weekly meeting. … She added that the raise “keeps us competitive for future applicants and also shows our existing, loyal staff that we see the hard work they are doing.”
Source: Emporia Gazette
Wichita Public Schools will discontinue its universal free lunch program while preserving free breakfast for all students during the 2022-23 school year. School nutrition funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In March, Congress let a pandemic relief waiver program lapse that had provided for schools across the country to offer all meals to students for free over the past two school years. “I think we all want our kids to be able to come to school and get food, but this is not something that we had a choice in,” Wichita school board member Sheril Logan said at Monday evening’s meeting.
Source: Wichita Eagle
Prairie Village will impose new citywide storage pod limits beginning July 1. Some residents and businesses are keeping portable storage units on their properties for extended periods, causing a recent increase in complaints. A newly approved ordinance means storage pods usage needs to adhere to the following starting July 1: A limit of two 14-day periods per year; Placed at least 10-feet back from the curb, in a spot that doesn’t obstruct traffic visibility.
Source: Prairie Village Post
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.
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Wichita, KS 67202
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info@ransonfinancial.com
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