A job fair at Hutchinson Community College Thursday smashed previous participation records by employers looking for help as the local and regional labor markets remain extremely tight. “We have at least 155 employers signed up,” said Dave Mullins, Director of the Business and Industry Institute at Hutchinson Community College. “We usually have around 100.” The participants are from businesses and industries across the board, he said. “Everyone is looking for employees,” Mullins said. “This is as tight a labor market as we’ve ever seen. There’s definitely upward pressure on wages.”
Source: Hutch News

Affordable housing is defined as housing that takes up no more than 30% of one’s income. In Topeka, the median household income was $49,647 per year between 2016 and 2020. But the per capita income over the same time period was $28,420 per year according to statistics from the Census Bureau. That’s before taxes are taken and translates to $2,368 per month. … Such advocacy groups as Topeka JUMP, Habitat for Humanity and Cornerstone of Topeka try to find and/or provide affordable housing. Members of those organizations say they need more action from the Topeka City Council, however. Some first steps have been taken: In July 2019, the city council unanimously approved a motion that would establish a housing trust fund. This would offer housing developers like Habitat for Humanity and Cornerstone another source of funding.
Source: CJonline

As a reminder, all Non-Entitlement Units of government (NEUs) that accepted funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) are required to submit the first Project and Expenditure Report to the US Treasury by the deadline of April 30, 2022.   

NEUs are required to have an active SAM.gov registration to complete reporting for ARPA funds. Please check your SAM.gov account before the April 30, 2022, reporting deadline to ensure that the registration has not expired. The US Treasury Department is also implementing a transition from DUNS numbers to UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) numbers. An UEI number is automatically assigned to your city when you register with SAM.gov. You can also find this information on your SAM.gov profile. 

If you have any ARPA reporting questions such as the identity of the Authorized Representative or Point of Contact (POC), need signed awards documents (to include budget documentation) or have project and expenditure report questions, reach out to the Office of Recovery using the CONTACT US link on the Office of Recovery website.   

For issues relating to reporting portal access, changing the Authorized Representative to access the portal or general reporting portal troubleshooting, e-mail the US Treasury directly at SLFRP@Treasury.gov. Reporting resources and technical assistance webinars released by Treasury can be found here. 

If you update the Authorized Representative with Treasury, please also notify the Office of Recovery using the CONTACT US link to continue receiving resources and information from the Office of Recovery.   
Source: Kansas Office of Recovery

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.

Prepared with a windbreaker, a thermos full of coffee, snacks and two library books, director Gregg Wamsley placed his warm knit hat on his head and sat down on his most comfortable outdoor chair at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning on the roof of the Hutchinson Public Library on Main Street. In celebration of National Library Week, Wamsley sat on the roof of the library until 800 books were checked out. By 3:30 p.m., 400 books had been checked out, making it to the halfway point, according to updates on the library’s Facebook page.
Source: Hutch News

A job fair at Hutchinson Community College Thursday smashed previous participation records by employers looking for help as the local and regional labor markets remain extremely tight. “We have at least 155 employers signed up,” said Dave Mullins, Director of the Business and Industry Institute at Hutchinson Community College. “We usually have around 100.” The participants are from businesses and industries across the board, he said. “Everyone is looking for employees,” Mullins said. “This is as tight a labor market as we’ve ever seen. There’s definitely upward pressure on wages.” State labor data shows that workers are returning to the labor market, but a large number who left remain out, and young people, Mullins said, have been slow to jump in.
Source: Hutch News

Topeka Police Chief Bryan Wheeles is no stranger to the community. He has lived and worked in the capital city for 28 years, hired to the Topeka Police Department straight out of college in 1994. Since then, he has worked in various divisions throughout the agency. And since November, he has been the city’s police chief after spending a year as the department’s interim leader. His path to becoming a law enforcement officer wasn’t following in his parents’ footsteps. He came from a family of educators and was the first member to join a police department.
Source: CJonline

After being in place three years, a controversial policy that generally requires property owners to pay for repairs to sidewalks bordering their homes and businesses could potentially see some changes. Though clear differences of opinion existed among the Lawrence City Commission members, commissioners directed city staff as part of their meeting Tuesday to develop a plan to gather public input regarding how the city funds sidewalk repairs. Mayor Courtney Shipley, who has pushed for years to have the city’s policy reconsidered, said how the city currently handles sidewalks is inequitable and that just because the city has not historically funded sidewalk repairs doesn’t mean that’s the right approach.
Source: LJWorld.com

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly came to OCCK in Salina Thursday to announce more than $13.2 million of funding for 48 public transit projects across the state. Transit agencies in Kansas, including OCCK, will receive funding as part of the Access, Innovation and Collaboration (AIC) Public Transit Program. OCCK, provides transportation services to the general public, seniors and persons with disabilities through a variety of programs. It was chosen as the place for the announcement because of its successful expansion of the bus facility at the organization’s transportation complex, which was partially funded by Kansas Department of Transportation and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants and was completed in November 2021. “What you see happening here in Salina is a prime example of a community and a region working together to make public transportation a viable option for many Kansans,” Kelly said.
Source: Salina Journal