Cyber Vulnerabilities Could Impact Municipal Finance

While cybersecurity risk management has long been on the radar of government IT managers, it’s also attracting the attention of municipal finance organizations. In a Dec. 14 survey by Hilltop Securities, municipal bond credit analysts said they felt state and local governments were unprepared for cyberattacks. A full 63% said they thought governments were “hardly prepared” for cyberattacks, and 30% said they were “somewhat prepared.” Only 6% considered state and local governments “on the way to being prepared, with none of the analysts considering municipalities “very prepared” or even “prepared.” The growing number of ransomware attacks state and local governments are facing has municipal bond issuers on alert. The ransomware attack on Atlanta was a “watershed moment,” Omid Rahmani, associate director for U.S. public finance at Fitch Ratings, said in a Nov. 1 interview with Hilltop.
Source: Route Fifty – All Content

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T01:29:26-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

Labette County commission talked about wind project

Labette County commissioners on Friday shared thoughts and concerns on the wind project being considered for the western half of the county. No decisions resulted from the 30-minute discussion … RWE Renewables is looking to develop a wind farm in western Labette County, from south of Big Hill Lake to north of Edna and west of Altamont. The company has already leased 168 tracts of land totaling 21,571 acres, according to filings in the Register of Deeds Office. … Commissioner Lonie Addis said he would consider a moratorium on wind development to give the commission time to pursue zoning of wind turbines.
Source: Parsons Sun

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T07:14:55-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

Munis see largest rise in yields since November

Selling pressure picked up and municipals showed some weakness for the first time since November on Tuesday following two days of rising U.S. Treasuries, but the asset class still outperformed that market’s double-digit moves to higher yields. Triple-A benchmark yield curves saw two to three basis point cuts, the largest one-day move in either direction since Nov. 30. Secondary trading ticked up with some concessions seen on various high-grade credits, particularly outside of five years.
Source: The Bond Buyer

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T07:15:47-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

Emporia Main Street’s Public Improvement Auction set for Feb. 11

Looking for an event to attend for Valentines Day that also supports your local community? Well, you’re in luck. Emporia Main Street will be hosting their annual Public Improvement Auction on Feb. 11, which will include catering from Bobby D’s, three auctions, and a Dueling Pianos performance by Hi Fi Productions. They have been hosting the Public Improvement Auction for 16 or 17 years. The event is scheduled for 6 – 9 p.m. The three auctions include the silent, live and dessert auctions. The silent auction will be posted on the Emporia Main Street’s web site and Facebook page around a week before the event.
Source: Emporia Gazette

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T01:20:28-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

Emporia may oppose end to grocery tax

“Axe the tax” may be a hot phrase in Topeka. But that may not be the view of the Emporia City Commission. With the new state legislative session one week away, commissioners will vote at their Wednesday meeting on a list of goals for 2022. It takes issue with proposals to end the state sales tax on groceries, which is favored by both Gov. Laura Kelly and likely election challenger Derek Schmidt. One of the 13 points will “generally oppose any further exemption to the base of state and local sales taxes, including sales of food.” Instead, the commission would recommend any changes “be accomplished by a system of income tax credits or direct rebates.”
Source: Emporia Gazette

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T07:16:47-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

Rural areas continue to lose grocery stores, gain dollar stores

Rural residents have fewer options to buy food and have to rely more on dollar stores and long drives for groceries, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA released data last week that shows in rural areas across the country, there was a six-year period ending in 2015 that saw a 20% decrease in grocery, specialty food and convenience stores. There was modest growth in dollar stores and superstores like Walmart over that same time period. “The number of grocery stores has been declining in these (rural) counties, particularly after the Great Recession. These trends suggest that access to grocery stores has been declining over the last 25 years,” the report stated.
Source: KCUR News

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T01:13:50-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

City officials pass Master Food Plan to tackle food deserts in Wichita

Wichita City Council members voted on Tuesday in favor of a food master plan to address the nearly 100,000 Wichitans that live in a food desert. A food desert is an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. “I am going to enthusiastically make a motion that the city council adopts the City of Wichita Sedgwick County Food System Master Plan,” said city council member Becky Tuttle. “We have received seven votes, that motion does pass,” said Mayor Brandon Whipple. The unanimous vote brings the city one step closer to solving the 44 square miles of food deserts in Wichita.
Source: KSN-TV

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T01:12:15-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

Experts and ranchers react to Biden’s $1 billion plan for meatpackers

President Joe Biden announced Monday that the administration will make a $1 billion investment to help farmers and ranchers when it comes to processing their livestock, by giving them options other than giant companies. George Bachman is the owner of JB Ranch located southwest of Augusta. He says there are several issues ranchers like him are facing as we start the new year. “The increase in costs and fuel and especially labor. Labor is really hard to find right now. Besides fuel costs and labor costs, is really the bottleneck at the producer level.”
Source: KSNF/KODE

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T01:09:27-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

Prairie Village says new city mask mandates ‘not on the table’ but wants county to act

Prairie Village will not reimpose a citywide mask order, but city leaders are drafting a letter to send to the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners to urge proactive mitigation against renewed spread of COVID-19. Prairie Village was the first Johnson County city with a mask mandate this fall, but that order expired on Oct. 31. At a Monday meeting of the city council’s committee of the whole, several councilmembers said they were against the idea of bringing back a citywide mask mandate. Instead, a majority of the city council agreed that COVID-19 mitigation measures like a mask order should be coming from the county level.
Source: Prairie Village Post

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T01:07:24-06:00January 5, 2022|News|

Manhattan: Employees, but not public, have to wear masks inside city-operated buildings

A week after setting a mask mandate, the Manhattan city government reversed its decision on requiring the public to wear masks inside city-operated buildings. City officials announced Monday that employees still have to wear masks inside all city-operated facilities, but the public will no longer have to wear masks unless people are in staff-only areas. The policy applies to people two-years-old or older. Previously, city manager Ron Fehr had implemented mask requirements for city staff and the public in city-operated facilities on Dec. 27, citing recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Riley County Health Department and a surge of the omicron variant.
Source: themercury.com

Ranson Financial2022-01-05T07:18:00-06:00January 5, 2022|News|