Fed cuts rates 50bps to offset coronavirus risks

The Federal Open Market Committee cut the fed funds rate target 50 basis points to a range between 1% and 1.25%, it announced Tuesday.
While economic fundamentals “remain strong,” the panel said in a statement, “the coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity.”
As a result, and “in support of achieving its maximum employment and price stability goals,” the panel took the action two weeks before its next scheduled meeting.
“The Committee is closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook and will use its tools and act as appropriate to support the economy,” the statement said.
(Read more: The Bond Buyer)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:38:17-06:00March 4, 2020|News|

Sedgwick County home property values increase ahead of transparency bill decision

Most Wichita-area homes increased in tax value again this year during a push by state lawmakers to make property taxes more transparent.
About 81% of residential properties in Sedgwick County increased in value. The increases averaged 6% compared to last year, according to the county appraiser’s office. Those values, combined with local levy rates approved by local elected leaders, help determine what residents pay in property taxes.
Sedgwick County Appraiser Mark Clark said the reason for the increases is that homes are selling faster and for more money than in the past, citing “a very strong imbalance between supply and demand in the residential market.”
(Read more: Local News |)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:37:28-06:00March 4, 2020|News|

Washington County consider ending county intangibles tax

On Monday county treasurer Denae Jueneman told the Board of County Commissioners that she has had several more complaints about the intangibles tax, and because this is an election year, she wondered if the commissioners had thoughts about allowing voters to decide whether or not to get rid of the tax at the county level. The intangibles tax is a local tax levied on gross earnings received from intangible property including savings accounts, stocks and bonds, among other things. Payment of the tax is on the honor system.
“You get penalized for honesty,” commissioner Raleigh Ordoyne said.
Jueneman said the intangibles tax brought in about $47,000 last year.
If the question were to be put in front of voters later this year, it would impact only the county’s portion of the tax; some townships and cities collect the tax too, and a county-wide vote wouldn’t impact those collections.
Read more: Washington County News.

Ranson Financial2020-03-03T22:00:55-06:00March 3, 2020|News|

Roeland Park discusses state of city’s glass recycling and exploring a curbside service

The Roeland Park city council earlier this month discussed what the future of glass recycling looks like for the city, including a curbside glass recycling service with Ripple Glass.
Previously, a big, purple Ripple bin sat in the Lowe’s parking lot for residents to drop off their recycled glass. Mayor Mike Kelly said the bin had to be removed due to contracts and policies outside of Roeland Park’s control. Ripple’s Metro Program Manager Morgan Henderson said the company loves servicing Roeland Park and is actively looking for a new spot to place a bin so residents can pick back up where they left off.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:39:01-06:00March 3, 2020|News|

Connecting incarcerated citizens to the Johnson County Library

For many years, Johnson County Library has provided outreach services for some teens and adults in the Johnson County corrections system. Now, those programs are expanding under the leadership of Incarcerated Services Librarian Melody Kinnamon. Kinnamon chairs a core team of staffers helping to connect incarcerated citizens to the Library, and she praises the entire group’s efforts. She’s especially grateful to long-term team members Kate McNair, Scott Stone and Debbie Frizzell for their commitment to this mission.
Kinnamon has held several positions since she came to Johnson County Library in 2002, including as a reference librarian and community branch manager. But the book “Just Mercy,” about justice and redemption, galvanized her. “I just kind of had a heart for the social justice issues that surround our criminal justice system,” she said, noting that Bryan Stevenson’s 2014 best seller “planted a seed” and sparked her passion to work with this population. Kinnamon co-chaired the incarcerated services team with McNair in 2018 and took the lead in 2019.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:39:38-06:00March 3, 2020|News|

Merriam discusses moving to LED bulbs in city streetlights

The Merriam city council on Monday discussed purchasing LED bulbs for streetlights in need of replacement, and eventually transitioning entirely to LED bulbs.
A move to LED bulbs is trending among Shawnee Mission cities: Prairie Village its streetlights from Kansas City Power & Light in 2016 and set about installing LED heads. And in November 2019, Overland Park and Lenexa entered a partnership to switch to LED bulbs on some shared streetlights. Recently, Shawnee approved the acquisition of streetlights from Evergy (formerly KCP&L) and a conversion to LED bulbs.
Merriam purchased streetlights from KCP&L in 1996, and all light fixtures installed to date have been high-pressure sodium streetlights, according to city documents. There are 228 lights left to install to complete the Merriam Streetlight Program, and 78 of those are set for installation in 2020. The program could be completed with high-pressure sodium bulbs for $950,000, or with LED bulbs for closer to $1 million, Public Works Director Jim MacDonald said.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:40:04-06:00March 3, 2020|News|

Coronavirus not here yet, but coming; Sedgwick County gears up, official tells Wichita council

In the first of what will be weekly local updates on the coronavirus, Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne told the Wichita City Council that the risk for the virus is currently low, but it is almost certain to come to Kansas sooner or later.
The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, “is not in our community, it’s not in the state of Kansas, but it is coming and so we are going to be prepared for that when it does come,” she said Tuesday.
Sedgwick County has activated its “internal incident command system,” to gather information on the progress of the virus and distribute it to the health-care community and the general public.(Read more: Local News)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:42:31-06:00March 3, 2020|News|

Response to call for volunteers for Overland Park mental health task forces has been ‘overwhelming’

Response has been “overwhelming” to a call for volunteers to serve on an Overland Park task force on mental health, Councilmember Chris Newlin said Monday.
Some 23 applications have come in for five positions on the task force, which was launched about two weeks ago. In fact, Newlin said he would like to add two or three positions to include more people who want to serve. “We want to make sure we have a very robust task force,” Newlin said.
The advisory group is being formed to study the mental health needs of the community and barriers to meeting those needs.
(Read more: Prairie Village Post)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:43:49-06:00March 3, 2020|News|

The 10-year Treasury note yield just broke below 1%. Here’s how it happened

The U.S. bond-market’s benchmark yield plunged below 1% on Tuesday, a possibility that few analysts and investors contemplated at the beginning of the year.
Investors have attributed the slide in U.S. Treasury yields to a combination of factors including slower global economic growth, the attraction of a positive return when negative-yielding debt is the alternative in Europe and Japan abroad, and the absence of any inflation threat.
But in the end, the spark for the furious rally in Treasurys on Tuesday came from a less abstract source: a surprise 50 basis point interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve to counteract worries that the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic would deliver a painful blow to consumer and market confidence.
(Read more: MarketWatch.com)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:44:26-06:00March 3, 2020|News|

Wichita considered to be low risk for coronavirus at this time

The Sedgwick County health director said Tuesday there is a low risk of coronavirus for the Wichita community, and no cases have been reported in Kansas yet.
Health director Adrienne Byrne told the Wichita city council that she uses the word “yet” because the COVID-19 virus is coming. She said she is more concerned about the flu because it is still active and will continue to be through March and April. She said there have been more deaths from flu in the U.S. than the coronavirus, and people are more likely to get the flu.
(Read more: KFDI 101.3)

Ranson Financial2020-03-04T06:44:52-06:00March 3, 2020|News|

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