Johnson County mayors oppose bill to end local food sales tax

16 Thursday, March 16

Johnson County mayors oppose bill to end local food sales tax

info2023-03-16T09:50:53-05:00March 16th, 2023|

Twenty-two Johnson and Wyandotte County mayors raised their collective voice this week in alarm about a proposal in the state legislature that would eliminate local sales taxes on food – a move they say could halt construction projects already in progress and endanger their cities’ bond ratings and budgets. The mayors, members of the Johnson and Wyandotte County Council of Mayors, also warned that ending their ability to collect sales tax revenue on food would likely result in property tax increases to make up for lost sales tax revenue. Source: Prairie Village Post

16 Thursday, March 16

Cities, counties oppose Senate president’s food sales tax proposal

info2023-03-16T09:48:42-05:00March 16th, 2023|

Cities and counties came out Wednesday against a proposal by Senate President Ty Masterson to fill a budget hole caused by a bill that would eliminate millions of dollars in local sales taxes on groceries. While they liked the intent of the Masterson's proposal, they said they were disillusioned by years of promises from the Legislature to reinstate revenues that it's taken from local government. Source: Sunflower State Journal

16 Thursday, March 16

Lawrence announces tentative location for Pallet Shelter Village: North Michigan Street

info2023-03-16T12:30:47-05:00March 16th, 2023|

The City of Lawrence on Wednesday announced the location for its planned Pallet Shelter Village site: 256 North Michigan St., pending Lawrence City Commission approval. “The City is committed to working with the surrounding neighborhood to make the Pallet Shelter village a successful addition,” according to a news release. In December, the Lawrence City Commission approved using $4.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act money — federal COVID-19 relief funds — to purchase the modular homes for people experiencing homelessness from Pallet, a “Public Benefit Corporation.” Source: The Lawrence Times

16 Thursday, March 16

Johnson hired as new USD 264 Clearwater superintendent

info2023-03-16T12:31:05-05:00March 16th, 2023|

Jason Johnson has been announced as the new superintendent for Clearwater USD 264. The announcement was made Tuesday morning. Johnson was chosen at a Monday night board of education meeting. The search for a new superintendent culminated with interviews last week with four finalists. The Kansas Association of School Boards assisted in the search. Johnson will replace Chris Cooper, who will retire at the end of June. Johnson will take over on July 1, although it is common for new hires to do some work ahead of time to acclimate themselves to their new districts. Cooper came to Clearwater from the [...]

16 Thursday, March 16

Wakefield City Council discusses “Big Sexy Summer” concert in park

info2023-03-16T12:31:37-05:00March 16th, 2023|

Council members discussed plans they have been presented for a summer concert event in the park called the “Big Sexy Summer” planned for July 21-23. The event calls for three days of music in the park with seven bands performing on stage from 2 to 11 p.m. No official acts or plans were presented but city council members discussed logistics such as alcohol sales and camping rentals. Despite the risqué sounding title, Mayor Chris Dumler said that he had been assured in an email by organizers that the event would be family friendly though he himself still had concerns regarding the [...]

16 Thursday, March 16

Municipal Bond Trends for March 15, 2023

Henry Schmidt2023-03-16T09:18:38-05:00March 16th, 2023|

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, Beth Warren and Henry Schmidt.

15 Wednesday, March 15

EPA Proposes Limits for ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water

info2023-03-15T12:19:42-05:00March 15th, 2023|

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first federal limits on so-called forever chemicals in public drinking water, a move that is expected to cost water utilities billions of dollars to filter out substances that have contaminated the water supplies of millions of people. The EPA is proposing maximum allowable levels for two compounds in a class of chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Known as forever chemicals because they take a long time to break down, they were used for decades in carpeting, clothing, food packaging, firefighting foam and other consumer and industrial products. Once prized [...]

15 Wednesday, March 15

Early returns are positive for new sign in Halstead

info2023-03-15T12:18:42-05:00March 15th, 2023|

The new sign is up at City Hall and so far the response has been all positive, according to the Halstead City Manager Ethan Reimer and the Halstead city council. “I don’t think the crew had been gone ten minutes and we started getting calls and people stopping in to say how great they thought the sign was,” Reimer said. Source: Harvey County Now

15 Wednesday, March 15

Wichita OKs changes to tobacco ordinance

info2023-03-15T12:17:32-05:00March 15th, 2023|

Wichita will no longer criminally penalize people under 21 for possessing tobacco products, although police can still confiscate cigarettes, vapes and chewing tobacco seized from minors. The legal age for purchasing tobacco products will remain 21 under the revised ordinance approved by the City Council on Tuesday, but the biggest enforcement shift aims to hold tobacco retailers accountable for underage sales rather than penalizing individual employees. Under the previous ordinance, clerks found to have sold to minors were charged with a misdemeanor but tobacco license-holders and store managers were not punished. Wichita’s municipal court saw 25 cases of selling to minors [...]

15 Wednesday, March 15

Analyst says Fed unlikely to hike rates in March given banking turmoil

info2023-03-15T12:12:52-05:00March 15th, 2023|

Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi thinks the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates at its March meeting as there is a "boatload of uncertainty" around the recent bank failures. The financial turmoil of the past few days will certainly affect monetary policy decision making when the Federal Open Market Committee meets next week, he added. "I think they're focused on the bank failures that roiled the banking system and markets over the last couple of days," Zandi told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Wednesday. "There's a boatload of uncertainty here," as a result the Fed will want to [...]