Wichita city government

Naftzger Park event management agreement still ambiguous
21
Feb
By Bob Weeks

Naftzger Park event management agreement still ambiguous

This week the Wichita City Council will update an agreement from last year, but it appears important issues were not addressed. Last February the City of Wichita approved an agreement with a local business to manage events at Naftzger Park. With the pandemic upending public events, the business -- Wave Old Town, LLC -- was unable to program any events. Therefore, the city wants to add additional time to the agreement. During the delay, the city could have addressed problems with the original agreement. Some problems concern the bidding process. My concern was the uncertainty in the profit-sharing agreement, which…
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Wichita property tax rate: Up
15
Jan
By Bob Weeks

Wichita property tax rate: Up

The City of Wichita property tax mill levy rose slightly for 2020. In 1994 the City of Wichita mill levy rate -- the rate at which real and personal property is taxed -- was 31.290. In 2020 it was 32.749, based on the Sedgwick County Clerk. That's an increase of 1.459 mills, or 4.66 percent, since 1994. (These are for taxes levied by the City of Wichita only, and do not include any overlapping jurisdictions.) (more…)
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Zip code populations
12
Jan
By Bob Weeks

Zip code populations

An interactive visualization of population by zip codes shows the parts of Wichita that are growing. As part of its American Community Survey program, the United States Census Bureau produces estimates of population in zip codes. I've gathered this data for ten years and present it in an interactive visualization. (more…)
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Downtown Wichita population is up
10
Dec
By Bob Weeks

Downtown Wichita population is up

New Census Bureau data shows the downtown Wichita population growing in 2019. Data released today by the United States Census Bureau shows the estimated population for zip code 67202 in 2019 was 1,751, an increase of 80 from the prior year. Zip code 67202 is greater downtown Wichita, from the Arkansas River east to Washington, and Kellogg north to Central, roughly. The source of this data is U.S. Census Bureau, 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. This is not the Bureau's estimate of the population in 2019. This is because for areas of population less than 65,000, the Bureau does…
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Downtown Wichita attraction attendance
18
Oct
By Bob Weeks

Downtown Wichita attraction attendance

Attendance at downtown Wichita attractions presented in an interactive visualization. The Source of data is Visit Wichita Convention & Visitors Bureau as presented in State of Downtown Reports published by DowntownWichita.org. Click here to access the visualization.
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Century II appeal filed
27
Sep
By Bob Weeks

Century II appeal filed

A group opposing any future plan to raze Century II or the former central library building has filed an appeal of the decision in their lawsuit. A group called Committee to Save Century II organized and filed a petition aimed at requiring a popular vote before demolishing Century II or the former central library building. The City of Wichita challenged the legal basis of the petition and a judge ruled in favor of the city. Now, that decision is being appealed. Following, a press release announcing the appeal. For more information on Century II and its future, see my Century…
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John Todd: Wichita officials may have won a battle, but the Century II war isn’t over
13
Sep
By Guest Author

John Todd: Wichita officials may have won a battle, but the Century II war isn’t over

On Century II, Wichita City Hall won the first round, but the public issue remains, writes John Todd. A special to the Wichita Eagle by John Todd. The Wichita City Council’s lawsuit against the Save Century II committee and the 17,265 Wichitans who had signed our petition won a first-round legal victory in state district court Aug. 28. The effort to have a binding vote by Wichita voters at an upcoming election was rejected by the court. This is a setback for Wichitans seeking to resolve this issue at the ballot box in November. This courtroom defeat demonstrates that the…
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Economic development incentive to be canceled
24
Aug
By Bob Weeks

Economic development incentive to be canceled

The City of Wichita will consider canceling an economic development incentive for a firm that no longer meets policy requirements. Two years ago the Wichita City Council granted an economic development incentive for a freestanding emergency department in northeast Wichita. The incentive was in the form of property tax relief. The firm would be exempt from paying 88 percent of its property taxes for five years, with the possibility of renewal for another five years. [1. Weeks, Bob. Free standing emergency department about to open in Wichita. Available at https://wichitaliberty.org/wichita-government/free-standing-emergency-department-room-open-in-wichita/.] At the time, the city estimated the first-year property tax…
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Century II maintenance to be considered
12
Jul
By Bob Weeks

Century II maintenance to be considered

The Wichita city council will consider spending $250,000 on maintenance for Century II. There are questions regarding the source of funding. This week the Wichita City Council will consider spending $250,000 on maintenance items for Century II and the attached expo hall. The items are mostly ventilation, air conditioning, and plumbing. [1. The bonding resolution, number 20-192, states: "Facility repairs and improvements to Century II (District I). Including, but not be limited to, prioritized critical building system improvements, renovation and repairs as well as replacement of Expo Hall HVAC Roof-Top Unit systems and Century II circulation pumps throughout the facility…
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Wichita presents industrial revenue bonds
19
May
By Bob Weeks

Wichita presents industrial revenue bonds

A presentation by the City of Wichita regarding IRBs is good as far as it goes, which is not far enough. Recently the City of Wichita prepared a short video explaining the city's industrial revenue bonds (IRB) program. The video may be viewed on YouTube by clicking here. Several times the presenters emphasized that in the IRB program, the city does not lend money. They properly identify the true purpose of the program, which is to subsidize companies by allowing them to avoid paying property taxes and possibly sales taxes. Several times the presenters emphasized that the IRB program has…
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Wichita needs transparency from its agencies
03
May
By Bob Weeks

Wichita needs transparency from its agencies

When the Wichita city council delegates spending to outside agencies such as Visit Wichita, it should insist on the same transparency requirements the city itself faces. The Kansas Open Records Act is designed to give citizens access to data concerning their government. In the words of the Kansas Attorney General, "An open and transparent government is essential to the democratic process." The preamble to the Kansas act states, "It is declared to be the public policy of the state that public records shall be open for inspection by any person unless otherwise provided by this act, and this act shall…
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Wichita city council to address misunderstanding
03
May
By Bob Weeks

Wichita city council to address misunderstanding

The Wichita city council will address a misunderstanding regarding imprecise language in an economic development incentive agreement. This week the Wichita City Council will address a mistake or misunderstanding regarding an economic incentive. Briefly, a company that received a tax abatement believed that land was included in the abatement. When it received a bill for tax on the land, it paid it and inquired to the city as to why it received a bill for taxes it believed it would not owe. Documents for the meeting state: "The agenda report and Economic Development Incentive Agreement did not specifically state that…
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Should Wichita have a deputy to the mayor?
20
Apr
By Bob Weeks

Should Wichita have a deputy to the mayor?

A proposal to hire a deputy or chief of staff to the Wichita mayor is a good idea which will increase transparency and accountability of elected officials. Tomorrow the Wichita City Council will consider a proposal to create the position of Deputy to the Mayor. I've excerpted the relevant portion of the agenda packet in pdf form, available here. I include partions below. How could a deputy or chief of staff help improve the city? As an example, at the April 14 council meeting, approval of a loan for a portion of the new water treatment was on the agenda.…
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Naftzger Park on the web: Do we care?
19
Apr
By Bob Weeks

Naftzger Park on the web: Do we care?

A badly outdated portion of Wichita's website makes me wonder: Does anyone care? In the Naftzger Park Facebook group that I co-administer, someone recently posted this: Hi! I'm [not] new to Wichita and a friend told me about a quaint and lovely Victorian style park set in the downtown area. I love little parks like these as they're such an endearing surprise in the midst of old industrial buildings and warehouses. After seeing the pictures on your website, I can tell my friend understated the beauty of the park. I can't wait to visit! One problem though, I can't find…
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Wichita water plant financing on agenda
13
Apr
By Bob Weeks

Wichita water plant financing on agenda

The Wichita city council will consider borrowing $280 million from the federal government, and also consider issuing bonds of up to $331 million to repay the loan. Tomorrow the Wichita City Council will consider approving a large portion of the financing for the new Northwest Water Facility (NWWF). The financing comes from the United States Government through a program called Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The amount of financing is $280,860,714, which is 49 percent of the total cost of the plant. A loan from the State of Kansas…
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Freestanding emergency room in Wichita closes
06
Apr
By Bob Weeks

Freestanding emergency room in Wichita closes

The conversion of a medical facility should receive city scrutiny due to tax breaks granted based on its original use. The Wichita Eagle reports that a freestanding emergency room in northeast Wichita has closed after two years. It will be converted to a cardiology office under the same ownership. As I reported in Free standing emergency department about to open in Wichita, the facility received property tax abatements worth an estimated $61,882 per year in the first year. The abatement was scheduled to last for five years, with a likely extension for an additional five years. These abatements were obtained…
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Wichita city council to consider COVID-19 response measures
06
Apr
By Bob Weeks

Wichita city council to consider COVID-19 response measures

The City of Wichita may spend to create a COVID-19 expense tracking project and to bypass normal purchasing processes. At Tuesday's meeting of the Wichita City Council, members will consider measures to help the city respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the agenda packet for the meeting, the city advises that the pandemic will financially impact the city, and that the city needs to take steps to respond. According to the city document, the city may experience extra costs and revenue shortfalls. There is the potential for the city to be compensated for these if the city can "aggregate and…
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At Naftzger Park: ‘Sunflower Exclusive’
08
Mar
By Bob Weeks

At Naftzger Park: ‘Sunflower Exclusive’

Dr. Chinyere Grace Okafor, poet, playwright and fiction writer, "is a Professor of English and Women's Studies, Director of the Center for Women’s Studies and Chair of the Department of Women’s Studies and Religion, Wichita State University." She has contributed a poem that is featured in the redesigned Naftzger Park in downtown Wichita. Chase Billingham visited the park and transcribed the poem. He reports: "This is the poem that has been carved into stone pavers in the new Naftzger Park. The poem appears twice in the park. It appears in its entirety in one large slab near Douglas Avenue. And…
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