Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer delivers his State of the City Address for 2012.
Posts tagged as “Michael O’Donnell”
Wichita City Council Member Michael O’Donnell
It is now confirmed: In Wichita, tax increment financing (TIF) leads to taxpayer-funded waste that benefits those with political connections at city hall.
Discussion of setting an election date provided another example reinforcing the realization that Wichita has a city council -- with the exception of one member -- that is entirely captured by special interests.
A meeting of the Wichita City Council reveals that the city does not care about open and transparent government, despite the claims of leaders such as Mayor Carl Brewer.
Discussion at a Wichita City Council meeting provided an opportunity for citizens to discover the difference in the thinking of the political class and those who value limited government and capitalism.
Johnson Controls, a very large company, asks the Wichita City Council for a small forgivable loan.
Despite her assessment of the will of the people of Wichita, The Wichita Eagle's Rhonda Holman encourages the Wichita City Council to stick to its guns and do the opposite.
The flow of tax dollars Wichita city leaders have planned for Douglas Place, a proposed hotel in Wichita, creates a mechanism where taxpayer funds are routed to a politically-connected construction firm. And unlike the real world, where developers have an incentive to build economically, the city has created incentives for Douglas Place developers to spend lavishly in a parking garage, at no cost to themselves.
In the wake of scandals, some states and cities have passed "pay-to-play" laws. These laws often prohibit political campaign contributions by those who seek government contracts, or the laws may impose special disclosure requirements. But Wichita and Kansas have no such laws.
Yesterday's meeting of the Wichita City Council revealed a council -- except for one member -- totally captured by special interests, to the point where the council, aided by city staff, used a narrow legal interpretation in order to circumvent a statutorily required public hearing process.
A new report by the Kauffman Foundation holds unsettling information for the future of job growth in the United States.
Discussion at a Wichita City Council meeting provided an opportunity for citizens to discover the difference in the thinking of the political class and those who value limited government and capitalism.