Tag: Sedgwick County
Veterans Treatment Court offers vets a second chance
Sedgwick County’s Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) opened last September, one of several such courts in Kansas providing alternatives to jail…
Candidate invitation to speak at Derby school may be election law violation
A Derby High School instructor potentially ran afoul of state election law last week when she invited the Democrat challenger…
Most elected officials in Sedgwick County propose big property tax hikes
Sedgwick County residents are being hammered by government-spending-induced inflation. U.S. Census data show the county lost population last year, and…
KPI hosts free webinar on new emergency management law
Officials and citizens question what an updated law means for orders-related orders like curfews and stay-at-home orders. As of last…
State, county officials grapple with mask mandates under new law
Kansas counties shifted gears on mask mandates as Senate Bill 40 became law. Kansas’s largest counties are taking different approaches…
Wichita, Sedgwick County differ on employee pay increases
Pay increases given in 2020 to employees of the City of Wichita and Sedgwick County reflect a very different approach…
Legislators consider local control over vaccine distribution
Kansas lawmakers may strip the state health department of some of its authority over vaccine distribution after the Kelly administration…
Kelly admin calls withholding vaccines ‘enforcement mechanism’
Yesterday, we learned that KDHE ordered Riley County to stop vaccinating people until other counties caught up, and threatened to…
Gym owner sues state, alleging shutdown commandeered his business
A Wichita gym owner is suing the State of Kansas over COVID lockdowns, claiming the shutdown earlier this year constituted…
Religious facilities exempt from Sedgwick County health order
A new Sedgwick County health order prohibits gatherings of more than 25 people and demands mask-usage and social distancing, but…
Kansas schools continue to issue bogus quarantine orders
The Blue Valley and Olathe school districts aren’t the only ones deliberately deceiving parents with bogus quarantine orders that are…
COVID cases trending down in many counties but Kelly extends lockdown
Kanas Governor Laura Kelly yesterday extended her statewide lockdown order through May 3, even though many counties have decidedly downward…
Local government entities continue fighting Truth in Taxation property tax law
In testimony Monday on Truth in Taxation before the House Taxation Committee, Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell urged legislators to…
After move from spring to fall, local election voter turnout is mixed bag
A 2015 law designed to increase voter turnout may not be having the intended results. When lawmakers moved local elections…
Sedgwick county budget predicts large increase in property tax, personnel costs
With inflation holding steady below 2% annually, Sedgwick County’s proposed 2020 budget predicts an 18% property tax increase over the next…
Record-setting Sedgwick County overtime has long-term ramifications
Sedgwick County set a new overtime payment record last year $6.9 million, which is 16% more than spent in 2017. …
Effectiveness of incentives called into question
Incentives, also called taxpayer-funded subsidies, are ubiquitous in state and local government economic development efforts. The majority of incentives given…
Turnout in School Board, Municipal Elections a Mixed Bag
Kansas lawmakers moved municipal and school board elections from the spring to the fall hoping it would result in a…
Kansas Property Owners See Spikes in Assessed Valuations
Assessed valuations are hitting Kansas property owner mailboxes, and many owners are finding a big difference between the value of…