Wichita residents or businesses who go a year without a false alarm on their security system will save $25 annually after the City Council agreed on a 5-0 vote today to change the ordinance to waive the fee.
Council members Paul Gray and Lavonta Williams were absent.
The city adopted an annual registration fee for security alarms earlier this year. The change will take effect after Sept. 1, 2011.
The waiver will apply to a renewal where the owner doesn’t have a false alarm in the previous year. The annual period is based on the original registration date.
City staff recommended the change to “shift the administrative cost of implementing the false alarm ordinance to only alarm owners that generate costly false alarms,” according to a city document.
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A special tax district in Old Town will be closed, and $1 million in unspent tax money will be sent to the Wichita school district, city and county, the Wichita City Council decided today.
The council voted unanimously to end the tax increment finance district in Old Town. Lavonta Williams was absent.
Tax increment finance districts channel property tax dollars generated by new improvements to flow into accounts that pay for special projects — such as streets, parks, lighting and public art. The money has also been used to acquire land for developers and demolish blighted buildings.
All of the redevelopment projects financed by property tax money in a special district in Old Town have been paid off. The balance in the TIF district account will be split among three taxing groups, with the school district receiving about half and the county and city each getting a quarter.
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State Rep. Aaron Jack, R-Andover, has been nominated to be the state’s securities commissioner, Gov.-elect Sam Brownback announced today.
Jack, president of Wichita-based Heritage Consulting, was elected to the state House in 2009.
In a statement, Brownback called him “a strong advocate for a pro-growth agenda to grow the Kansas economy” and said the securities marketplace “is the very point upon which our plan to grow the state’s economy will intersect with entre-preneurs and investors.”
He said Jack has a wide range of experience in investment and securities management.
The securities commissioner is responsible for protecting and informing Kansas inves-tors, promoting integrity and full disclosure by issuers and securities professionals, investigating and prosecuting fraud and fostering capital formation.
Jack’s appointment must be confirmed by the state Senate.