Former Assistant City Manager Scott Moore is in for a tough start at his new job as city manager of Peoria, Ill. Like Wichita, Moore’s new city is facing layoffs, pay freezes and a lot of red ink.
“It’s obvious Scott will have a relatively short honeymoon period just from the standpoint that we have a lot more work to do on this budget,” at-large City Councilman George Jacob told the Peoria Journal Star.
For more, see the Journal Star’s story about Moore’s first day.
Tiahrt
City council member Jeff Longwell was quick to divert any praise for the new Cowskin Creek flood reduction project to Bob Martz, the former council member who died while in office in 2007. But he gave Congressman Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, a little love too.
As he introduced Tiahrt, who is running for US Senate in a hot, multi-candidate race, Longwell called Tiahrt his favorite congressman. Then came the pitch.
“I hope I can call him my favorite senator someday,” Longwell said. Read More
This just in from city hall’s communication office:
“Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer has joined with mayors in Arizona and Iowa in a joint letter of protest over a USA Today article published last week regarding federal funding of airports. The letter, shown below, was issued by the Alliance for Aviation Across American. It notes several major facts that were ignored by the author of the article in the national newspaper.”
The USA Today story has an interactive map that shows Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport had 60 grants worth $131,054,559 in 28 years. The grants, the report says, come mostly from taxes on airline tickets.
Follow the jump to a letter Brewer signed to the newspaper:
Sedgwick County employees driving on county business will have to pull over or ignore calls to their mobile phones under a new policy approved Wednesday.
First responders such as sheriff’s officers, emergency medical services and firefighters are the only exceptions.
The move is part of an overhaul to a decade-old driving policy, and it comes as more government agencies ban their employees from taking calls while driving.
Sedgwick County’s ban includes cell phones — including hands-free devices — headphones and computers.
It applies to employees driving county-owned and personal vehicles on county business.
WICHITA — Facing criticism of City Council member Janet Miller’s planned Sister Cities trip to Paris, Mayor Carl Brewer launched a long defense, saying that such trips can draw business to the city.
Brewer’s response today comes after Bob Weeks, a local blogger who has pressed the city on the issue, called the International Sister Cities Conference a “junket” that the city should not pay for in a tough economic climate.
“Even in good budget times, I would argue these trips should be avoided,” Weeks told council members this morning.
Mike Pompeo rejected the Obama Administration’s healthcare reform efforts and other forms of government regulation this morning as he kicked off a three-day tour to announce his candidacy for the 4th Congressional District seat.
Pompeo said America needs to improve its healthcare system, but he lashed out at the government’s involvement.
“I’ve never seen something government gets involved in that reduced cost or made something more efficient,” he told about 75 people gathered in a hangar at Jabara Airport.
Pompeo, president of the oildfield supply company, Sentry International, is the former CEO of Thayer Aerospace. He gave his stump speech in front of a Cessna airplane and was introduced by Jack Pelton, chairman of the planemaking company.
Former Wichita City Council member Sharon Fearey, Derby Mayor Dion Avello and former commission member Lucy Burtnett plan to run for Sedgwick County Commission.
The Kansas Court of Appeals recently confirmed that Wichita City Council members were justified in 2007 in denying a zoning change that would have allowed a Wal-Mart Superstore at the southeast corner of Kellogg and Oliver.
The appeals court affirmed Sedgwick County District Judge Joe Kisner’s December 2007 decision last week.
It may soon take a little more green to tee off at city-owned golf courses. City council members will vote Tuesday on a $1-a-year increase to green fees and similar hikes to rentals and season passes. The increase would help fund maintenance and improvements.
That would bump the price at Tex Consolver, L.W. Clapp, MacDonald and Sim from $20 to $21 on weekdays and from $22 to $23 on weekends. Auburn Hills would climb $1 from the current $23 on weekdays and $28 on weekends.
Some golfers objected to the hikes during public hearings in May, and others welcomed them so long as they improve the courses and clubhouses.
User fees pay for the courses, and the number of rounds played at city courses has been decreasing in recent years.
In 2008, 164,000 rounds were played, down from a high of 220,000 rounds in 1999. The 10-year average has been 173,000. Unusually rainy weather has hurt the turnout the past couple of years.
For more, see the council’s agenda and supporting documents.
When the city flew a crew of 13 (plus family members who mostly paid their own way) to Tampa, Fla. to compete as a finalist for the All-American City award, it spent about $37,000. That’s a high cost for an award when the city is facing a $13 million shortfall. Even City Manager Robert Layton said he can see why people would question it. He wasn’t surprised that The Eagle had gotten a package highlighting a city newsletter that was upbeat about the city’s trip and winning of the award along with a newspaper clip about the budget woes. But, it turns out, private donations reimbursed the city for most of its expenses. About $32,000 of it, anyway. Mayor Carl Brewer is fund-raising for the rest, and The Eagle will be looking for the follow through. (Here’s more on this Friday’s celebration.)
Meanwhile, here’s a look at who paid what for the 6-day trip. Read More