Tag: Sedgwick county government
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Letters to Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission Regarding Downtown Wichita TIF District
John Todd has prepared letters that we hope will influence local governments regarding the downtown Wichita TIF district. One, to the Wichita City Council, asks them to conduct a proper public hearing. A second letter to the Sedgwick County Commissioners asks them to not consider passing this TIF district until Wichita conducts a proper public…
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Wichita TIF public hearing was bait and switch
The officials involved — council members Jeff Longwell and Lavonta Williams, who negotiated the addition of the parking with county commissioners; Allen Bell, who is Wichita’s director of urban development; and Mayor Carl Brewer — need to answer to the citizens of Wichita as to why this important business was conducted in this haphazard manner…
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Sedgwick County Commission Urged to Veto Wichita Arena TIF District
From Darrell Leffew. The Wichita City Council voted December 2nd. to approve the TIF District for the Arena area, including a large sum for parking. As a voter and taxpayer in the County and Wichita, I respectfully request each of you on the Board of County Commission to veto that TIF. The Arena sales tax…
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Jim Skelton is Frustrated
At yesterday’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, council member Jim Skelton expressed his frustration with last-minute additions to the plan for the Center City South Redevelopment tax increment financing (TIF) District, commonly known as the downtown Wichita arena TIF district. The problem is two-fold: First, when plans change at the last minute, there is…
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Wichita Chamber of Commerce values
Here’s a message that Bryan Derreberry, president of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, sent to Chamber members. Note that this message doesn’t mention the role its political action committee played in the third Sedgwick County Commission district. In that race, the PAC spent some $19,000 of its $48,000 in an effort to elect Goddard…
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Johnson County Republicans Enforce Party Discipline
Kansas Liberty, in the post JoCo GOP battle exposes party weaknesses reports on the recent Johnson County Republican Party leadership position elections. Unlike the same event in Sedgwick County, where dissent was discouraged (see Sedgwick County Republicans, Not All United), there was choice available to Republicans Kansas’ most populous county. What also happened is that…
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Sedgwick County Republicans, Not All United
I received this from a Republican activist who isn’t pleased with the process that took place last Thursday, when the Sedgwick County Republican Party met to select new officers. As a committeeman, I was there and took part in the process. As a new committeeman, attending my first of these meetings, I mostly kept my…
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Problems with Wichita’s Economic Forecasts
On October 7, 2008, the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University released a glowing economic forecast for the near future in Wichita. Events immediately following the release of this report, however, illustrate just how hard it is to forecast economic conditions. When policymakers rely on these reports, bad decisions are…
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Goddard City Website Campaigns for Its Mayor
For about the last week, the City of Goddard, Kansas, has been using its website to campaign for its mayor in her race for the Sedgwick County Commission. The website, located at www.goddardkansas.us, usually looks like a typical city website, holding general news and information, with links to city departments. But around October 21, according…
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Money in Kansas District Attorney races
“Recent contribution reports by District Attorney Candidates in Johnson, Shawnee and Sedgwick Counties show Democrats have raised $300,793 and spent $423,857, while Republican candidates have raised only $181,521 and spent $212,670.” Read the Kansas Meadowlark’s full report at Money in District Attorney races.
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Marcey Gregory Letter Fact Check
A letter in the Wichita Eagle on October 26, 2008 contains a few inaccuracies — okay, lies — and I’m surprised it made it past the editors. The Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce has said several times that Karl Peterjohn, in his interview before them, was confused about the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition and…
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Marcey Gregory Letter Fact Check
A letter in support of Marcey Gregory for Sedgwick County Commissioner printed in the Wichita Eagle on October 26, 2008 requires a correction. A lie in this letter is this “… Gregory, as mayor of Goddard, has a record of keeping Goddard taxes low.” The actual record is that in her approximately 1.5 years as…