Tag: TIF districts
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Prudence Requires Postponement of Wichita TIF District
Remarks to be delivered to the Wichita City Council on January 6, 2009. Mr. Mayor, members of the council: Last month it was discovered that procedures used to investigate the background of potential city business partners were lacking in some respects. It is now recognized that the process that were in place failed to give…
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Wichita city hall: more evidence of lax procedures
Wichita Eagle reporting from yesterday (Past client: Developer admitted embezzling) provides more evidence of the need for improved procedures and greater accountability at Wichita city hall. In this story, investigative journalist Dion Lefler reports that Grant Gaudreau admitted stealing money from a business partner. This comes to light just after the City of Wichita nearly…
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Tax increment financing (TIF Districts) in Wichita, explained
Last week I spoke to the Wichita Pachyderm Club about tax increment financing, or TIF districts, in Wichita. John Todd spoke about the same topic, too. Surprisingly, my remarks contained some different material from the talk given to the same group by Allen Bell, Wichita’s director of urban development.
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Kansas law requires Wichita to hold another public hearing
Recently, the Wichita city council passed a resolution announcing a public hearing on a TIF district and its project plan. The city then, on the day before the hearing, substantially changed the plan. This change means that the city must hold another public hearing.
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Some Wichita communications breakdowns are more important than others
At the December 16, 2008 meeting of the Wichita City Council, Mayor Carl Brewer scolded interim city manager Scott Moore for failure to communicate effectively with council members. The process, according to the mayor, “made a complete mockery of the entire process and everything we actually do.”
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Sedgwick County Commission fails citizens
At yesterday’s meeting of the Sedgwick County Commission, Commissioners Tom Winters, Tim Norton, and Dave Unruh failed to take an opportunity to stand up for good government.
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Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer’s selective outrage
At the Tuesday December 16, 2008 meeting of the Wichita City Council, Mayor Carl Brewer expressed his displeasure with the way city staff handled its investigation of a developer the city was preparing to do business with. The problem, it seems, is largely one of communications. City staff didn’t present the council members with relevant…
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Jeff Fluhr decided
A few weeks ago in the post Jeff Fluhr’s Decision I wrote that the the new president of the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation had a choice to make: “Mr. Fluhr needs to decide if he’s on the side of open and transparent government, or whether he’s in favor of crony capitalism and the good ol’…
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Sedgwick County: please don’t ratify Wichita’s disrespect of citizens
I’m here today to ask this commission to not approve the expansion of the Center City South Redevelopment District, commonly known as the downtown Wichita arena TIF district. The reason I ask this of you is for reasons of good and open government, something I’m sure we can agree that all citizens are in favor…
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Defective public hearing in Wichita. Open government needed.
John Todd and Bill Davitt speak about the defective public hearing held at a recent Wichita City Council Meeting, and about the importance of open and transparent government.
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Sharon Fearey doesn’t appreciate the Wichita Eagle
At the December 16, 2008 meeting of the Wichita City Council, Sharon Fearey expressed her displeasure with reporting done by the Wichita Eagle.
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Wichita City Council: Put better procedures in place before proceeding
Mr. Mayor and members of the council, developments surrounding the Renaissance Square project in the C.O.R.E. Redevelopment District are unfolding so rapidly that we need to step back and think about the wisdom of proceeding with the current plans. As things stand now, citizens can have little confidence in this project and the way the…