Tag: Wichita city council

  • Wichita City Council, September 15, 2009

    On today’s public agenda of the Wichita City Council, I have two things to discuss with the council. One is the city’ refusal to make public proposals submitted by planning firms wishing to be awarded a contract by the city. Background is here: Downtown Wichita proposals not available to citizens. Then, there’s Janet Miller’s junket…

  • More Wichita travel on tap

    At tomorrow’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, approval of more council member travel is on the agenda.

  • Downtown Wichita proposals not available to citizens

    As part of Wichita’s downtown revitalization effort, city leaders decided to hire a planning firm. Four firms have been selected as finalists, and a committee is in the process of evaluating their proposals. Whether or not you think this planning process is wise — and I happen to think it is not — it seems…

  • Wichita city managers travel

    At the same time that the City of Wichita is struggling with its budget, including making layoffs, senior managers still travel.

  • At Wichita city council, special pleading of selfish interests

    At yesterday’s meeting of the the Wichita City Council, a matter was presented to the council that provided an illustration of basic economic principles that are foreign to the council.

  • In Wichita, waiving guidelines makes for bad policy

    I am here to ask you to deny the request for special assessment financing for the Lofts at St. Francis homeowners association to make repairs to their building. I’ve spoken to this council about how the facade improvement program, in general, is bad public policy. In this case, it’s bad public policy compounded by the…

  • Travel should be the first Wichita expense to be cut

    At tomorrow’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, council members have this item on their agenda: “Approval of travel expenses for Council Member Janet Miller and Kelly Harper, Wichita Area Sister Cities President, to attend the International Cities Conference in Paris, France and the Sister Cities Loire Festival in Orleans, France, September 21-27.”

  • Wichita special assessments for repairs is bad policy

    At Tuesday’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, a privately-owned condominium association is seeking special assessment financing to make repairs to its building. In order for the association to succeed in its request, the council will have to waive two guidelines of Wichita’s facade improvement program.

  • Wichita arts funding plan passes

    On a five to zero vote, the Wichita City Council has passed a revised arts funding plan. The plan may be viewed at the end of this article. Speaking for the plan, former Wichita City Council member and Arts Council Board Member Joan Cole spoke in favor of arts funding. She promoted the financial return…

  • Wichita Local Government 101 announced

    Local Government 101: Learn how to get involved in Wichita city government and how to influence public policy as a citizen Activist.

  • In Wichita, special assessment financing gone wild

    At today’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, a privately-owned condominium association is seeking special assessment financing to make repairs to it building.

  • Faust-Goudeau’s concern selective

    In today’s Wichita Eagle, Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Democratic member of the Kansas Senate representing parts of north-central and northeast Wichita, writes this in a letter to the editor: I would like to commend Mayor Carl Brewer and the Wichita City Council for having the courage to vote down a rate increase for water and sewer…