Voice For Liberty

Tag: Wichita city government

  • Wichita jobs and employment, August 2020

    Wichita jobs and employment, August 2020

    For the Wichita metropolitan area in August 2020, the number of unemployed persons is up, the unemployment rate is up, and the number of people working is down, all by large amounts, when compared to the same month one year ago. The recent trend, however, is positive, although Wichita is recovering slower than the nation.

    Data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows the effects of the response to the pandemic in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area for August 2020.

    Click charts and tables for larger versions.

    Total nonfarm employment fell from 303,900 last August to 289,100 in August 2020, a loss of 14,800 jobs (4.9 percent). (This data is not seasonally adjusted, so month-to-month comparisons are not valid.) For the same period, employment in the nation fell by 7.0 percent. The unemployment rate in August 2020 was 10.2 percent, up from 3.6 percent one year ago.

    Considering seasonally adjusted data from the household survey, the labor force fell by 1,201 persons (0.4 percent) in August 2020 from July 2020, the number of unemployed persons fell by 1,962 (5.7 percent), and the unemployment rate was 10.1 percent, down from 10.7 percent in June. The number of employed persons not working on farms rose to 287,361 in August from 286,600 the prior month, an increase of 761 persons (0.3 percent).

    The following chart of the monthly change in the labor force and employment shows the magnitude of drop in April overwhelming other months, and then a positive change in employment for the following months. The rate of increase in employment has generally slowed since a large jump in May. Note the fall in the labor force for the month.

    The following chart of changes from the same month one year ago shows a similar same trend — fewer jobs, although the labor force is larger.

    The following chart of changes in employment from the same month of the previous year shows months when the Wichita MSA performed better than the nation. In all months affected by the pandemic, we see the decline in employment Wichita has not been as severe as the nation.

    The following chart shows the monthly change in nonfarm jobs for Wichita and the nation. For August, the change was nearly the same for Wichita and the nation, but in the two previous months jobs grew slower in Wichita.

    The following two charts show changes in jobs for Wichita and the nation over longer periods. The change is calculated from the same month of the previous year. For times when the Wichita line was above the nation, Wichita was growing faster than the nation. This was often the case during the decades starting in 1990 and 2000. Since 2010, however, Wichita has rarely outperformed the nation and sometimes has been far below the nation.

    (For data on all metropolitan areas in the nation, see my interactive visualization Metro area employment and unemployment.)

  • Century II appeal filed

    Century II appeal filed

    A group opposing any future plan to raze Century II or the former central library building has filed an appeal of the decision in their lawsuit.

    A group called Committee to Save Century II organized and filed a petition aimed at requiring a popular vote before demolishing Century II or the former central library building. The City of Wichita challenged the legal basis of the petition and a judge ruled in favor of the city. Now, that decision is being appealed.

    Following, a press release announcing the appeal. For more information on Century II and its future, see my Century II resource center.

    WICHITA — Sept. 25, 2020 — The Committee to Save Century II has filed an Appeal of the 18th Judicial District Court decision.

    The City of Wichita’s lawsuit to invalidate the Save Century II municipal initiative petition signed by 17,265 Wichita citizens is being appealed. The Save Century II Committee has retained legal counsel of Austin K. Parker, Parker & Parker LLC, Wichita, Kansas, for this appeal.

    On Wednesday, September 23, Mr. Austin Parker electronically filed the Entry of Appearance and Notice of Appeal for the City’s lawsuit.

    Save Century II is a non-partisan effort by Wichita folks who are tired of back office deals for millionaire developers using our taxes. The appeal is an effort to preserve citizen’s ability to petition City Hall while also trying to preserve our historic and iconic city buildings. The City of Wichita credit rating has been downgraded by Moody’s recently, and it could happen again. Our economy is in a precarious state, and we cannot afford development that will cost future generations for years to come. Quality of life is more important than a 400,000 square foot new convention center.

    John Todd said, “We are delighted to announce that the appeal of the District Court decision will now proceed into Appellant review.” Save Century II Committee continues to battle to stop the insanity of City Hall. We believe in the right to vote, and the right to decide future debt this City undertakes. The Save Century II office at 435 N. Broadway, Suite 102, will be open from Monday to Friday with hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tax deductible donations can be mailed to the Historic Preservation Alliance, Inc., P.O. Box 75037, Wichita, KS 67275.

    “We are fighting back! The battle to Save Century II and the former public library continues!” said Celeste Racette.

  • Rethinking the city and the community for a post-pandemic world

    Rethinking the city and the community for a post-pandemic world

    How has the pandemic affected cities in general and Wichita specifically, and what are implications for the future?

    Recently Chase M. Billingham, who is Associate Professor of Sociology at Wichita State University, delivered an online lecture titled “Rethinking the city and the community for a post-pandemic world.”

    In the lecture, Billingham covered topics such as the nature of cities and urbanism; how the pandemic has affected cities; how cities have suffered during pandemics throughout modern history, but have also led in innovation, medicine, and research.; COVID-19 will likely accelerate ongoing trends, especially economic trends; the effect of remote working on different workers; the pandemic’s effect on Wichita in the present and future?; the effect of the pandemic on city budgets and services; and rethinking cities — and Wichita — for a post-pandemic world.

    As you can see, topics are both general and specific to Wichita. The lecture is available on YouTube here.

    This lecture is part of a series by the university titled “Perspectives on the Pandemic: Part II.” More information is here.

  • John Todd: Wichita officials may have won a battle, but the Century II war isn’t over

    John Todd: Wichita officials may have won a battle, but the Century II war isn’t over

    On Century II, Wichita City Hall won the first round, but the public issue remains, writes John Todd.

    A special to the Wichita Eagle by John Todd.

    The Wichita City Council’s lawsuit against the Save Century II committee and the 17,265 Wichitans who had signed our petition won a first-round legal victory in state district court Aug. 28. The effort to have a binding vote by Wichita voters at an upcoming election was rejected by the court. This is a setback for Wichitans seeking to resolve this issue at the ballot box in November.

    This courtroom defeat demonstrates that the provision in the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights, which says, “all political power in this state is inherent in the people,” has disappeared when it comes to this petition in district court. However, a district court decision is not the final word — not in the court of public opinion, or in Kansas appellate courtrooms. City Hall won the first round, but the public issue remains.

    Continue reading at the Wichita Eagle here or link to archived article here.

    Paintings of Century II by Bill Goffrier. For more of his works, visit Goffrier Studio on the web or Bill Goffrier Studio on Facebook.

  • Wichita economic development examined

    Wichita economic development examined

    “What may look like economic growth on the surface ends up being, upon closer scrutiny, an expensive exercise in the rearrangement of existing business activity.”

    Kansas Policy Institute has released a report examing economic development in Wichita. Titled “Perspectives on Economic Development Incentives and Economic Growth in Wichita,” it presents much information specific to Wichita, and specifically two STAR bond districts: Riverwalk and K-96/Greenwich Road. There is also material on economics and economic development in general.

    The main takeaway, according to KPI, is “… two of Wichita’s leading development projects, driven by economic development incentives, did not improve job creation.” Instead, the report concludes: “To summarize, and to reiterate, two prominent government-incentivized economic development projects do not show evidence of promoting net-new economic growth. At best, the projects redirected or redefined growth that would have happened without the subsidized intervention into the natural flow of commerce within the City of Wichita.”

    The report was written by Arthur P. Hall, Ph.D., who is the founding Director of the Brandmeyer Center for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas School of Business. A press release announcing the paper is at Wichita’s Key STAR Bonds Didn’t Create New Jobs. It holds a link to the full report.

    KPI president James Franko said, “The research aims to help the Wichita community understand the limits of incentive-driven development as we hope for a post-pandemic recovery and evaluate flagship development such as Century II.”

    One difficulty in performing this type of analysis is access to data. Franko noted, “The access to this data is in desperate need of reform. It’s troubling that a more thorough analysis of other incentives is all but impossible. We should be judging every taxpayer dollar spent on actual outcomes, not simply the aspirations of those asking for the money.”

    Of note, a conclusion made by Hall, the author, is consistent with his earlier findings, which is that new firms are the dominant driver of growth:

    Nevertheless, the “big take-away” still holds for the Wichita metro area (using the firm-level data). Without the birth of new firms, Wichita would lose jobs in many more years than it would gain jobs from older firms represented in the data: New firm entry (age-zero firms) plays a dominant role in the on-going process of job creation. In other words, economic development is inherently a trial-and-error process; a numbers game that occasionally produces a break-away business that drives regional economic growth.

    In other work, Hall has explained that new firms are distinct from small businesses.

    This is an important work. Over coming weeks I’ll explore the report, its data, and its recommendations in more detail.

  • Wichita jobs and employment, July 2020

    Wichita jobs and employment, July 2020

    For the Wichita metropolitan area in July 2020, the number of unemployed persons is up, the unemployment rate is up, and the number of people working is down, all by large amounts, when compared to the same month one year ago. The recent trend, however, is positive, and the effects of the pandemic have been less severe for Wichita than for the nation.

    Data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the United States Department of Labor, shows the effects of the response to the pandemic in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area for July 2020.

    Click charts and tables for larger versions.

    Total nonfarm employment fell from 302,000 last July to 284,800 in July 2020, a loss of 17,200 jobs (5.7 percent). (This data is not seasonally adjusted, so month-to-month comparisons are not valid.) For the same period, employment in the nation fell by 7.7 percent. The unemployment rate in July 2020 was 10.9 percent, up from 3.9 percent one year ago.

    Considering seasonally adjusted data from the household survey, the labor force rose by 564 persons (0.2 percent) in July 2020 from June 2020, the number of unemployed persons fell by 289 (0.8 percent), and the unemployment rate was 10.8 percent, down from 10.9 percent in June. The number of employed persons not working on farms rose to 284,162 in July from 283,309 the prior month, an increase of 853 persons (0.3 percent).

    The following chart of the monthly change in the labor force and employment shows the magnitude of drop in April overwhelming other months, and then a positive change in employment for the following months. The rate of increase in employment has slowed since a large jump in May.

    The following chart of changes from the same month one year ago shows a similar same trend — fewer jobs, although the labor force grew.

    The following chart of changes in employment from the same month of the previous year shows many months when the Wichita MSA performed better than the nation. In all months affected by the pandemic, we see the decline in employment Wichita has not been as severe as the nation.

    The following two charts show changes in jobs for Wichita and the nation over longer periods. The change is calculated from the same month of the previous year. For times when the Wichita line was above the nation, Wichita was growing faster than the nation. This was often the case during the decades starting in 1990 and 2000. Since 2010, however, Wichita has rarely outperformed the nation and sometimes has been far below the nation.

    (For data on all metropolitan areas in the nation, see my interactive visualization Metro area employment and unemployment.)

  • Updated: Century II resource center

    Updated: Century II resource center

    Updated with documents and news stories. Click on Century II resource center.

  • Economic development incentive to be canceled

    Economic development incentive to be canceled

    The City of Wichita will consider canceling an economic development incentive for a firm that no longer meets policy requirements.

    Two years ago the Wichita City Council granted an economic development incentive for a freestanding emergency department in northeast Wichita. The incentive was in the form of property tax relief. The firm would be exempt from paying 88 percent of its property taxes for five years, with the possibility of renewal for another five years. 1

    At the time, the city estimated the first-year property tax savings to be $61,882, allocated this way: City of Wichita: $17,226. State of Kansas: $792. Sedgwick County: $5,520. USD 259 (Wichita public school district): $28,345.

    The facility closed earlier this year, and will be converted to a cardiology office. This change means the facility no longer meets the criteria in the city’s economic development policy in two ways. First, the city’s policy requires medical facilities to attract at least 30 percent of its patients from outside the Wichita MSA, and the city says the new use of the facility does not meet this requirement.

    Second, the new use of the facility is not the use that was approved by the council two years ago.

    The city’s office of economic development recommends canceling the tax incentive after this year. This item appears on the meeting’s consent agenda, which means there will be no discussion or individual vote on this matter unless a council member requests.

    I hope that a council member asks that this item receive discussion and perhaps an individual vote. This is a positive moment for the city. Not that a business failed to survive — that is unfortunate — but that the city is applying policy as designed.

    Freestanding emergency departments are controversial. The notes to this article hold references to news articles and academic studies looking at the costs and usage of these facilities. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

    Researchers note that the emergency rooms are much more expensive than traditional doctor offices or urgent care facilities, yet many of the diagnoses made at the ERs are the same as made at non-emergency facilities.

    —
    Notes

    1. Weeks, Bob. Free standing emergency department about to open in Wichita. Available at https://wichitaliberty.org/wichita-government/free-standing-emergency-department-room-open-in-wichita/. ↩
    2. NBC News. You Thought It Was An Urgent Care Center, Until You Got the Bill. Available at https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/you-thought-it-was-urgent-care-center-until-you-got-n750906. ↩
    3. Carolyn Y. Johnson. Free-standing ERs offer care without the wait. But patients can still pay $6,800 to treat a cut. Washington Post, May 7, 2017. Available at http://wapo.st/2pUCskD?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.21bb76a447aa. ↩
    4. Rice, Sabriya.Texans overpaid for some medical services by thousands, study says. Dallas Morning News. Available at https://www.dallasnews.com/business/health-care/2017/03/23/texans-overpaid-medical-services-thousands-study-said. ↩
    5. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. Rice U. Study: Freestanding Emergency Departments In Texas Deliver Costly Care, ‘Sticker Shock’. Available at https://www.bcbstx.com/company-info/news/news?lid=j0s5sm9d. ↩
    6. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc. Dissecting the Cost of a Freestanding Emergency Department Visit. Available at https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/ucaoa.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/Alan_Ayers_Blog/UCAOA_Ayers_Blog_FSED_Pricin.pdf. ↩
    7. Michael L. Callaham. Editor in Chief Overview: A Controversy About Freestanding Emergency Departments. Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 70, Issue 6, 2017, pp. 843-845. Available at http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(17)31505-6/fulltext. ↩
    8. Ho, Vivian et al. Comparing Utilization and Costs of Care in Freestanding Emergency Departments, Hospital Emergency Departments, and Urgent Care Centers. Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 70 , Issue 6 , 846 – 857.e3. Available at http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(16)31522-0/fulltext. ↩
    9. Jeremiah D. Schuur, Donald M. Yealy, Michael L. Callaham. Comparing Freestanding Emergency Departments, Hospital-Based Emergency Departments, and Urgent Care in Texas: Apples, Oranges, or Lemons? Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 70, Issue 6, 2017, pp. 858-861. Available at http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(17)30473-0/fulltext. ↩
  • Airport traffic statistics, 2019

    Airport traffic statistics, 2019

    Airport traffic data presented in an interactive visualization, updated through 2019.

    This visualization holds data from TranStats, a service of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), which is the independent statistical agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). While monthly data is available, this visualization holds annual totals.

    The nearby example shows data starting in 2010 for the nation and Wichita. The visualization holds data for all U.S. airports with scheduled flights.

    A few observations regarding Wichita airport traffic as compared to the nation:

    • Since 2014, passenger traffic (departing passengers) at the Wichita airport is higher, but traffic for the nation as a whole is much higher, although the rate of increase for Wichita is rising.
    • The number of scheduled departures has been declining in Wichita until 2019, when there was a slight increase
    • The number of available seats on departing flights from Wichita has been mostly level until an increase in 2019.
    • Load factor for Wichita and the nation has been rising.

    To view and use the interactive visualization, click here.

    Example from the visualization, showing Wichita compared to all airports. Click for larger.