Tag: Wichita city government
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Wichita School District Dodges TIF District Issue
At the August 25, 2008 meeting of the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, John Todd and I addressed the board members, asking that they exercise their veto power over the formation of a tax increment financing (TIF) district recently created by the City of Wichita. My remarks may be read in…
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Wichita School District: Don’t Give Up Your Tax and Revenue Base
On August 5, 2008, the Wichita City Council greatly expanded an existing tax increment financing district. This board has 30 days from then to veto the city’s action. I want to explain why this board should do just that.
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Wichita’s Naysayers Shortchanged in Council’s Record
On August 12, 2008, the Wichita City Council considered the establishment of a TIF district that would benefit Reverend Kevass Harding and his real estate development team. At the council meeting Reverend Harding spoke, and then John Todd spoke, and then myself. We all spoke for, I would guess, roughly the same amount of time.…
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Wichita’s Naysayers Are Saying Yes to Liberty
Wichita politicians, newspaper editorial writers, and sometimes just plain folks are fond of bashing those they call the “naysayers,” sometimes known as CAVE people. An example is from a recent Opinion Line Extra in the Wichita Eagle: An acquaintance in another city refers to the anti-everything people as “CAVE” people (Citizens Against Virtually Everything). I…
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Tiff over Wichita TIFs
A post titled Keeping TIFs from a public tiff by Wichita Eagle business reporter Bill Wilson on the Eagle’s Business Casual blog reveals his bias in favor of government over individual action and preference. My post The Wichita Eagle?s Preference For Government documents one such example from the past. In this blog post Mr. Wilson…
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Wichita School District: Where Do They Think the Funds Come From?
In a Wichita Eagle article City leaders cut short trip to talk about TIF, reporter Deb Gruver writes: “Susan Arensman, a spokeswoman for the school district, said the project would not affect schools.” The context is that the City of Wichita is considering the creation of a large tax increment financing (TIF) district in downtown…
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Bobby Rozzell’s Great Idea for Wichita Leaders
At the imaginatively-named Bobby Rozzell?s Blog the author has a suggestion for Wichita government. Here’s the idea: Some smart local leader is going to figure out that social media (blogging and such) has the potential for building relationships with a large number of citizens. A number that would be impossible if it was attempted physically.…
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Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer saves us from covered wagons
Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer believes that without government oversight and planning of our economy, Wichita would revert back to the way it was at its founding.
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Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, August 12, 2008
Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer believes that without government oversight and planning of our economy, Wichita would revert back to the way it was at its founding.
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Testimony Opposing Tax Increment Financing for the Ken Mar Redevelopment Project
Testimony of John Todd, opposing the formation of a tax increment financing (TIF) district, delivered to the Wichita City Council on August 12, 2008. Mr. Mayor and members of the Wichita City Council, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak before you today. My name is John Todd. I stand before you today…
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Reverend Kevass Harding’s Wichita TIF District: A Bad Deal in Several Ways
Remarks to be delivered to the Wichita City Council on August 12, 2008. There’s several reasons why this council should not approve this request for TIF financing. Material in today’s agenda packet doesn’t specify an amount, but past materials indicated that the project was $2.5 million short of the total needed for the project. Now…
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Questions Wichita Reverend Kevass Harding Will Not Answer
The Reverend Kevass Harding, a member of the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, is also a real estate developer (New life for Ken-Mar Shopping Center: Harding plans to revitalize 13th Street mall, March 14, 2008 Wichita Business Journal). The problem is that Harding plans to ask the taxpayers of the City…