Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau
Update: This agenda item has been moved from the consent agenda to a regular agenda. This week the Wichita City Council will decide whether to issue another contract to Go Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city should not issue this contract until an issue regarding the Kansas Open Records Act is resolved. I have asked for records from Go Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau. It refused to comply. Its reason was that it believes it is not a "public agency" as defined in the KORA. When citizens have problems with agencies refusing to comply with the law, one avenue…
This week Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer delivered his annual "State of the City" address. While the Wichita Eagle editorial commenting on the mayor's speech is titled "Cause to boast, hope," a look at some of the important topics the mayor addressed will lead some to conclude otherwise. The text of the mayor's address may be read at several places, including here. Economic development Regarding Wichita's economic development, the mayor said that the city's efforts saved 745 jobs and created 435 jobs, for a total impact of 1,180 jobs. To place those numbers in context, we note that American Community Survey…
As a condition of renewing its contract with the Go Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau, I asked that the Wichita City Council require that the agency comply with the Kansas Open Records Act. As has been the case before, the city council and city staff say they are in favor of open records and government transparency, but their actions indicate that they are not. After my remarks, which are presented below, City manager Bob Layton said that my attack on the city attorney was unfair, that it was not he who made this decision not to comply with the Kansas…
On Tuesday, voters in Oklahoma City passed a new sales tax to fund downtown improvements. It passed by a vote of 54 percent to 46 percent. The tax will be used to fund improvements such as a 70-acre downtown park ($130 million), a new convention center ($280 million), mass transit initiatives ($130 million), health and wellness aquatic centers for senior citizens ($50 million), and other things. The tax was promoted as not really a "new" tax, as it is timed to replace an existing tax of the same amount that is expiring. Wichita's plans for downtown revitalization will need some…
Remarks to be delivered to the December 1, 2009 meeting of the Wichita City Council. Mr. Mayor, members of the council, I'm recommending that the city not renew its contract with the Go Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau until that organization decides to follow the Kansas Open Records Act. Recently I made a request under the provisions of the records act for records from the Bureau. This request was denied. The Bureau didn't deny my request because of the nature of the records I asked for. Instead, the Bureau's Chairman, Devin Hansen, has an understanding, he wrote, that the Bureau…