Today was the first morning meeting for the City Commission. They have meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Recently it was decided to have the second meeting of the month held at 9:00 in the morning instead of the traditional 7:00 evening meeting.
An interesting and well-spoken local businessman (Jason-didn't catch his last name) spoke during the Citizen's Forum portion of the meeting. He urged the Commission to consider carefully before spending additional money on the Kansas Logistics Park. He cited historical attempts with similar goals that had not succeeded. He has residential rental properties and stated that his tenants don't really care about what the city does until it impacts their own pocketbooks. When property taxes and water rates are increased and he must pass that on to his renters, then they care. He feels the City has "given away the farm" because of the deals they have made with the New Millenium Wind Energy Corp and the Tindell Corp to entice them to come to Newton. He is concerned that once the freebies are used, they will either fail or move on to another area.
As we have heard on a national level, renewable energy companies are known to fail and this would leave the City will a tremendous burden. He said that when an individual makes an investment, it is only that individual who loses; but when the City Council makes a poor decision, it is the taxpayers who suffer. I have learned that leadership often involves taking risks after a due diligence study has been performed. There are a lot of uncertainities in the world today and one must remember that this is historically a very conservative community. Between the KLP, the new Meridian Conference Center, and improvements to the Newton Airport, the City has spent money but it has also positioned itself for the next economic upswing. Activities like this are what has kept Newton from suffering the same fate that has befallen other small communities in the Midwest.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Research, research, play a little, research some more....
Well this week has been spent on researching city fees at my internship....and then I have spent all weekend doing research for Dr White on the MS4s. I have been combining data from two large binders that were compiled when they first researched this about 5 years ago with data from two sheets from the State of Kansas. Once that was done, I looked up the websites of each of the municipalities are verified contact information and looked for Stormwater programs listed on their sites. I copied pertinent data to individual computer files for the 65 communities on my list.
Last night I did take a break and went to listen to some music at Karen's Korner. One of our friends was there playing last night. We (my sister and I) sat with his lady friend and had a fun time. I paid for taking that "break" as I was up until 5:00 this morning working on this research. I had planned to finish that yesterday and write a couple of literature reviews today, but no such luck. Well I just zipped the file and sent it off. Will be starting an on-line course this week (Session B) and gearing up for the Capstone starting on March 9th. I am finding it a stressful trying to keep up with everything...a student's bane.
As this is a small town, when I read the local newspaper, I know or have met many who are written about. For instance, the City Engineer was interviewed about modifications to one of the City's roads. Another article involved an interview with the County Nurse whom I have sat with at several functions. This internship has given me a different perspective on "my little town." It is nice to feel like you are really a part of the decision making process. Hope you all are enjoying your internships too..
Last night I did take a break and went to listen to some music at Karen's Korner. One of our friends was there playing last night. We (my sister and I) sat with his lady friend and had a fun time. I paid for taking that "break" as I was up until 5:00 this morning working on this research. I had planned to finish that yesterday and write a couple of literature reviews today, but no such luck. Well I just zipped the file and sent it off. Will be starting an on-line course this week (Session B) and gearing up for the Capstone starting on March 9th. I am finding it a stressful trying to keep up with everything...a student's bane.
As this is a small town, when I read the local newspaper, I know or have met many who are written about. For instance, the City Engineer was interviewed about modifications to one of the City's roads. Another article involved an interview with the County Nurse whom I have sat with at several functions. This internship has given me a different perspective on "my little town." It is nice to feel like you are really a part of the decision making process. Hope you all are enjoying your internships too..
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Husband Saves Five in the Desert
While I am doing this internship, my husband has remained in Arizona. Today, he and a couple of friends went for a day in the mountains. This is not unusual for them. They get an early start and drive up in his truck with his little Suzuki Samurai, a 4-wheel drive vehicle, on a trailer. Once there, they parked and embarked on an adventure. Today they went past Florence and were in the vicinity of Box Canyon. As they were exploring on some rather rugged jeep trails, they were hailed by a group of five who appeared to be stranded. The group consisted of two grandparents, a daughter-in-law, and two grandsons (about 7 years). The grandparents live in Arizona and the rest live in Iowa. They had become disoriented and had found the trail, but were going the wrong way on it. Not only that, but the trail was very rugged and it is doubtful that they would have been able to have made it back to their vehicle once they realized their error.
My husband's vehicle was built to carry four, not nine so it was very packed to say the least. The daughter-in-law told my husband that he had saved their lives...and I imagine that he did as the area they were in was quite remote and not well-traveled. Fortunately for them, this did not occur on a day when temperatures soared to over 100 degrees or the outcome might have been much different.
My husband's vehicle was built to carry four, not nine so it was very packed to say the least. The daughter-in-law told my husband that he had saved their lives...and I imagine that he did as the area they were in was quite remote and not well-traveled. Fortunately for them, this did not occur on a day when temperatures soared to over 100 degrees or the outcome might have been much different.
City Fee Assignment Including Traffic Violations
Much of my day today has been spent on researching and gathering information from various sources regarding the fees collected by the City. Lunda has given me the task of amassing this information from all of the various departments along with the last date it was updated. Then I am to gather information regarding fees collected by similar communities in the area. So far I have gotten fee information for building permits and contractors licensing from the City Engineers office. From the Municipal Court I have gotten a listing of all of the traffic citations and code violations along with those fees. That is a rather lengthy list that was last updated on July 1, 2010. This listing is rather interesting. I have determined that if you irritate the police, there is something on this list that they will be able to cite you for.
I thought I would list some of these examples for you.
* Turning on curve or grade - $75. Now, how would someone turn on a curve unless there was a road to turn onto?
* Fail to yield to a blind pedestrian - $60. Well, who is going to tell on you if the pedestrian is blind, he can't see you?
* Vehicle emerging from the alley - $75. How else are you supposed to get out the alley?
* Park adjacent to school or signs - $35. Your mother would have been cited for picking you up from school!
* TV screen visible to the driver - $45. what about GPS screens or backing screens?
* Unattended vehicle - $45. does that mean you can't park and get out of the car?
*Coasting - $45. I have a button on my cruise control for coasting.
* Driving over a fire hose - $45. Well, you shouldn't be driving that close to a fire.
* Driving on the sidewalk - $45. This is one that I actually did when I was in high school in this very town...and it was on Main Street. The statute of limitations has expired.
* Not riding on a bicycle seat - $45. Hmmm...does that mean you can not stand up to pump faster?
* Improper tires - $45. How is this determined?
* Wearing earphones or headsets - $25. Well, that covers most of ASU's students.
* Riding bicycle in the business district - $30. Isn't that a little petty?
You have to pay court costs of $80. in addition to the fines for violation except those for seat belts or parking tickets. These are just a few of the violations on the list. Almost all of them are justifiable and many of these, if taken in the proper context, are also.
I thought I would list some of these examples for you.
* Turning on curve or grade - $75. Now, how would someone turn on a curve unless there was a road to turn onto?
* Fail to yield to a blind pedestrian - $60. Well, who is going to tell on you if the pedestrian is blind, he can't see you?
* Vehicle emerging from the alley - $75. How else are you supposed to get out the alley?
* Park adjacent to school or signs - $35. Your mother would have been cited for picking you up from school!
* TV screen visible to the driver - $45. what about GPS screens or backing screens?
* Unattended vehicle - $45. does that mean you can't park and get out of the car?
*Coasting - $45. I have a button on my cruise control for coasting.
* Driving over a fire hose - $45. Well, you shouldn't be driving that close to a fire.
* Driving on the sidewalk - $45. This is one that I actually did when I was in high school in this very town...and it was on Main Street. The statute of limitations has expired.
* Not riding on a bicycle seat - $45. Hmmm...does that mean you can not stand up to pump faster?
* Improper tires - $45. How is this determined?
* Wearing earphones or headsets - $25. Well, that covers most of ASU's students.
* Riding bicycle in the business district - $30. Isn't that a little petty?
You have to pay court costs of $80. in addition to the fines for violation except those for seat belts or parking tickets. These are just a few of the violations on the list. Almost all of them are justifiable and many of these, if taken in the proper context, are also.
2013 Budget ~ Preliminary Information
The General Fund receives 74% of the property tax collected. The Budget for 2011 budgeted for $15.8 million and the actual expenditures amounted to $14.1 million. Therefore we will be beginning next year with a higher balance in the General Fund than we budgeted for, between $1.3 and $1.4 million. Management intends to keep the budget flat and there will be no mill levy increase on behalf of the city. Newton is similar to other cities in that the property tax bill includes taxes from several districts (schools, for one), the county, and the city. The plan is to focus on the core functions of the city. All of the cities have felt pressure from the State to take on additional responsibilities. (This is also what we heard in lectures in our MPA classes)
Areas of concern in this budget are the Sanitation Fees and the Sanitation Fund. In 2007, the sanitation services went out for bid and the City won the bid. Since that time, sanitation fees have not changed although services have been enhanced and there has been an increase in the cost of gas. As a result, this fund has been drawing down. The Sanitation Fund contributes to the General Fund which is meant to offset a lower property tax rate. Currently it is not performing as well as it needs to in order to accomplish this.
Domestic violence is another concern to the City fathers. Newton will apply to renew a grant for this program in 2013, but we will have to determine if this is a core function of the City. The city's cost this year was $125,000 and we need to consider this program's cost in its entirety, not just the city's portion. Currently this is partially funded by the county and grant funding.
The General Obligation Bonds (GO Bond) is lowered by the City by about $2.1 million per year.
There are two pieces of State legislation being considered that will have an impact on the local economy. HB2212 deals with existing property tax and proposes that as the valuation of property increases, the mill levy rate decreases. Newton's management team feels this can't be done. SB332 is the other one and it allows grocery stores to sell alcohol. If this is enacted, the City will lose revenue from licenses sold to liquor stores. The State has said that it will make up the difference to the cities, but that is doubtful past the first year from prior experience. The State is also proposing a Sales Tax Holiday during which the State will forgo charging its portion of the sales tax for over a holiday weekend.
There is proposal to change the current method of Publication from the newspapers to posting it online on Newton's website. This would result in a reduction of printing costs.
KPERS is the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System. The City is aware that both the employee and employers required contributions to the system will increase, but not until 2014.
I previously mentioned the last item - school finance. School districts will see pressures on their tax. In order to collect more sales tax, churches and the City may have to start paying sales tax. This could cause the City to raise the property tax by 1 mill to offset the additional expense.
These are the issues of concern going into the 2013 budgeting process. Thank you, Dr. Miller.
Areas of concern in this budget are the Sanitation Fees and the Sanitation Fund. In 2007, the sanitation services went out for bid and the City won the bid. Since that time, sanitation fees have not changed although services have been enhanced and there has been an increase in the cost of gas. As a result, this fund has been drawing down. The Sanitation Fund contributes to the General Fund which is meant to offset a lower property tax rate. Currently it is not performing as well as it needs to in order to accomplish this.
Domestic violence is another concern to the City fathers. Newton will apply to renew a grant for this program in 2013, but we will have to determine if this is a core function of the City. The city's cost this year was $125,000 and we need to consider this program's cost in its entirety, not just the city's portion. Currently this is partially funded by the county and grant funding.
The General Obligation Bonds (GO Bond) is lowered by the City by about $2.1 million per year.
There are two pieces of State legislation being considered that will have an impact on the local economy. HB2212 deals with existing property tax and proposes that as the valuation of property increases, the mill levy rate decreases. Newton's management team feels this can't be done. SB332 is the other one and it allows grocery stores to sell alcohol. If this is enacted, the City will lose revenue from licenses sold to liquor stores. The State has said that it will make up the difference to the cities, but that is doubtful past the first year from prior experience. The State is also proposing a Sales Tax Holiday during which the State will forgo charging its portion of the sales tax for over a holiday weekend.
There is proposal to change the current method of Publication from the newspapers to posting it online on Newton's website. This would result in a reduction of printing costs.
KPERS is the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System. The City is aware that both the employee and employers required contributions to the system will increase, but not until 2014.
I previously mentioned the last item - school finance. School districts will see pressures on their tax. In order to collect more sales tax, churches and the City may have to start paying sales tax. This could cause the City to raise the property tax by 1 mill to offset the additional expense.
These are the issues of concern going into the 2013 budgeting process. Thank you, Dr. Miller.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Newton's Insurance Renewal Meetings
Scheduling the City's insurance renewal meetings was one of my recent tasks. Assistant City Manager Lunda Asmani requested that I schedule insurance renewal meetings for all of the department heads for February 13th. This included supervisors and department heads from the fire department, the police department, the library, the parks department, the streets and sanitation department, the water plant, the wastewater plant, the Kansas Logistics Park, and the Meridian Center. Lunda wanted to meet with the insurance brokers for an hour before the rest of our entourage.
It was a benefit that I had been here for about a month as I knew whose schedule would already be pretty full even though this meeting was over a week away. I checked first with Suzanne Loomis, the City Engineer and Director of Public Works, as she is also the busiest person at City Hall. Lunda had originally thought we would start the meetings at 9:00 in the morning and allow 1/2 hour for each department. Well, Suzanne's schedule was already booked and would only be available from 3:00 to 4:30. So that was her slot. She arranged times for the Water & Wastewater Supervisor and for the Streets and Sanitation Supervisor. She is solely the representative for the Kansas Logistics Park which is under construction. I was able to schedule everyone rather compactly and assigned a time to the head librarian as she was on vacation. This would have to be changed later as she had other time committments. Things went rather smoothly until the Supervisor from the Airport came and I had not scheduled time for him. The insurance brokers appeared to be quite efficient and knowledgeable.
There was quite an uproar when this group was selected over local agencies which had always written the insurance before. It does seem that this will be a lot better for the city as there appeared to be holes in their prior coverage that could have been devastating to the City. Lunda and I met the brokers at Appleby's for a lunch meeting. Who should be at the adjacent table, but their former insurance agent!!
It was a benefit that I had been here for about a month as I knew whose schedule would already be pretty full even though this meeting was over a week away. I checked first with Suzanne Loomis, the City Engineer and Director of Public Works, as she is also the busiest person at City Hall. Lunda had originally thought we would start the meetings at 9:00 in the morning and allow 1/2 hour for each department. Well, Suzanne's schedule was already booked and would only be available from 3:00 to 4:30. So that was her slot. She arranged times for the Water & Wastewater Supervisor and for the Streets and Sanitation Supervisor. She is solely the representative for the Kansas Logistics Park which is under construction. I was able to schedule everyone rather compactly and assigned a time to the head librarian as she was on vacation. This would have to be changed later as she had other time committments. Things went rather smoothly until the Supervisor from the Airport came and I had not scheduled time for him. The insurance brokers appeared to be quite efficient and knowledgeable.
There was quite an uproar when this group was selected over local agencies which had always written the insurance before. It does seem that this will be a lot better for the city as there appeared to be holes in their prior coverage that could have been devastating to the City. Lunda and I met the brokers at Appleby's for a lunch meeting. Who should be at the adjacent table, but their former insurance agent!!
Thoughts about this and that
I have yet to work just a 20 hour week. This is my own doing as I will be flying back to Phoenix to do the Capstone in March and April. In addition to that my sister is coming from Australia for a visit and I have already gotten scolded for trying to make her fit into my schedule. I feel that I am behind in my research efforts for Dr. White at KU and will be working to catch that up later this week. She is a wonderful person and has been great about giving specific guidance...so I must not let her down. In addition to all of this I will begin an on-line course at ASU in Session B. I have felt compelled to work more than 20 hours each week as I will need to take time off to take care of those things mentioned above.
I would like to say that I am very much enjoying my internship. Another thing that happened on Valentine's Day was that Lunda scheduled a meeting for us with Randy Riggs, the City Manager, to discuss how my internship was going and to make sure I was getting out of it what I wanted and what was needed in order to satisfy ASU's requirements!! Now just how nice is that?!! I am thinking that when my internship is over, I will submit a letter to the editor of the local newspaper (The Newton Kansan - original, huh) thanking those at City Hall for giving me this wonderful experience and educational opportunity. Additionally, I would like to let the citizenry know how well their community is run as I don't think many are aware of it. In 2011, citizens saw their water bill go up substantially as there had not been an increase in over 10 years and they saw their property tax go up also. In Newton, like many places, citizens are typhically apathetic and pay little attention to city government until it affects their pocketbook.
By the end of this week I will have over 200 hours completed. I am currently working on researching fluoridation of municipal water for the Suzanne Loomis, the City Engineer & the Director of Public Works and Lunda has me researching municipal grant policies. I am to start researching city fees for him in the near future.
As this Monday was a holiday, City Hall was closed so I took this opportunity to visit my daughter and her family in Texas. I would not have gone if it had been snowy or icy, but the weather was fine, a little rainy, but fine. The drivers between here and Texas are unbelieveable, especially those Texas drivers. You can be going 10 miles over the speed limit and they will practically push you out of their way. I thought I might have gotten two speeding tickets in Oklahoma, but the highway patrol in the medians are there to create a "halo" effect and cause people to slow down. My insurance company would not have been happy about two speeding tickets...my husband didn't sound too happy either! Well, that was going to Texas, but on the way back it was cruise control all the way. The local ducks and geese are glad to see that I have come back as I am sure that they have missed their daily feedings. I am thinking about getting some sunflower seeds to add to their corn diet. Well, if you are still reading this, thanks for taking the time.
I would like to say that I am very much enjoying my internship. Another thing that happened on Valentine's Day was that Lunda scheduled a meeting for us with Randy Riggs, the City Manager, to discuss how my internship was going and to make sure I was getting out of it what I wanted and what was needed in order to satisfy ASU's requirements!! Now just how nice is that?!! I am thinking that when my internship is over, I will submit a letter to the editor of the local newspaper (The Newton Kansan - original, huh) thanking those at City Hall for giving me this wonderful experience and educational opportunity. Additionally, I would like to let the citizenry know how well their community is run as I don't think many are aware of it. In 2011, citizens saw their water bill go up substantially as there had not been an increase in over 10 years and they saw their property tax go up also. In Newton, like many places, citizens are typhically apathetic and pay little attention to city government until it affects their pocketbook.
By the end of this week I will have over 200 hours completed. I am currently working on researching fluoridation of municipal water for the Suzanne Loomis, the City Engineer & the Director of Public Works and Lunda has me researching municipal grant policies. I am to start researching city fees for him in the near future.
As this Monday was a holiday, City Hall was closed so I took this opportunity to visit my daughter and her family in Texas. I would not have gone if it had been snowy or icy, but the weather was fine, a little rainy, but fine. The drivers between here and Texas are unbelieveable, especially those Texas drivers. You can be going 10 miles over the speed limit and they will practically push you out of their way. I thought I might have gotten two speeding tickets in Oklahoma, but the highway patrol in the medians are there to create a "halo" effect and cause people to slow down. My insurance company would not have been happy about two speeding tickets...my husband didn't sound too happy either! Well, that was going to Texas, but on the way back it was cruise control all the way. The local ducks and geese are glad to see that I have come back as I am sure that they have missed their daily feedings. I am thinking about getting some sunflower seeds to add to their corn diet. Well, if you are still reading this, thanks for taking the time.
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