David Hicks

3 weeks ago | sentinelksmo.org | David Hicks

Data obtained in Open Records requests show much higher pay levels for top officials in the City of Wichita than their counterparts in Sedgwick County. Wichita city officials have also imposed higher property tax increases over time. For example, Wichita City Manager Robert Layton was paid more than $296,000 last year, which is a 22% increase over the previous year, while Sedgwick County Manager Tom Stolz was paid about $213,000.

4 weeks ago | sentinelksmo.org | David Hicks

A lack of private options is a common concern among rural Kansas legislators, but a new study suggests school choice will create new private school options. “The number of private schools in the U.S. has been flat or slightly declining in the last few decades.

1 month ago | sentinelksmo.org | David Hicks

At the urging of Miami County Attorney Kenton Harding, the Louisburg USD 416 School Board tabled its approval a week earlier of a 10-year, $4.8 million Lease-Purchase Agreement for the construction of a high school baseball/softball complex over concerns that their action violated state law. At its May 12 meeting, the Louisburg board approved the lease-purchase agreement on a 6-1 vote, with only Board Member Pat Apple dissenting. Discussion of the agreement begins here at the 36:20 mark.

1 month ago | sentinelksmo.org | David Hicks

Overland Park-based Black & Veatch is asking the City of Overland Park for about $250 million in subsidies to help finance an ambitious $1.1 billion development at its Lamar Avenue campus. The engineering and construction firm plans a new 612,000 square foot headquarters, total office space of nearly one million square feet,1,884 residential units in a multi-family, townhomes, and condominiums mix, 5,500 square feet of retail space, a 160-room hotel, and nearly 6,000 structured parking spaces.

1 month ago | sentinelksmo.org | David Hicks

The fallout continues across Kansas after state lawmakers failed to pass legislation limiting property tax increases. Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, are our latest examples of property tax increases funding eye-popping salaries and pay raises for government employees, some of which may result from additional overtime, payouts of unused sick or vacation leave, or working a partial year in 2023.