Serving Kansas City (Wyandotte County) Kansas for over 50 years!
Nebraska Furniture Mart will hold its annual teacher rug giveaway from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 23, in the lower lots at the store, 1601 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas.
Teachers with a valid ID will receive a free area rug while supplies last.
There is also a special “teacher loyalty pricing” on July 23.
For more information, see https://www.nfm.com/events/?loxi_pathname=%2Fkansas-city-teacher-rug-giveaway-3650.
With Rep. Tom Burroughs not running for re-election to the 33rd District, Kansas House, the primary has attracted five candidates, including three Democrats.
Burroughs served in the Legislature for 26 years, including a role as minority leader in 2015.
Three Democrats and two Republicans now are running for their party’s nominations in the Aug. 2 primary.
Taylor R. Dean, Bill Hutton and Mathew Reinhold are running for the Democratic nomination.
Clifton Boje and Mike Thompson are running for the Republican nomination.
Early voting starts Saturday in person in Wyandotte County. For details on early voting, see https://wyandotteonline.com/early-voting-in-person-starts-saturday/.
Taylor Dean is a Turner resident and union laborer who supports a minimum wage of $15 an hour, improved working conditions, legalizing cannabis and expanding Medicaid, he said.
“You hardly ever hear of too many politicians at the national or state level who really care about appealing to workers and prioritizing the policies advocated by the labor movement, and I wanted to bring those ideas into the public discourse,” Dean said.
Dean, 28, is a community activist and member of the Wyandotte County Young Democrats. From Junction City, Kansas, he has a degree from Kansas State University. His bachelor’s degree is in history with a minor in political science.
He moved to the Kansas City area in 2018 to work on the Proposition A campaign in Missouri, and he said he discovered that Wyandotte County was the place in the metropolitan area that most appealed to him. He said he had been involved with campaigns before, but never realized the amount of work that takes place.
Dean originally filed for the 37th District this spring, but redistricting lines later were drawn that placed him in the 33rd District. His home was one block away from the new redistricting line. He then decided to refile for the 33rd District after hearing that Rep. Burroughs would retire.
Dean is an eight-year member of Laborers Local 1290, and in his free time he likes to volunteer at KC Farm School on Gibbs Road and also is active in his union.
Another issue Dean would like to work on is local control, to get more home rule authority for local communities in the state, he said.
For more information, see https://www.taylordeanforkansas.com/.
Bill Hutton, Kansas City, Kansas, is an attorney who has served as the municipal court judge for Bonner Springs since 2003. He also served as municipal court judge in Kansas City, Kansas, from 1996 to 1999, and as a hearing officer for the Kansas City, Kansas, Housing Authority since 2018.
Hutton, 67, attended Washington High School and has degrees from Kansas City Kansas Community College and the University of Kansas, where he received a bachelor’s degree and law degree.
Hutton cited Burroughs’ retirement as a reason for running. “I felt my community-wide experience and interest and involvement would be an asset to the state legislature,” he stated in a questionnaire for the Wyandotte Daily.
Hutton’s three top issues are Medicaid expansion, a push for a statewide vote on the Medicaid issue in 2023; elimination of the sales tax on food, fast-tracked to eliminate it as early as 2023; and full funding of the public schools, supporting legislation to encompass special education, school safety and technology in the upcoming session.
If elected, Hutton stated he would seek to forge alliances across the aisle in the Legislature, working with Democrats and Republicans alike on common goals.
Hutton is active in the Wyandotte County Historical Society, Downtown Shareholders of KCK, Wyandotte County YMCA Advisory Board, Union Station volunteer, SMID Board and Wyandotte County Bar Association.
Hutton has been endorsed by the Kansas National Education Association, the Tri-County Labor Council, Firefighters Local 64, the Greater Kansas City Building and Trades Council, the Kansas Contractors Association and KC BizPAC.
Hutton previously ran for the state Senate in 2016, in a district that was 60 percent Leavenworth County and 40 percent Wyandotte County, losing in the general election by less than 1 percent of the vote.
For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/BillHutton33rd.
Mathew Reinhold said he is running on a working class platform of utility reform, trying to end the state ban on rent control for local municipalities, and end the state ban on local wage reform. He is in favor of a $15 minimum wage. He also favors rebuilding the local ad valorem tax relief fund to get tax relief to people.
He said he has seen friends and coworkers working multiple jobs but not able to keep their heads above the water. The Legislature needs to focus more on bread-and-butter issues, he said.
Reinhold, 24, is seeking office for the first time. His current occupation is cook. He said he decided to run just in the past six months, when it seemed like times were harder and politicians were out of touch with that reality.
He was raised in the Leavenworth area and spent the last three years of high school at Lansing High School, he said. He studied linguistics at the University of Kansas, where he finished coursework but has not yet received his degree, he said.
Reinhold said if elected, he wants to be a very visible member of the community, attending events and local meetings, and be accessible.
He said he wanted to hold town hall meetings and take the input back to Topeka. He added he would like to actively fight for his platform in the Legislature.
For more information, see https://mathewreinhold2022.wixsite.com/website.
A story about the Republican candidates for the 33rd District is planned next week. Thompson is a Bonner Springs councilman, and is not the former weatherman by the same name who is serving in the Senate. Boje is the founder of Acorn Performing Arts.
To contact Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].
The Unified Government Commission on Thursday, July 14, approved a maximum mill levy amount and also heard findings from studies that urged changes to the UG and some departments.
The maximum mill levy that was set was not the final mill levy for the property tax bills next year. Instead, it was an amount that the UG Commission will not exceed; the commission could still set a lower mill levy, or could keep it the same, according to UG officials.
The maximum mill levy that was set was 38.48 mills for the city of Kansas City, Kansas, and 39.338 for Wyandotte County.
The UG Commission did pass a measure that stated it intended to exceed the revenue neutral rate.
Commissioner Angela Markley said it was the same rate as last year’s tax levy, however, the property valuation had increased, meaning it would raise more dollars from property.
The commission is not required to lower the mill levy more than the maximum, however, it cannot go above the maximum that was set. It is still some weeks away from a final decision on the budget.
Exceeding the revenue neutral rate requires a public hearing under the state law, and the hearing will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 22 at City Hall.
Commissioner Tom Burroughs supported remarks by Mayor Tyrone Garner that were in favor of lowering the mill levy and some fees.
In other action July 14, the UG Commission heard a presentation of studies that recommended changes to some UG departments and the UG structure.
The studies were done under the direction of UG Interim Administrator Cheryl Harrison-Lee. They were at a high-level overview.
According to the Meriweather Group, which conducted a human resources audit, several recommendations were made. The Meriweather Group stated that the hiring process could be improved, as well as paperwork, data collection, and general policies and procedures in human resources.
The UG should conduct a pay equity analysis and put in place a performance management system that would help employees understand and reach objectives and performance standards, according to the Meriweather Group.
The quality of service from HR was said to be unreliable, unresponsive, not accessible and inconsistent, according to the Meriweather Group. To remedy it, the group recommended changes in staff, policies, process and technology.
Byron Marshall and Scott Meyer, consultants, presented an overall review of the UG and its finance operations.
The UG was formed 25 years ago from the city of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County. The consultants discussed potential realignment for the UG.
A realignment of county administration was recommended in managing department functioning. The consultants suggested putting like departments together under an assistant administrator. Currently some assistant administrators are over groups of departments that are not like each other, according to the consultants. It is an ideal time to make changes since there were two assistant administrator positions open. Also, the consultants felt the UG could benefit from collaborative work among the departments. They cited the UG’s SOAR program as an initiative that worked among departments.
A common management system would help departments bring their management into line with the commission’s priorities and strategic goals, according to the consultants.
The consultants recommended the UG enter into an extensive strategic planning process to establish the priorities and measure them. A measurement system could tell whether the goals are being met.
Some of the UG commissioners pointed out during the meeting that the commission did not vote its approval to conduct these studies, and that there was no money set aside by the commission for the study. There was no vote taken on the studies at the meeting.
For more details of this meeting, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BaDfB9__Og.