A Unified Government committee will address changes to terms for Unified Government officials at tonight’s UG Administration and Human Services committee meeting.
The AHS meeting will begin after the completion of the Public Works and Safety Committee tonight, which begins at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, in the fifth floor conference room, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
The amendment would change the beginning of the term of UG elected officials from the second Monday in January to the Monday before the second commission meeting in December following a general election. Another amendment would change the two-year commission schedule adoption to coincide with the change in the beginning of the term.
A third amendment would change the beginning of the term for the sheriff and register of deeds to coincide with the change in the beginning of the term for other UG elected officials.
In years before 2017, the elections for local offices were held in the spring. That changed in 2017, when the Kansas Legislature moved the local elections to August for the primary and November for the general election. The November election is on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.
The AHS committee also will consider a change to appointments to UG boards and commissions. The boards will require a quorum of 51 percent of the members, with a majority vote of 51 percent, unless otherwise specified by the group’s bylaws. Some of the changes have to do with the timing of the terms, to coincide with the terms of the UG Commission. There are additional changes proposed to the UG Solid Waste Management Committee.
The AHS Committee also is expected to hear a report about the UG Data Team.
In addition, Nicholas Novak is scheduled to appear during the public access portion of the meeting, on the topic of immigration.
The UG Public Works and Safety Committee will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, in the fifth floor meeting room, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
On the agenda for the PWS meeting are law enforcement grant applications.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department is requesting the UG’s approval to apply for a grant of $450,100 through the fiscal year 2020 Operation Relentless Pursuit grant program. If approved, the grant would include the Street Smart program, automobile license plate readers, and would be used to purchase software and storage to support technological improvements, and a covert camera platform for investigative surveillance, with an additional patrol vehicle.
The KCK Police Department also is asking the UG to accept funding for overtime reimbursement through the STEP program offered by the Kansas Department of Transportation. The overtime reimbursements apply to traffic enforcement campaigns such as Taking Down DUI; Click It or Ticket; You Drink, You Drive, You Lose; and Thanksgiving week. The KCK Police Department may be eligible for $62,000 of reimbursement funding.
Also, the Police Department is asking for approval to apply for up to $125,000 through the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness grant program offered through the federal Department of Justice, to be used for the peer support program.
Also on the public access portion of the PWS agenda is David Grummon, whose topic is community input into the selection process for a new police chief.