I have opposed Charter Ordinance #10 from the start. I strongly feel that it could put the City in harms way for a successful lawsuit. Here are some questions/answers that I have come up with. If this doesn't answer your question, then please feel free to contact me at whitten@sunflower.com or call me at 542-2600. I would also encourage everyone to ask other council members/mayor for their thoughts on this subject.
Questions and Answers:
Q: What is Charter Ordinance #10? A: Charter Ordinance #10 was set up to create a two year appointment for Department Heads versus a one year appointment. This would give the current employees job security, and would also attract qualified people for these positions, and to set up a system that would allow Council to make appointments every two years instead of every year.
Q: Will it really give the Department Heads job security? A: Kansas is a right to work state, which allows employers to fire at any time for any reason. So regardless if you have a one year appointment or a two year appointment, it will not matter. This does not protect the employment of a Department Head.
Q: Would this help attract qualified people for the job of Department Head? A: The individuals we currently have filling these positions appear to be very qualified, and they were hired under the one year term.
Q: Can this ordinance create a situation where the Council would only have to make appointments every two years? A: The way the ordinance is written, there would be two year appointments for people already in the job, and one year appointments for newly hired department heads. Thus, creating the possibility of having some department heads appointed one year while others are appointed the next.
Q: Could this create any legal issues for the City? A: If you hire someone on a two year contract, and fire them after one year, then yes, this could increase the chances of a successful lawsuit against the City.
Q: When will Charter Ordinance #10 become effective? A: If this ordinance is successful, it will become effective when the current Mayor only has one year left in office, creating a situation of a new Mayor tied to working with the old Mayor's appointments.
Sometimes when a person votes, they vote for change. A new Mayor would not have the flexibility of making new appointments for the Department Heads position. They would need to maintain the old Mayor's appointments with the fear of lawsuits, which could possibly limit the changes needed.
With the information that I have provided, I hope this will encourage people to search and receive all the facts on Charter Ordinance #10 prior to voting. Don't just take my word, get both sides. Again, ask other members of the governing body and get their opinion. A well informed vote is a quality vote.
The current contract with Weststar will be up for renegotiation in the year 2013. Right now, the City is in a group called Kansas Municipal Utilities (KMU) and Kansas Electric Cooperative (KEC). These are groups of cities joining together to get better rates on the utilities (buying power). Right now, if we were to give up the electrical to Weststar, we would have no control over the rates and lose our group buying power. For example, DeSoto, Kansas did this and I think they pay around 7 cents per kilowatt hr. for residential and additional charges at times for fuel sur-charges, peak usage, etc. which would increase the price some. We pay around 8.5 cents per kilowatt hr. for residential. So if you only look at these numbers then why not sell it to them? The City buys it for around 5 cents per kilowatt hr., this is 2 cent less than what DeSoto folks are paying for their electrical, so we are able to make 2 cent per kilowatt hr. instead of Weststar putting that 2 cent in their pocket. Looking at this, it still seems like it would save us money if we were to sell it. The City of Eudora uses a lot of electricity in street lights, the waste water treatment plant, City Hall, the new community building and pool. Do you see where I'm going with this? The City would have to pay the going rate at 7 cents for all of its usage. Some of the electric that the City would be charged for by Weststar, to run lets say the waste water treatment plant, could be at an even higher rate than the 7 cents that DeSoto is paying due to the fact that it is 3 phase (more power). By the City owning its own electrical system, it allows us to get it at around 5 cents per kilowatt hr. for everything the City uses. To look at all the numbers above, I feel the City is money ahead by staying with our own electrical system. To add to this, Weststar services Topeka, Lawrence, and other outside bedroom communities. Legislature is always making rules that directly affect the big electrical companies, and legislature works out of Topeka, who do you think would get their electric back on first in the situation of a big ice storm? Probably not Eudora. The way we are currently set up, if we have damage in Eudora, our crews are right here to work on it with the help from other municipalities that are in the KMU and KEC groups. Our problems get fixed starting the day of the damage not two or three weeks later.
If this is hard to understand please get in touch with me and maybe I could explain it better over the phone 542-2600.
What the City currently needs are people who are willing to step up, help out, and do the legwork to get all the facts. I'm learning this position as I go, which I have said from the beginning. I have to rely on the experts we hire to give me the proper information so I can make an informed decision. If anyone has good information to add, please by all means, let me hear it. A good decision is a well informed decision.
I continually hear that we need to get better educated people on the council. I totally agree. I have always said, that if anyone can find a person that has an education in running a city, the love for Eudora that I have, and someone the Mayor would appoint for my seat, then I would be a fool not to step down and let them fill my seat.
Once again, my email address is whitten@sunflower.com. Please feel free to contact me any time for any reason.
As for the 3% increase for utilities, this is to allow us to try and keep up with the cost to operate the water, sewer, and electric departments. I personally felt that the 3% now is better than raising it 9% in three years. If the 3% creates an excess of funds in the utility budgets, then eliminate the increase the next year. If anyone has ideas on how to do this differently, then please let me know.
The storm water fee is a fund that is used to finance storm water run-off projects. In 2012 this will be mandated by, I do believe, the Federal Government that every municipality has this in place. It is required to not only have a plan, but a way to finance it. It comes down to $2.00 today or $6.00 in the future. If anyone has ideas on how to fund this differently, then please let me know.
The trash can situation was created when Weldon Trash Service informed City Council that they were having a lot of work related injuries due to the lifting of old cans (the new cans are lifted by hydralics on the truck). To lesson the chance of injuries to his crew and to try and keep our cost down, I chose to vote "yes" to the $2.50 rate increase in an effort to keep cost affordable. Trash cans are cheaper than increasing work comp fees. If you feel I made the wrong decision, then it would have been beneficial if you would have contacted me personally with a different solution prior to my decision.
I hear people talking about the pool and the effect this will have on our personal budgets. This was an issue that was put to vote, and the people were the deciding factor on this. If you didn't want the pool/recreation center, then you should have run a campaign against it. The purposed increase was 3 mills, and a 1/2 cent sales tax. I do believe the mill increase for the entire city was under 3 mills. (Good job Council/Mayor and Staff).
If Eudora decides to leave everything the way it is, and doesn't allow for growth, there will still be immediate needs for the City that must be addressed sooner than later. The middle interceptor line, which is a clay line, is 60 years old with a life expectancy of 40 years, so we are already 20 years overdue. Improvements must be made to these lines. This is not for new development, but to take care of the houses that are already in Eudora. The improvements would need to happen even if the population was only 3300 and growing, so you can't just say let's stop and do nothing. The KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) have indicated we need to have a back up 3-phase generator (they're not asking, they're telling) for the sewer plant. This would allow the plant to continue working in the case of a power failure. This carries a price tag of approximately $250,000.00. Eudora also needs a bar screen ($65,000.00) for the plant to help reduce the trash (for example, diapers or toys, etc.) that get into the plant. These items wear out the pumps and create dirty sludge. The sludge that the plant produces can be used on farmer's fields, but if the sludge is full of trash then the farmers do not want it, and it has to be disposed at a land fill. This comes with a high price tag. Currently, we have approximately $315,000.00 that needs to be spent on the sewer plant. We could spend around $800,000.00 now (estimation only--the hard numbrs have not yet come in) to perform the upgrades to the plant that is needed. This would be setting up a lagoon to take the sewer when the power is out, eliminating the need of the generator (price tag of $250,000.00)and also will help during peak flows. Along with this, the head works (piping) would need to be re-worked to get the sewer into the lagoon, at the same time that the head works are re-done for this, the head works would also need to be set up and ready for plant expansions (looking into the future) to prevent us from spending even more money. If you look at the whole picture, would it make sense to spend the $315,000.00 now on something that would just get us by, or go ahead and spend the $800,000.00 that will carry us well into the future?
I hope this will answer some of the questions that have been floating around on this forum.
To bring in new retail it takes population. Hy-Vee, Price Chopper, etc. like to see a population of approximatley 10,000 before they are interested in your city. That type of retail would really help the City's tax base. Also, something that has been voiced is an Economic Director. This position would be helpful, but it cost money and it does not give the City a guarantee that new retail would be brought in, but it would give the City a fighting chance. To bring in an Economic Director, it would require taxes to go up (which people say they can't afford), or cuts to the budget. Whatever is cut from the budget, will without a doubt, cause someone to complain that it was important for them and we shouldn't have made that cut. To get the population to 10,000, it will take improvements to the infrastructure. Individuals are always complaining that sewer, water, and electric in new developments should be paid for by the developer, and this I would agree, but to have the developer pay for everything would cause the price of the lots to run the same as prices in Lawrence or Johnson County, where they already have the amenities people are looking for, such as full time fire/medical, parks, grocery stores, nightime entertainment, etc., and they pay the same price for the lot. We are caught in the small town growing pains. What can we do?
mattg you are correct, I'm not your man for Mayor. I am not seeking re-election for Council or seeking election for Mayor in the next election. For the remaining 18 months, I will try and do the best job with the information/time that I have. Any input is greatly appreciated and could be helpful.
I see a lot of people on the forum wanting to make a change for Eudora. I have a way you can do that. I have a new City of Eudora code book that needs to be reviewed and changes made before the new codes are adopted. If interested in reviewing the new code book, please get in touch with me through email at whitten@sunflower.com. We could get together as a group on Monday. Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m., there will be a work session on codes held at City Hall. If anyone has any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at the email address listed above.
If you're big enough to call people names behind a password, step up to the plate, be a real person, and confront me face to face. For the record, I work for a fire department which creates conflict with meetings.
Charter Ordinance # 10
Vote today.
November 6, 2007 at 6:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Charter Ordinance # 10
Charter Ordinance #10
I have opposed Charter Ordinance #10 from the start. I strongly feel that it could put the City in harms way for a successful lawsuit. Here are some questions/answers that I have come up with. If this doesn't answer your question, then please feel free to contact me at whitten@sunflower.com or call me at 542-2600. I would also encourage everyone to ask other council members/mayor for their thoughts on this subject.
Questions and Answers:
Q: What is Charter Ordinance #10?
A: Charter Ordinance #10 was set up to create a two year appointment for Department Heads versus a one year appointment. This would give the current employees job security, and would also attract qualified people for these positions, and to set up a system that would allow Council to make appointments every two years instead of every year.
Q: Will it really give the Department Heads job security?
A: Kansas is a right to work state, which allows employers to fire at any time for any reason. So regardless if you have a one year appointment or a two year appointment, it will not matter. This does not protect the employment of a Department Head.
Q: Would this help attract qualified people for the job of Department Head?
A: The individuals we currently have filling these positions appear to be very qualified, and they were hired under the one year term.
Q: Can this ordinance create a situation where the Council would only have to make appointments every two years?
A: The way the ordinance is written, there would be two year appointments for people already in the job, and one year appointments for newly hired department heads. Thus, creating the possibility of having some department heads appointed one year while others are appointed the next.
Q: Could this create any legal issues for the City?
A: If you hire someone on a two year contract, and fire them after one year, then yes, this could increase the chances of a successful lawsuit against the City.
Q: When will Charter Ordinance #10 become effective?
A: If this ordinance is successful, it will become effective when the current Mayor only has one year left in office, creating a situation of a new Mayor tied to working with the old Mayor's appointments.
Sometimes when a person votes, they vote for change. A new Mayor would not have the flexibility of making new appointments for the Department Heads position. They would need to maintain the old Mayor's appointments with the fear of lawsuits, which could possibly limit the changes needed.
With the information that I have provided, I hope this will encourage people to search and receive all the facts on Charter Ordinance #10 prior to voting. Don't just take my word, get both sides. Again, ask other members of the governing body and get their opinion. A well informed vote is a quality vote.
October 17, 2007 at 8:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Information on City Business
Paperweight here is an attempt to explain it.
The current contract with Weststar will be up for renegotiation in the year 2013.
Right now, the City is in a group called Kansas Municipal Utilities (KMU)
and Kansas Electric Cooperative (KEC). These are groups of cities joining together to get better rates on the utilities (buying power). Right now, if we were to give up the electrical to Weststar, we would have no control over the rates and lose our group buying power. For example, DeSoto, Kansas did this and I think they pay around 7 cents per kilowatt hr. for residential and additional charges at times for fuel sur-charges, peak usage, etc. which would increase the price some. We pay around 8.5 cents per kilowatt hr. for residential. So if you only look at these numbers then why not sell it to them? The City buys it for around 5 cents per kilowatt hr., this is 2 cent less than what DeSoto folks are paying for their electrical, so we are able to make 2 cent per kilowatt hr. instead of Weststar putting that 2 cent in their pocket. Looking at this, it still seems like it would save us money if we were to sell it. The City of Eudora uses a lot of electricity in street lights, the waste water treatment plant, City Hall, the new community building and pool. Do you see where I'm going with this? The City would have to pay the going rate at 7 cents for all of its usage. Some of the electric that the City would be charged for by Weststar, to run lets say the waste water treatment plant, could be at an even higher rate than the 7 cents that DeSoto is paying due to the fact that it is 3 phase (more power). By the City owning its own electrical system, it allows us to get it at around 5 cents per kilowatt hr. for everything the City uses. To look at all the numbers above, I feel the City is money ahead by staying with our own electrical system. To add to this, Weststar services Topeka, Lawrence, and other outside bedroom communities. Legislature is always making rules that directly affect the big electrical companies, and legislature works out of Topeka, who do you think would get their electric back on first in the situation of a big ice storm? Probably not Eudora. The way we are currently set up, if we have damage in Eudora, our crews are right here to work on it with the help from other municipalities that are in the KMU and KEC groups. Our problems get fixed starting the day of the damage not two or three weeks later.
If this is hard to understand please get in touch with me and maybe I could explain it better over the phone 542-2600.
October 16, 2007 at 5:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Information on City Business
What the City currently needs are people who are willing to step up, help out, and do the legwork to get all the facts. I'm learning this position as I go, which I have said from the beginning. I have to rely on the experts we hire to give me the proper information so I can make an informed decision. If anyone has good information to add, please by all means, let me hear it. A good decision is a well informed decision.
I continually hear that we need to get better educated people on the council. I totally agree. I have always said, that if anyone can find a person that has an education in running a city, the love for Eudora that I have, and someone the Mayor would appoint for my seat, then I would be a fool not to step down and let them fill my seat.
Once again, my email address is whitten@sunflower.com. Please feel free to contact me any time for any reason.
October 15, 2007 at 5:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Information on City Business
As for the 3% increase for utilities, this is to allow us to try and keep up with the cost to operate the water, sewer, and electric departments. I personally felt that the 3% now is better than raising it 9% in three years. If the 3% creates an excess of funds in the utility budgets, then eliminate the increase the next year. If anyone has ideas on how to do this differently, then please let me know.
The storm water fee is a fund that is used to finance storm water run-off projects. In 2012 this will be mandated by, I do believe, the Federal Government that every municipality has this in place. It is required to not only have a plan, but a way to finance it. It comes down to $2.00 today or $6.00 in the future. If anyone has ideas on how to fund this differently, then please let me know.
The trash can situation was created when Weldon Trash Service informed City Council that they were having a lot of work related injuries due to the lifting of old cans (the new cans are lifted by hydralics on the truck). To lesson the chance of injuries to his crew and to try and keep our cost down, I chose to vote "yes" to the $2.50 rate increase in an effort to keep cost affordable. Trash cans are cheaper than increasing work comp fees. If you feel I made the wrong decision, then it would have been beneficial if you would have contacted me personally with a different solution prior to my decision.
I hear people talking about the pool and the effect this will have on our personal budgets. This was an issue that was put to vote, and the people were the deciding factor on this. If you didn't want the pool/recreation center, then you should have run a campaign against it. The purposed increase was 3 mills, and a 1/2 cent sales tax. I do believe the mill increase for the entire city was under 3 mills. (Good job Council/Mayor and Staff).
October 15, 2007 at 5:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Information on City Business
If Eudora decides to leave everything the way it is, and doesn't allow for growth, there will still be immediate needs for the City that must be addressed sooner than later. The middle interceptor line, which is a clay line, is 60 years old with a life expectancy of 40 years, so we are already 20 years overdue. Improvements must be made to these lines. This is not for new development, but to take care of the houses that are already in Eudora. The improvements would need to happen even if the population was only 3300 and growing, so you can't just say let's stop and do nothing. The KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) have indicated we need to have a back up 3-phase generator (they're not asking, they're telling) for the sewer plant. This would allow the plant to continue working in the case of a power failure. This carries a price tag of approximately $250,000.00. Eudora also needs a bar screen ($65,000.00) for the plant to help reduce the trash (for example, diapers or toys, etc.) that get into the plant. These items wear out the pumps and create dirty sludge. The sludge that the plant produces can be used on farmer's fields, but if the sludge is full of trash then the farmers do not want it, and it has to be disposed at a land fill. This comes with a high price tag. Currently, we have approximately $315,000.00 that needs to be spent on the sewer plant. We could spend around $800,000.00 now (estimation only--the hard numbrs have not yet come in) to perform the upgrades to the plant that is needed. This would be setting up a lagoon to take the sewer when the power is out, eliminating the need of the generator (price tag of $250,000.00)and also will help during peak flows. Along with this, the head works (piping) would need to be re-worked to get the sewer into the lagoon, at the same time that the head works are re-done for this, the head works would also need to be set up and ready for plant expansions (looking into the future) to prevent us from spending even more money. If you look at the whole picture, would it make sense to spend the $315,000.00 now on something that would just get us by, or go ahead and spend the $800,000.00 that will carry us well into the future?
October 15, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Information on City Business
I hope this will answer some of the questions that have been floating around on this forum.
To bring in new retail it takes population. Hy-Vee, Price Chopper, etc. like to see a population of approximatley 10,000 before they are interested in your city. That type of retail would really help the City's tax base. Also, something that has been voiced is an Economic Director. This position would be helpful, but it cost money and it does not give the City a guarantee that new retail would be brought in, but it would give the City a fighting chance. To bring in an Economic Director, it would require taxes to go up (which people say they can't afford), or cuts to the budget. Whatever is cut from the budget, will without a doubt, cause someone to complain that it was important for them and we shouldn't have made that cut. To get the population to 10,000, it will take improvements to the infrastructure. Individuals are always complaining that sewer, water, and electric in new developments should be paid for by the developer, and this I would agree, but to have the developer pay for everything would cause the price of the lots to run the same as prices in Lawrence or Johnson County, where they already have the amenities people are looking for, such as full time fire/medical, parks, grocery stores, nightime entertainment, etc., and they pay the same price for the lot. We are caught in the small town growing pains. What can we do?
October 15, 2007 at 5:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Who is in favor of removing our Mayor & Administrator
mattg you are correct, I'm not your man for Mayor. I am not seeking re-election for Council or seeking election for Mayor in the next election. For the remaining 18 months, I will try and do the best job with the information/time that I have. Any input is greatly appreciated and could be helpful.
I see a lot of people on the forum wanting to make a change for Eudora. I have a way you can do that. I have a new City of Eudora code book that needs to be reviewed and changes made before the new codes are adopted. If interested in reviewing the new code book, please get in touch with me through email at whitten@sunflower.com. We could get together as a group on Monday. Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m., there will be a work session on codes held at City Hall. If anyone has any questions regarding this matter, please contact me at the email address listed above.
October 13, 2007 at 4:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Who is in favor of removing our Mayor & Administrator
If you're big enough to call people names behind a password, step up to the plate, be a real person, and confront me face to face. For the record, I work for a fire department which creates conflict with meetings.
P.S. Have you heard of defemation of character?
October 13, 2007 at 12:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )