Local Leadership
I am grateful to serve our community.
We are in a pivotal season for Sedgwick County. We need leadership to help improve our position economically while working to bridge the divide relationally. This community is our home. I want to do all that I can to make sure we are improving and fostering the best quality of life for everyone in Sedgwick County.
Common Sense Podcast
On this episode of “Common Sense” host Ryan Baty sits down with youth advocate, mentor, and community leader Adan Grimaldo for an eye-opening discussion on the realities facing vulnerable youth in Sedgwick County. Drawing from Adan Grimaldo’s personal journey from gang involvement and behavioral health struggles to powerful transformation, the conversation dives deep into the root causes of youth violence, the foster care crisis, and the community’s role in reversing dangerous trends among local kids.
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Change for the Better
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Issues
Staffing Stability for Sedgwick County Government
With nearly 3,000 employees across 46 departments, the work being done by our employees is vital to the quality of life we experience in the community. Upon my arrival on the Commission, we were experiencing significant staffing shortages – particularly in public safety and public health. Aggressive and strategic adjustments in compensation plans returned increased employee morale and staffing stability. Today, we have staffing levels above 90% and our performance goals are all being accomplished. Strategic workforce investments have provided more effective and efficient services to the 525k people of Sedgwick County.
Homelessness, Foster Care and Behavioral Health
Every policy decision must find a connecting link to healthier families. Our community has made significant progress in several large scale community challenges. In homelessness, we continue to develop a long-term community plan with a focus on shelter, services, and affordable housing. We have worked collaboratively to reduce the negative impacts of a foster care system that is failing our most vulnerable kids. We have also invested into a new COMCARE CRISIS center that will increase services such as mobile mental health, 988 suicide line, medical detox beds as well as other strategic initiatives to help meet the growing needs of our community.
Development of the Northwest Expressway
Connecting K-96 to Kellogg through west Sedgwick County has been a discussion for 30+ years. This would spur incredible economic development, but the conversation had stalled as had cooperation amongst key stakeholders. I have worked to re-engage the project with KDOT, Maize, Goddard and the City of Wichita as well as helping to reestablish the NW Expressway Coalition. We now have more momentum in the project than what has been seen in over a decade.
Property Tax Reform
Increasing property taxes has become a painful challenge for many families and businesses. With nearly 50% of our county revenues being generated through property taxes, we aim to reduce the county’s dependency on this revenue source and provide relief to our community. In each of my budgets, we have found ways to reduce the property tax mill levy while also stabilizing core county services. As my #1 priority in 2025 and 2026, we will continue to reduce property tax burden through a series of strategic reforms and initiatives.
Modernizing Local Government
The cost of government continues to increase, and reform is needed to counteract the increasing costs. As we look across the county and our 20 city partners, I will advance plans to eliminate redundancies via more shared services, strategic partnerships, and functional department consolidations. It is time to modernize the local government model and in doing so we will find reduced costs and improved efficiencies. I will continue leading the conversation and building collaborative relationships.
“The government closest to the people, serves its people best”
– Thomas Jefferson
Success is Local
Success requires leadership that listens to the pulse of the community. Local government needs to be shaped by civility and collaboration in order to maximize the potential of our people.
As a business owner & pastor, I am excited to communicate our vision for Sedgwick County and demonstrate a plan that enhances quality of life in our community. These conversations will be focused on our economy, quality of life investment and the appropriate function of our local government.
Work in the Community
Here are a few ways we give back to our community with links for you to join in!
Love Schools
The heart of this organization is to pair local businesses with local schools in order to meet strategic needs and supply resources.
Foster Care Advocate
I have worked with selective organizations to help raise awareness of the foster care crisis in our community.
Firm Foundation Ministries
This organization provides transitional housing and reintegration skills training for individuals leaving correctional facilities.
The Mattress hub
We have strategically partnered with local schools and organizations to donate beds to children in need.
Important note to Kansas residents ‼️
This article references HB2745 which narrowly passed the legislature last week and is waiting on a veto decision from the Governor. The bill imposes a cap on property tax increases that is equivalent to CPI growth or 3%, whichever is less, and if a local government exceeds that then a protest petition of just 10% of registered voters could overcome the budget and require the property taxes to be revenue neutral to last year’s budget…. Zero growth.
Here is my personal view. ⬇️
I have NO issues with a property tax lid. In fact, over last 18-years, Sedgwick County Government has averaged right around 3% growth year over year — so we have no real problems staying within the cap limit and maintaining effective operations.
The practical challenge with this bill is in some of the indirect impacts with a municipalities ability to issue new bonds or satisfy current bond debt.
At Sedgwick County, we have around $60 million in outstanding general obligation debt. ALL of this debt is secured by the County’s “full faith and credit”, meaning the entities that bought our debt through bonds are assured that if we needed to raise taxes to pay our debts we have that capacity. If this law goes into effect, we (and nearly all local governments) will be in breach of our existing bond covenants since there is no longer a way for them to compel us to raise our taxes if need be, as our property taxes are now subject to a small minority of voters.
Important Reminder…. Sedgwick County is one of only 106 counties nationwide that is AAA rated, so we pay an incredibly low interest rate on general obligation bond debt. That’s great news for our taxpayers, but this bill creates some chaos in the bond environment that we aren’t quite sure how to navigate yet, honestly.
If we are downgraded it will cost taxpayers more money in bond interest. If we are found to now be in violation of bond contracts that were previously sold, we aren’t quite sure yet how that is going to play out? Do these notes come due immediately?
It’s complicated.
Again, I’m not personally opposed to tax lids b/c we have proven that we can adopt fiscally responsible budgets AND be efficient with public services, but the bond issues from this bill is an entirely different challenge that I don’t think was thought through well enough.
Keep you posted as we learn more. … See MoreSee Less
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Progress….. ⬇️New ramp from westbound K-96 to northbound I-135 opening today
Read more here:
www.ksdot.gov/Home/Components/News/News/6082/
#marchtozero #springintosafety … See MoreSee Less
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A weekend of reading and study.
You can also access the working documents on data center policy considerations as well as updates on the process and future public meetings.
More => www.wichita.gov/1915/Data-Centers
Enjoy! 🤓 … See MoreSee Less
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The hill I’m willing to die on, politically. ⬇️
I think with two organizations the size of Wichita and Sedgwick County governments, there are opportunities for small pivots to gain efficiencies and there are also opportunities for sizable reforms.
There are opportunities in regional public safety response where we need to modernize to fit the needs of a more urbanized county — particularly Fire and EMS models.
I also think we have a chance to look at how we do our Parks and Cultural Assets (Zoo, Exploration Place, Intrust Bank Arena, Art Museum, Botanica, etc) to ensure we are working in the same direction and thinking through more creative funding sources.
Animal control, Environmental Health, Housing, Transportation, and on and on.
In some instances we can simply be better partners and share more services. In other instances we need to functionally consolidate departments to eliminate cost duplications or let one of the government entities manage the service for the entire community.
Leadership requires vision and the courage to ask the question — “Is there a better option?” I think our community deserves the conversation. … See MoreSee Less
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Enjoyed spending time with my friend, Robert Garner, of Youth Horizons. He helps me better understand the challenges his organization has in providing residential resources to nearly 40 youth in foster care.
He also shared with me the incredible impact that Valley Center Public Schools, USD 262, has had on the health and education of their kids — all of which attend VC Schools.
Heartfelt THANK YOU to all my people in Valley Center Schools! Please know how much we appreciate your partnership and support of Youth Horizons. … See MoreSee Less
Youth Horizons – Hope For Kids & Young Adults – Wichita, Kansas
youthhorizons.net
We help youth by bridging the gap, offering one-on-one mentorship, long-term residential programs, and community advocacy.3 CommentsComment on Facebook
Opening Day should be honored as a federal holiday. Everyone gets a day off to enjoy America’s game! 🇺🇸 … See MoreSee Less
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Data Center Update 🚨
Sedgwick County Government is hosting a roundtable discussion at 10am with community members, industry experts and zoning staff. We will livestream it on YouTube and Facebook.
The goal is public engagement and to bring more voices to the table that can help shape policy and our community approach.
Tune in! Questions? Happy to help. … See MoreSee Less
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The District 4 Citizen’s Advisory Board meets this evening at 5:30pm today — Ruffin Building at 100 N. Broadway. We meet in the 6th Floor Conference Room.
We are excited to host the Sedgwick County Appraiser for a great discussion around property valuations and methods used in mass appraisals in Kansas. This will be a very informative presentation.
Our CAB is open to the public and we also entertain public comment for those that would like to share insight or feedback.
Come learn more! … See MoreSee Less
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Let’s implement a flat federal income tax rate of 15%, exempt the first $50,000 of EVERY household’s income, and do away with all the deductions, exemptions and work arounds.
Those making less than $50k have no federal income tax. ✔️
Those making $75k only pay 15% on the $25k of income above the exemption base. ✔️
Flat, fair and easily understood. ✔️
There… I fixed it. Now back to my emails on data centers. Happy Monday friends! … See MoreSee Less
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