It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is behind us and we’re now in the last month of 2022. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday making good memories with your family and friends! This holiday season, as we have opportunity, let’s continue to count our blessings and be generous givers to show love and help others around us. 

 

I know many people are unable to enjoy the holidays for a myriad of reasons. We know that this can be an emotionally tough time for many people. Sedgwick County is invested in helping people through tough times. If you are feeling depressed and overwhelmed with loneliness, please reach out to our professional staff at COMCARE that are able to encourage you and pragmatically connect you to real help. You can get help by calling 316-660-7500. 

 

As we wrap up 2021 and begin 22, let’s work hard and serve others. 

As the end of the fiscal year approaches, the county typically gets funding requests from well-meaning charitable and non-profit organizations. They believe a taxpayer funded subsidy will help them do more great things across the county. Presumably, they anticipate unspent reserves in the budget and so they try to get a little support from the commission.

I don’t blame them for asking because the county does grant funding once in a while. It never hurts to ask. Whenever well-meaning charitable organizations make a plea for county support, it can be emotionally and politically difficult to vote no.

Sedgwick County has a good reputation for being fiscally sound. That is not by accident. For decades, we have been conservative and have managed the budget responsibly. That’s why Sedgwick County has the second lowest mill levy among the 105 Kansas’ counties.

The County Strategic Plan states, “Our mission is to cultivate a healthy, safe and welcoming community through exceptional public services, effective partnerships and dedicated employees.” That lofty sentence sounds okay but sadly it doesn’t effectuate much (if any) policy discussion.

If we don’t know what our purpose is, we will likely violate the basic principle of limited county government by allowing “mission creep”. It is understandable when elected officials sympathize over a problem, and they know there is a little discretionary funding left in the budget, they sometimes will connect those great needs to the limited resources. Consequently, organizations may develop dependency resulting in even bigger funding requests in the future.

Social challenges will always outpace limited taxpayer funded resources. Whenever elected officials feel political pressure to grant precious tax dollars to help people in new ways, I often say, the county needs guardrails to put us back into our lane. Restated, the county commission needs clarity on the county’s mission.

Whenever the mission grows, the tax burden and budget must also increase. Every societal problem cannot and should not be solved by county government. For example, two weeks ago, the county granted $125,000 from local property tax funds to one of the nine homeless shelters in Wichita. This is new county spending that is added to Wichita’s reoccurring federal funding. Similar county spending requests are sure to follow from this shelter and the eight others in Wichita.

I agree homelessness is a massive problem. But should the county start funding this with your precious property tax dollars? Is this mission creep? What guardrails should Sedgwick County adopt? I would like your input. If you want to weigh in, email me at Jim.Howell@Sedgwick.gov.

I recently visited the 4th grade team at Stone Creek Elementary to discuss with them a project they're working on called "Take a Stand." In this project students are choosing a topic that has two sides and picking a stance. They must use their own opinions as well as research the topic. We discussed how to understand both sides of a topic and stay true to your opinion but also respecting others ideas. I sincerely enjoyed the visit and the opportunity to speak to these students.

Range 54, Classroom 1 | 5725 E. Kellogg Dr., Wichita, KS 67218

Come and go as desired!

At the Nov. 17 regular meeting, the BOCC voted and approved a deadline for this decision to be made no later than Dec. 15.

To learn more about the process and see the maps, please visit: https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/commissioners/bocc-projects/

Comparing case counts from Monday to Wednesday:

The Sedgwick County Health Department no-cost testing site is located at 4115 E. Harry St. Testing hours of operation are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Text "SC COVID TEST" to 316-215-8313 to get in line for a COVID-19 test through the Sedgwick County Health Department. You will receive a message notifying you of a wait time or to come inside immediately. If Qless is full you will receive a message stating "The testing line is full for the rest of the day." There are additional no-cost testing sites in Wichita for residents to utilize. Find more information here. 

The Health Department takes a nasal, oral or saliva sample to send to a lab for COVID-19 PCR testing. Results are generally available by the afternoon of the next weekday. The results of the virus test show whether a person has a current infection. This is not an antibody test.

Visit www.sedgwickcounty.org/covid-19 to learn more about the County’s response to COVID-19.

The Sedgwick County Health Department provides Comirnaty/Pfizer vaccine (for people aged 5 and older) or one-dose Johnson and Johnson (for people 18 and older) at multiple locations across Sedgwick County at no-cost.

For a full list of mobile, partner, and event clinics and information regarding COVID-19 vaccinations in Sedgwick County, please visit www.sedgwickcounty.org/covid-19/vaccine.

Find a location near you at https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/covid-19/vaccine/clinic-locations/.

The best way to reduce your risk from seasonal flu and its potentially serious complications is to get vaccinated every year. To learn more about and find resources to help answer your questions about the flu, visit https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/index.html

Educating yourself and others on the warning signs can play a crucial role in saving someone else's life. You are not alone. Please call the Community Crisis Center (CCC) today at (316) 660-7500.

The Kansas Department of Transportation is seeking feedback to learn what Kansans think about how highways and bridges are funded. Your response will help KDOT better understand statewide priorities and explore potential ways to pay for the state’s roads and bridges in the future. Click here to take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MidwestRUC

As recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Sedgwick County, we are continuing to communicate opportunities from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that may be of help to you. ARPA became law on March 11, 2021 to provide $1.9 trillion in economic stimulus with the intent to speed up the United States' recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey below is an opportunity we are hosting for you to let us know how federal funds awarded to us from ARPA may be of help to you. Click the link to access the survey: https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/finance/arpa/ongoing-arpa-feedback-survey/.

Below are ARPA Funding Opportunities that have recently been made available: