Wichita city council members are looking over a list of issues they will be lobbying for during the next session of the Kansas Legislature. They also have a draft list of items to take to Congress in 2019. The council talked about those issues with the city’s lobbyists during a workshop meeting this week.
One of the key issues for the city will be the ongoing effort to combat metal thefts. State law has set up a database to track the sales of scrap metal, but there is no funding for the database at this point. Lobbyist Kimberly Svaty said there have been discussions in Topeka about fees and private donations to support a database. Mayor Jeff Longwell said for too long it has been up to the city of Wichita to solve the problem by itself, and there needs to be a regional solution.
The city will also lobby next year for improvements to the state’s property tax lid, and legislation is expected to be introduced next year on exemptions that could help cities in funding their budgets.
The city also plans to lobby for support at the state and federal level on plans to improve the North Junction of I-135, I-235, K-96 and K-254. The city will also continue its efforts to get state and federal help for an expansion of Amtrak passenger service.
The council plans to vote in December to formally adopt their state and federal legislative agendas for 2019.
