And everybody, it is 7 o'clock. Welcome to our August 25th regular commission
meeting. Before we get things started, if you would please join me in the
pledge of >> allegiance
to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it
stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all.
» All righty. First item this evening is to consider the minutes of the August
11th, 2026 meeting. I move we approve the regular minutes.
» I second. >> We have a motion in a couple of seconds.
Any further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor say I.
» I. Any opposed? Same sign. >> The motion carries. Next item this
evening is to receive the 2025 financial audit report. And we're going to have
Stacy Ham with SJHHL come up and give it that to us.
» Good evening everyone. I'm Stacy Hammond. I'm a partner with the audit
firm SJHHL and also the partner on the city's annual financial statement audit.
It's a pleasure to be here this evening to present the results of that financial
statement audit. I believe all of you have received two documents from us. Uh
one of them was the copy of the audited financial statements and the other was a
report that was addressed to the mayor and members of the city commission. Uh a
lot of my presentation this evening is also summarized in that report to the
mayor and city commission. That report really puts into writing everything that
our audit standards require us to present summarizing the results of the
financial statement audit. Uh the first thing that I need to visit with you
about this evening is our responsibilities in performing the
city's audit. Uh we did perform the city's audit in accordance with
generally accepted auditing standards at government auditing standards issued by
the comproller general of the United States. uh the provisions of the single
audit act uniform guidance the office of management and budget compliance
supplement and requirements set forth in the Kansas municipal audit and
accounting guide. Uh all of those standards require us to perform
procedures in order to obtain reasonable assurance that the city's financial
statements are free from material misstatement.
As far as the procedures that we performed, we did examine on a test
basis evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. Uh we also reviewed the accounting principles that the city uses
significant estimates made by the city's management as well as evaluating the
overall financial statement presentation. Uh probably the most
important thing that I'll be telling you this evening is that as a result of
performing those procedures, uh we did determine that the city's financial
statements are presented fairly in all material respects in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles. Therefore, we issued what we
call an unmodified audit opinion, which is the best kind of opinion that the
city can receive. Uh I need to visit with you about any
accounting policies or practices. uh significant or unusual transactions, uh
newly adopted accounting standards or significant estimates as part of what
we're required to report. Nothing in any of those areas this year that we need to
talk about except the city does have several significant accounting
estimates. Uh those are the city's net pension liability that results from its
participation in capers, the fair value of investments, total other
post-employment benefit liabilities, uh the right to use assets and lease
obligations payable, uh leases receivable, and their associated
deferred inflows. Uh our job as auditors is to make sure that the city has a
reasonable process in place to measure and record each of those accounting
estimates. And after our test work, we were able to conclude that the city does
have a reasonable process in place to measure and record each of its
significant accounting estimates. We did make several audit adjustments to
the original trial balance that was presented to us to begin our audit. A
number of those adjustments were management prepared entries that just
came in a little bit later after the trial balance was presented to us.
Others were reclassing items or entries that relate to activity like debt and
capital assets that the city doesn't record on its trial balance for
governmental activities, but that are needed for the entitywide financial
statements that are presented on a GAP basis to be in accordance with standards
set forth by the governmental accounting standards board. The final item that I'd
like to visit with you about related to the financial statement audit is our
observations about the audit process. A and here we would inform you if anything
bad had happened during the audit, if we'd had any significant difficulties,
disagreements with management, anything in those areas. I I'm happy to report
that nothing like that happened. Management of the city was extremely
cooperative throughout the entire audit process and they were very transparent
in answering the numerous questions that we had. Uh before I open it up for
questions, I would like to mention that outside of the financial statement
audit, we also performed a single audit of the city's expenditures of federal
awards. Uh we're required to perform such an audit when the city expends more
than a million dollars of federal awards. As part of that audit, we did
test a major program this year, which was the city's airport improvement
program. uh we have no findings that we're required to report as part of that
test work and as part of that single audit of federal expenditures. We did
issue an unmodified audit opinion on compliance for the major program which
is also the best kind of opinion that you can receive on the single audit. Uh
I would open it up for questions now. Before I do that, I would like to very
much thank Lisa Marshall and her staff in the finance department. uh they they
were getting ready for the audit kind of without a financial director in place
this year. So, a lot of work that her and that department went to to get ready
for that. I think in order for the city to receive an excellent result on its
audit, you really have to have good policies and procedures in place year
round, not just in the several weeks where they're getting ready for us to
come in and do that audit. And I think our audit result shows that the city
really does have those processes and procedures in place year round in order
to achieve that result. So with that, I would open it up for any questions that
any of you might have this evening. >> Thank you, Stacy.
» Anything? >> Excellent.
» Awesome. >> Great report. Thank you.
» Thank you. >> Okay, we need to have a motion.
» We need a motion to accept the caffer. I I move that we accept the report.
» I second. >> We have a motion and a second. Any
further discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor say I.
» I. >> Any opposed? Same sign. That motion
carries. Next [clears throat] item this evening
is our 2027 budget hearing. Um I'm going to go ahead and ask Ben Hart with Baker
Tilly to kick us off on that and then we'll kick it over to Rebecca.
» Thank you, Mayor. Um, I want to just first say that I had the absolute
pleasure to work with the same staff, Lisa Marshall, when she wasn't doing
audit, she was helping us. Uh, that was that was fantastic. I was able to work
with Rebecca and obviously Daniela when we uh started putting the budget
together within the state of Kansas. budgets start really early, usually in
the spring, and they usually start with a revenue forecast way ahead of the end
of the year, which is really unfair from a finance standpoint, but it's always
been that way. Your budget's no different. The revenue forecast and the
operating budget for that matter was put together back in March and discussions
throughout April happen. Eventually, it gets to this the commission. I know um
at this this summer you guys spent uh at least three budget workshops uh going
through the budget that was presented by the city administrator. Um everything
culminates really tonight in two different budget uh public hearings to
get uh citizen input. uh the first being the public hearing on revenue neutral
for 2027 a statutory requirement and then the second obviously the budget
itself >> uh for and then followed by that
followed by that would be the adoption of the budget. Uh this budget $66.8
million was spread over several several
operating funds. Uh and within the budget itself, uh there are several
pages, one of which shows the public the publication of that that number and then
all the funds that go with it. Um with that, is there any any additional I
think information that Rebecca has. >> Thank you. Um I'll just be going over um
what's in your packet on the memos before we enter into those hearings.
just to give a little bit um going back to what we're going to have for the
revenue neutral rate. As you might remember, your revenue neutral rate is
the tax rate in mills that generates the same property tax revenue in dollars as
levied the previous years using the current evaluation. In June, we were
notified by the Harvey County Clerk that our revenue neutral rate would be um a
mill of 69.408 across all funds. The current mill levy
is 72.353. That's a difference of 2.945 mills or
$555,599
in valuation increase. At the July 19th meeting, the commission approved notice
of intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate and to inform the county clerk. At
the fourth budget workshop, the city commission decided to reduce the mill
levy rate from 72.353 to 70.942.
The difference from revenue neutral rate would be utilized to fund the airport
bond and interest and special liability funds. The library board has notified
the city that they are keeping their mil levy flat and assuming the increase in
valuation. Before we move on to that hearing, I
might just give you a quick summary of the budget as well since they're going
to be moving pretty quickly. Um, as um, Ben mentioned, the proposed budgets um,
across all funds reflects that mill levy rate. Um, while no new positions were
added and included in the budget, it does maintain the commitment to the
salary study. Um, which is one of the largest line items um, in increase. Um,
there's no direct transfers from utilities to support the general fund.
In previous years, that was approximately $1.2 million. So again, a
commitment to reduce that burden on the utilities. The airport mill levy was set
to have incre additional funding to meet the needs of the growing airport
operations and the expansions in that area. The external funding requests were
funded and it's spending down um in a deficit on the general fund and current
cash. So with that, I do have those numbers on slides.
They're all things you've seen before as those breakdowns. We can reference them
if needed. But this is your proposed mill levy. So, but unless there's other
questions, probably ready to start then. >> Okay. At this time, I'll go ahead and
open the public hearing. I'd invite individuals to step forward who uh wish
to speak on this. If you would please state your name and address and your com
comments regarding this item. >> And this needs to be for the RNR
hearing. >> Correct.
More clarification.
» Anyone? >> Okay. Well, I declare the public.
» What? You'll need to take a roll call vote now on your res.
» No, I got to close the meeting, don't I? >> It's okay. We got it. Make a motion and
a second on the resolution and then we'll do a roll call vote.
» Okay. You got me home. >> All right. [laughter]
» I call for a sec. A motion. >> I so move.
» Do I have a second? >> I second.
» Yes, we do. >> All righty. All those in favor say I. I.
» I. >> Now, you're going to have to have the
roll call vote. Sorry. So, I will start with at this end and
I'll go through and you need to say yes or no to the roll call. So, Commissioner
Kaine, >> yes.
» Vice Mayor Watson, >> yes.
» Mayor, >> it commissioner Valentine,
» yes. >> And Commissioner Miller,
» yes. >> Thank you.
» Okay. All right. So, now we are going to open
the public hearing for the 2027 budget. Again, anybody wishing to speak on this
matter, please uh come forward, state your name and address and and your
comments. And that would be you, sir.
» Hello. I'm Daniel Sanders. Um I live at 1111 South Pine Street here in Newton.
I moved here a year and a half ago. Um how much time do I have?
We don't limit it, but out of courtesy, we train everybody out at three minutes
long. >> Yeah.
» Um, I moved here a year and a half ago from Sterling, Colorado because my
mother-in-law is the last living parent we have and she has dementia. So, my
wife wanted to move back and help take care of her. Um, so I quit my career out
there and I moved here. We moved here and our house was paid for out there.
So, we paid cash for our house here. Um, my house out there was worth more than
the house I have here. And my property taxes were $750 a year in Colorado. And
I mean, we lived in the house for a number of years. And I was shocked when
the property taxes went up $25 a year. I thought this is crazy. It's out of
control. So then we get here and my property
taxes are 3500, 3600, 3,700. Um they started out at 3,200. Um and I
did know that coming here that my property taxes are
going to be high, but I didn't know they were going to go higher as high as they
do every year. Um this will be my third property taxes I'll have to pay. And um
you guys appraised my house for more than what I could sell it for. Um I had
an appraiser come by two weeks ago because I'm having a new roof put on my
house and he appraised it for less than what the city did. And I don't know how
all that works. Um and I don't know how all this works. This is my first time
here. Um, and it's just because I'm a concerned citizen
» and I mean I'm 60 years old and I'm going to have to work till I'm dead
at this rate. I mean I do have a good retirement. Um,
but I don't if if the property taxes keep going up like they are, I won't be
able to afford to live here. Um, and I see how the elderly get taxed out of
their homes. I really do now. >> Um, because the property taxes are just
so high here. And I understand that the property taxes
are there for a reason because, you know, the schools and the roads and I
mean, I don't know where it all goes. Um,
but man, that's a lot of money. If you're taxing everybody as much as you
tax me, that's a lot of money for the city. Um,
so like I said, I'm just a concerned citizen. Um,
and I think I will come to more of these meetings. Um, so I understand them
better. Um, and I'm not trying to start an argument. I just I just
I'm at a loss because you think my house is worth more
than what it is and my taxes keep going up and it's crazy.
I don't know that with my retirement um if I do get to retire
um with my homeowners insurance, the water
bill that's crazy high now, um my property taxes, um I mean that's
That's more money than I'll have. I know that for sure. But that's all I got.
Thanks for letting me speak. >> Oh, thank you for coming up and
speaking. It means a lot. >> Thank you.
» Thank you.
» Anybody else?
» All right. At this time, I'll declare the public hearing closed and bring the
discussion back to the bench. Commissioners,
anything? >> I
I think it would be worth some time to maybe clarify
with regard to how those appraisals occur.
Um, >> the ownership, you know, appraisals are
are >> by the county. They're they're not by
the city. >> The city does not appraise your
property. >> There was a push by the legislature on
the counties of Kansas to increase the assessed values
um because the legislature felt that the assessed values were uh lower than than
market. So, um that led to the last few years of our assessed value increases
here in Harvey County. Um it is unfortunate, you know, that often times
the the city bears the the fault or the blame for the entirety of the property
taxes. Yes, we do levy property taxes for the city, but that bill that you get
is a combination of all the the taxing bodies, the school district,
» um any special districts, >> state,
» state, county, >> and and the city as well. Um I too
understand and and can see how somebody can be priced out of their home and it
is concerning. >> Um
until there's uh wide tax reform at the state level. Um sir coming from Colorado
Taber is a totally different thing over there. The way that the state revenue is
and and the way that the cities and municipalities are funded from that
state income tax is totally different than here in the state of Kansas. And
it's the opposite. you get taxed heavier on your income than you do on your
properties. So, um, government, no matter whether you're in Colorado or
you're in Kansas or you're anywhere, it takes a lot to run a municipality, um,
and the roads and public safety and everything. So, we hear you. We as a
body have really pushed on our city staff and our departments to maintain
costs this year. And that's why we are bringing forward a budget this year that
does not take into account all of the um assessed value increases that uh were
available uh for this body. We said no to that. We said no to positions. We
said no to um items. We pushed costs that the city used to incur on behalf of
the citizens back on those citizens, i.e. credit card fees and everything.
Um, we we didn't believe that the rest of the community should be um paying
those credit card fees for everybody else, whether it was somebody pulling a
permit or somebody um paying paying a bill. So, we we hear you. We we just
have to be very surgical in um the efforts that we take because we don't
want uh amenities or services to be negatively impacted too much if we get
too heavy-handed in our >> our items. Um anything else?
» I think it's worth noting that from I'm I'm new on the commission, but what I
understand as a long-term strategy is well the reason the housing values are
increasing is because we don't have enough housing. there's a housing
shortage. So, we'll have a housing report coming up next. Um, Newton has
really been pushing for adding more houses, which will bring in all of those
new houses will bring in property taxes, which will then spread the burden, as
well as the industrial development like GAF, uh, Shield, AI,
once those come onto the books, uh, as property taxes, that will increase the
revenue and allow us to to be able to stabilize some of the property taxes.
um trying to spread the burden rather than raising it on add more people, add
more properties. I think that's that's how I understand the long term.
» One one of the focuses that we've been trying to do here for three or four
years, five years, is really put a a focus on bringing in new industrial and
commercial industry because they pay the property tax rate at double of what the
citizens do in our in our homes. >> Yeah. And so that's where we're really
going to increase and take the pressure off off of all of us homeowners. The
more that businesses here can expand or bring in new businesses, then that will
that doesn't mean that all of a sudden our property taxes are going to go down,
but the pressure is going to be lessened as time goes on and those revenues come
on to the tax roles. So we all feel exactly how you feel when we get our tax
bill. We're all homeowners. We all know what that is. We don't like it. And uh
just like the mayor said, we have taken specific steps here to, you know, lessen
the mill levy, to use some of our ending cash, you know, down to an acceptable
level and uh and not hire some of the the the personnel that has been
requested. >> So, we're we we hear you loud and clear.
It's not like we're just tonedeaf up here and we all just ignore it. We
don't. So, thank you for expressing that though.
» And I would encourage if you have that tax statement, um it's divided by all of
the taxing entities. It might be good. Um if I'm sure I'm going to volunteer
somebody from the city. Um if you want to bring that up to the city and the
city manager is glad to help you break that down to see exactly where the
city's portion of that whole tax bill is versus the county, the state, uh the rec
center, >> the school board,
» all of that. the school board and the school bond issue. I mean, we're dealing
only with the city portion of that whole tax bill. And so, I would encourage you
uh to bring that up and have somebody just go through that with you so that
it's much clearer because I have had to have people go through
that with me, too. I know what we deal with here at the city level, but when I
get that big statement, I have to remind myself and sometimes ask for a little
bit of extra direction to understand what all of that means in total. So, I
would encourage you to do that >> and come to more meetings. I love when
people attend meetings. Thank you. >> I I I [clears throat] I think I mean I
agree everybody on here what they've said is all true. Um but I think we've
left something out and that is that those returns on those investments from
Jif and Shield IIA are going to take years before we get see those and that
doesn't help us right now and these citizens need help right now and um so I
I know that we have put um we have put pressure on our staff to to um you know,
try to figure this out and and I know they work hard and I got to say the
staff's amazing. They they do they work hard and trying to get us the
information that we need to make an informed decision and it just takes time
to do that. But um we like we said, we do hear what you're saying and we
if we could solve this problem right now, we would do that. But we're trying
to figure out how we can do that, give some relief now, you know, sooner
than later type of thing. Um, so if we can just kind of bear with us a little
bit on that, um, that would be great. But
» that's all I wanted to say. >> All righty. At this point, I would call
for a motion.
Are we adopting the budget? >> I move that we adopt the 2027 budget.
» I second. >> We got a motion in a couple seconds.
» Couple seconds. >> All righty. Any further discussion?
» Hearing none. All those in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Same sign.
Motion carries. You going to pull the roll call on this, Denise?
» No. >> Nope. Okay.
» Very good. All righty. All right. Next item this evening is to
receive the annual housing update. Zack. Good evening. [clears throat] Excuse me.
Uh, this evening I'm going to provide our annual update on housing activity in
Newton. Rather than simply walking through Rather than simply walk through
a list of projects, is it just going to be one click?
Oh, gotcha. Thank you. Rather than simply walking through a
list of projects, I want to frame this year's report around three questions.
Where were we? Where are we today? And where are we going? I think the
framework does a better job of showing the progress we've made while also
putting into perspective the work that is still ahead of us.
Where were we? So, where were we? Over the last several years, our housing
conversations have consistently centered around the same challenge. We simply
need more housing. Our available inventory has remained constrained.
Demand throughout the region has remained strong and infrastructure costs
continue to make new residential development difficult. At the same time,
we were beginning to build a much stronger pipeline. Fox Ridge was driving
a significant amount of the new residential construction. We had
additional projects beginning to emerge around Sand Creek Station and we were
having more conversations with developers about what it would take to
make the projects financially feasible. A lot of work has was focused on
recruitment, planning, identifying development opportunities, and finding
the right tools to help projects move move forward. There was very very little
change between the annual report I presented in August of 2025 and the end
of that calendar year leading into the spring. And that brings us to where we
are today.
That's touchy. Today, I think the housing picture looks
considerably different. We aren't just talking about potential projects
anymore. We have construction underway. We have dirt moving. We have
infrastructure being planned. We have projects moving through the RHID
process. And we have another generation of housing developments beginning to
form behind the projects already under construction. Fox phase one is near
nearing full buildout. Harvest Point phase 2 is under construction. Artistic
builders has started site preparation. The fairways is moving through the
development process. and we have additional h add additional projects
involving Fox Ridge and the Southeast 14th Street connector moving through the
pipeline. That doesn't mean our housing challenges solved, but it does mean
we're beginning to see tangible movement in areas we've been working on for
several years. Two projects really demonstrate where we
are today. Harvest Point 2 is currently under construction and will add 28 new
housing units specifically for residents aed 55 and older. The project consists
of seven residential buildings and represents approximately 5.5 million in
new housing investment. The builds this builds upon Harvest Point phase 1 and
continues to expand our senior housing inventory. Fox Ridge phase 1 is also
approaching the finish line. That that development includes 19 single family
homes, 38 duplexes, and 11 triplexes. All permits for the subdivision have now
been issued and we anticipate the subdivision sub subdivision being fully
completely uh being completely built out. Fox Ridge has been an important
project for Newton because it demonstrated that there is demand for
new housing and for different types of housing products within our community.
The developer is now looking to capitalize on the success which I'll
discuss in a moment.
The next wave of de development is beginning to take shape around the
around San Creek Station Golf Course. Artistic Builders is moving forward with
71 residential development uh uh a lot residential development at 24th Street
in Anderson. The development is expected to focus primarily on duplexes in the
380 to $400,000 range. The infrastructure petitions have been
approved and dirt work has begun to uh has begun to prepare the site
immediately south of San Creek Station clubhouse. The fairways is planned as as
approximately six 60 single family residential lots. Those homes are
anticipated to range from approximately 400 to 600,000. The developer is
pursuing a reinvestment housing improvement uh incentive district or
RHID to help offset the the special assessments associated with installing
infrastructure. Between those two projects alone, we're talking about
approximately 131 new residential lots around San Creek Station. That's a
significant addition to Newton's future housing inventory.
Growing the pipeline is just as important as these projects moving
forward. Just as important as the projects moving today is what is
beginning to develop behind them. Following the success of Fox Ridge phase
one and the developers looking at opening Fox Ridge phase 2, they intend
to pursue an RHID to help offset infrastructure costs associated with the
next phase. Separately, the developer is also evaluating the Fox Ridge Apartments
project that is a separate development from both phase one and phase two and is
also expected to uh is expected to pursue our HID assistance. We also have
the No Morpher development near the Southeast 14th Street connector. The
that project involves approximately 20 acres and is anticipated to include a
combination of single family and multifamily housing. The RHID resolution
for that project has been approved by the Kansas Department of Commerce and we
are currently in the pre-planning and development agreement stages. These
projects are important because they give us a pipeline beyond the housing already
under construction.
Even with all that activity, the market continues to tell us that additional
housing is needed. The Witchaw area median sale median sale price is
approximately 267,000 while Newton's median sale price remains
around 195,000. Home values continue to appreciate and inventory remains
particularly constrained for home prices below 300,000. Mortgage rates also
continue to create affordability challenges particularly for firsttime
home buyers. At the regional level, the estimated housing deficit has grown to
approximately 20,000 single new family homes or new single family homes. Newton
doesn't operate or Newton doesn't operate in isolation from the regional
market. We compete for employees, residents, businesses, and investment
throughout South Central Kansas. Housing availability directly affects our
ability to recruit workforce and support economic growth. So, even though we're
seeing significant progress, the underlying demand that drove this work
has not gone away.
I want to also emphasize that our housing efforts aren't limited to
building new subdivisions. The Newton Land Bank continues to focus on infill
development and returning underutilized properties to productive use. We are
hopeful that the sale of 324 East 11 Street will create another opportunity
for residential investment with an establish within an established
neighborhood. We're also exploring the potential acquisition of approximately
3.8 8 acres of city-owned property that could eventually be redeveloped in a
partnership with Habitat for Humanity or the Housing Alliance. Beyond physical
development, we continue working with the Housing Alliance and other community
partners on housing stability. Those conversations include transitional and
supportive housing, renter and landlord resources, home repair assistance, and
the need the needs of residents experiencing housing insecurity or
homelessness. We also continue to offer programs such as the neighborhood
revitalization program and rehabilitation rebate program to
encourage reinvestment in our existing housing stock. So when we talk about
housing, we're really talking about the entire spectrum. New construction,
infill, reinvestment, housing stability, and helping people remain successfully
housed. So where are we going? [snorts]
That's the final question. I would describe our next phase as moving from
pipeline to production. We spent a considerable amount of time building
relationships, identifying sites, working through financing options,
establishing RHIDs, and recruiting developers. Now, we need to convert
those opportunities into housing. That means getting infrastructure into the
ground. It means completing development agreements and moving RHID projects
forward. It means continuing to work with developers when barriers arise. It
means identifying additional development ready ready property. And it means
continuing to recruit builders and developers so we aren't dependent upon
only a handful of projects. We also need to continue diversifying the types of
housing available in Newton. There isn't one project or one housing type that is
going to solve our housing needs. We need single family housing, duplexes,
multifamily housing, senior housing, infill development, and housing at
different price points. The goal is to create enough diversity and consistent
production that housing availability supports rather than constrains Newton's
future growth. and what success looks like. It's more
it's more homes being built. It's more residential lots becoming development
ready. It's more housing choices available to current and future
residents. It's additional private investment coming into Newton. It's v
vacant and underutilized properties being returned to productive use. And
most importantly, it's establishing a sustainable housing pipeline where we
weren't starting over every year looking for the next project. When I look back
at where we were and compare it to where we are today, I think we've made
meaningful progress. A year ago, many of these projects were conversations,
concepts, or financial discussions. Today, we are seeing construction, dirt
work, infrastructure planning, RHID approvals, and developers preparing
their next phases. Our job now is to capitalize on that momentum and turn the
pipeline we've created into sustainable housing production. And with that, I
conclude my housing update, and I'd be happy to answer any questions. 32411.
That's the old greenhouse by Dylan, isn't it?
» Uh, no. That's it's actually the street. >> You [clears throat] sure? It's the one
across from the >> behind 12th Street. Uh, what's the the
units? Um, it's kind of Don't want to give away.
» No, I got Google. I'll figure it out. >> Okay. 324. You still haven't.
» It's across the street from the greenhouse.
» And I'd like to see that green, >> but it is not that house.
Darn it. All righty. Thank you, Zach. >> Thank you.
» Do you need us to actually receive that report or
Okay, very good. Next item this evening is to consider an ordinance update fees
for sanitation collection. Ed. >> Yeah, thank you, Commission. I'll start.
Chris may want to jump in here at the end, but um this is just a a correction
to an ordinance that you [clears throat] this body approved last November when we
updated our uh s our solid waste collection ordinance. We inadvertently
um missed putting in the fees that would be charged for um a request for a pickup
on a day that wouldn't normally be your trash day. And so this ordinance or this
uh amendment change uh fixes that. We've attached a red line for you um to look
at that. If if you want to approve that tonight, that'd be fine. If you'd rather
us come back after you have some time to look at it, we can do that also. But but
ultimately, we're just trying to fix a an error that we missed in the first
goound. So if Chris, if you have anything else to add, I
» think I'd covered it. Stand for any questions.
» How did you become aware of this issue? >> [laughter]
[cough] [clears throat]
» I'll let the city manager explain that. >> Yeah. Yeah. Would you like to explain
that one, city manager? [laughter] >> So, there's an extra fee if you if they
pick up on a day that they're not. >> Yeah. So, if you inadvertently forget to
set your trash out on your trash day, say your trash day is Monday,
» and you call and say, "Hey, I can't wait till the following Monday. Can you come
pick it up?" Then we charge it a fee because it's off route. So we have to
» right >> kind of recover some costs there.
» Yeah. At the time. >> Yeah.
» And for a homeowner that's 1433. But the ordinance also makes sure that that
we're made whole for somebody who is >> type two.
» Type two or whatever at a different rate appropriate to their type of service.
» Yeah. Based on the size of their dumpster.
» Seems kind of logical. [laughter] Right. Any further discussion?
» Do you have an ordinance number, Denise? >> Yes. It would be 5205-26.
» I move we approve 5205-26. >> I second.
» We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion?
Hearing none. All those in favor say I. I.
» Any opposed? Same sign. >> That motion carries.
» Thank you, Ed. Thank you. Next item this evening is to consider
reacquiring 10 acres of real estate from 21 Aber LLC. That's the northwest corner
of Oliver and First Street out by the airport.
» And this is a short item. This involves a city real estate sale back in April of
2022. As you recall, you did sell those 10 acres that were adjacent to the
airport. Um often in our PSAs, our purchase and sale agreements, we do have
clawback languages with uh requirements to develop. Uh this did not meet that
threshold. It was extended. Offer was extended. Um city staff now recommends
pursuing a purchase back. We wanted to put it um kind of on your radar. Um this
is property that's adjacent to the airport that can be developed. It didn't
meet the original schedule. The original reversionary uh interest called for a
40,000 square foot building to be built before May one of 2025. No permits have
been pulled. Um we're open to develop with that entity and any other entity,
but to keep these on the market. City staff would recommend pursuing it.
» You have given extensions. um they understand they would rather extend but
they they understand there was a reversionary interest and you have the
right to to purchase it back. This is one where the city would purchase it
back. It isn't something where it's forfeited and they have to give it back.
So it' be the original purchase price. >> Is is that purchase price negotiable? I
mean I mean we have to >> Anything's negotiable. you have a
contractual right and they have a contractual obligation to sell it at
that $79,000. Um, of course it could be negotiated. We
wouldn't negotiate up because we have a right at that price. Um,
» so we would not negotiate >> we would not recommend negotiating it.
We would purchase it for the price as outlined in the original PSA.
» I guess my concern is if we don't uh then we set a precedent and then if
uh we do this with somebody else um and just you know let them sit on it. I
I mean it it makes sense to me that we go ahead and purchase it back from
» I agree >> and this the the money's used for that
would be from the Ecodo fund which are set aside for that purpose and this is a
situation where we would be >> controlling our own destiny. We would we
would then have a property that we could go out and market in an area that is
seeing increased activity. So >> So we already have funds that are set
aside for a specific >> Yes, we do.
» Uh issue. Okay. >> And that's their purpose. It's not like
they're just sitting there. That's their purpose is to do that. So
» Okay. I have, this is loosely related, but in
the original contract are could they flip the property now if if land out
there is selling at 12,000 acre and they bought it at 8, can they choose to sell
it on to someone else? >> The property is still encumbered by a
reversionary interest. >> So, we have right of first and it's not
technically a right of first refusal, but we do have an interest to purchase
it if they don't make uh >> because they committed to building on
Exactly. Yeah. >> And that's recorded on the deed. Okay.
We don't need formal action, but direction or if you need more
information, we can bring it back to you.
» I think I'm I'm good. >> I'm good. Um, can we go ahead with a
motion? >> You just need a
» head direct staff to come back with a purchase and sale agreement to reacquire
the property. >> I motion that we direct staff to proceed
with the purchase of this property. >> I second.
» We have a motion and a second. All those in favor say I.
» I. Any oppose? Same sign. Motion carries.
Next item this evening is to consider an asset disposal guidelines. I
think Daniellea, are you going to take this one?
» Yes, I will. Um, the last few months, uh, city staff have
taken on, um, some reorganization of city hall. Um this comes um as a sort of
a step number one as to some clearing out some offices and um
making city hall also safer. Um through that process we found out we have a lot
of old furniture um broken tables, broken chairs, a lot of broken things um
or outdated things that don't have a use anymore. lots of cassette tapes and
cassette players that don't work. Typewriters,
» right? >> What
» although it it was nostalgic going through all of this stuff, um, a lot of
it has what I would what I would say has um no value or a value of under $100.
Um what we did is we asked all city staff and to drop by anything that um
they didn't need, they didn't want or was broken. And we would go through it
and determine how best to use the uh surplus furniture, whether it was to
find a a new home for it, repurpose it, um
or throw it away, um or I'm sorry, donate it. And when going through our
purchasing policy, we realized we don't really have clear guidelines. And so,
um, I put my finance hat on and, um, I think that it would be prudent to sort
of give staff some guidelines that we can use going forward. Um,
let me let me bring these up real quick. Um I haven't been
um okay I haven't worn my finance hat um in
a formal role in a while. So, I uh spoke with our assistant finance director um
and with our management consultant um Baker Tilly. And I know Ben's not here
anymore, but they recommended sort of this these guidelines, which was
anything under $100 we can recycle, scrap, donate, or dispose of. Uh $100 to
$500 we can sell um if bundled or disposed with minimal staff effort. Uh
500 to 2500 we would sell efficient method. over 200, we would absolutely
sell and a formal control documented um process. So, um if you approve this,
then we're going to go through our uh surplus room and uh we might find more
homes for um a lot of those chairs than we thought we would, but a lot of that
will be uh thrown away or or donated. >> Awesome. H happy to answer any
questions. Anything?
» I don't >> I don't have any. I just I've been there
done that. >> Yes.
» Yeah. >> I think it was last what
» who determines >> Wednesday everybody was in clothes
cleaning. >> Who determines the value of these items?
» Do you com combined >> or the value? No one item had a value of
over $100. >> Oh, okay. Okay. So, we're we're we can I
don't have a number of everything combined. It's all stacked in this room.
I can see chairs and tables. And >> so, you're talking about combined, not
individual. >> Individual. Indiv each item. Okay.
» $100 under $100. Yeah. >> Actually, combined I might argue that
combined the entire thing is not worth $100. Okay.
» These are these these things are 50 years old that have been sitting in
corners. more than $100 in staff time to get rid of the dunk or whatever.
» Yes. Yes. >> And we have um we have our own internal
control. So if there's ever a question of the value of something, we would have
some someone else look at it and say, "Okay, I think that's worth $500 to
$1,000." I would have someone else look at it and say, "Yeah, that's $500 to
$1,000. Let's sell it per these guidelines." And then we would remove it
off our asset disposal. Um, we would remove it off of our asset listing, also
off of our insurance listing if on the insurance um um
listing. Excuse me. >> I motion that we approve the asset
disposal guidelines. >> Okay, we have a motion. Do we need a
second? >> A second.
» Awesome. All in favor say I. >> I.
» Any oppose? Same sign. Motion carries. Awesome.
» Thank you. Thank you. All right, we are done with our regular agenda items. We
don't have any executive sessions this evening. So, we are going to
[clears throat] move into our citizens forum. So, first item this evening,
Christopher Snow.
» How much time do I have? Five minutes or something?
» Yeah, three three to five minutes would be great. We got several people on the
list this evening and everything. If you would name and address and
[clears throat] >> my name is Christopher Snow. I live at
one Sherman Court, Newton, Kansas.
So, I'm here to talk about the flock cameras and just let you know that, you
know, I've had 25 years in cyber security and I hold a CISSP
and I defend networks and sensitive data for a living. But I'm not here as a
consultant. I'm here as your neighbor because Newton is installing 11 flock
cameras at every instance to this city. And I believe we are
making a mistake. We will not easily undo.
Let me tell you what these cameras actually are because the sales pitch
leaves it out. They are not Newton's cameras. They are nodes in a private
company's national surveillance database.
Every car that enters the city gets photographed,
tagged, and logged. Your plate, your truck's dented tailgate, the bumper
sticker that says who you voted for or where you worship.
And once that record exists, it can be searched by thousands of agencies across
the country. Agencies that have never heard of Newton, Kansas,
an answer to no one in this room. In 1984, George Orwell gave us the
telescreen. And here's the detail people forgot. The
telescreen didn't have to watch everyone all the time. It only had to make
everyone believe it might. That's what broke the people of
Oceanana. not watching the possibility of being watched when every trip to the
doctor, the gun shop, the church, the political meeting, the AA meeting is
logged and at the city line. Free people start editing their own lives.
Orwell wrote the book as a warning. Somewhere along the way, someone started
reading it as a product road map. Now, let me put my professional hat on
because this is the part I know cold. In security, we live by the simple rule.
Every piece of data you collect is data you must defend forever against
everyone. The cheapest data to defend is the data you never collect.
We're told the data deletes after 30 days. Fine.
But for those 30 days, it lives on a vendor's servers outside our control,
inside a network we do not audit. Syracuse, New York, learned its local
flock data had been searched more than 4 million times by outside police without
warrants. Evston, Illinois found federal immigration searches running against its
data despite a state law forbidding exactly that.
A Texas officer used the same network to hunt nationwide for a woman over pro for
a private medical decision. And every vendor database on the breach,
every vendor's database is one breach away from being everyone's database.
I have watched breach after breach across my career. And the question is
never if, it is when, and how bad. When flock is breached, and it will be
breached, the travel patterns of every family in Newton are the payload.
[sighs] I grew up on Star Trek. I don't think
that's a small thing to bring up in this chamber. Star Trek is the story we tell
about the future we actually want. A future where we solved our problems
without surrendering who we are. There's an episode where Captain Pequard
watches a security investigation spiral out of control and he warns that the
road from legitimate suspicion to rampid paranoia is very much shorter than we
think. He was right. In Deep Space 9, Star Trek or Starfleet put armed
checkpoints on every corner of Earth to protect it. And the show haunted us with
the verdict in a single line. Paradise has never seemed so wellarmed.
Nobody dreams of a future with a camera on every off ramp. We dream of a future
where we never needed one. Nobody doubts our officers intentions.
This is not about them. It's about the fact that good intentions do not secure
a database. And local controls written into contracts is not local control
written into physics. The moment our data leaves Newton, our
police stop protecting it. So here is my ask and it is specific.
Pause the seven cameras not yet installed
for any that remain. No national network sharing searches by
warrant or documented emergencies only. Independent audits published to the
public and an annual vote is open session to
review or end this program. If lock will not accept these terms that
tells you everything about whose data this really is.
Newton has thrived for more than 150 years without logging every soul who
drives in. We are a town, not a checkpoint.
Orwell warned us. Peard warned us. And 25 years in this field taught me the
same lesson they were teaching. The surveillance you accept in fear, you
keep forever. Mr. Mayor, don't build the telescreen.
Thank you. >> Thank you.
» Thank you.
[sighs] >> Mr. Sanders, you already spoke. So,
you spoke already, right? >> Yes.
» Okay. I'm going to go ahead and Did you want to speak again or you could
normally when you sign up on the roster, it's at the end of the meeting, but we
let you speak earlier, so I'm just double checking. You didn't want to come
back up. Okay. Very good. Maggie Snow.
» Maggie Snow. on Sherman Court. Good evening, commissioners. You all know why
I'm here. At this point, I'm starting to wonder if I should just reserve the
podium every other Tuesday. I first stood at this podium on July
28th. I returned again on August 11th, and I am standing here again tonight on
August 25th. During that time, I have done exactly what residents are asked to
do. I have submitted records requests. I have reviewed the documents the city
provided. I have submitted specific follow-up questions. I have communicated
professionally and respectfully with staff who, I'm sure, as Denise can
attest, probably groans audibly when my name hurts her email inbox.
I gave the city additional time when I was told that answers were being
prepared. On August 13th, the city clerk told me the staff had hoped to provide
responses to my Kora request the following week. That week passed without
a response. Sunday, I specifically asked whether I should expect an answer before
tonight's meeting. I received additional information, quite a lot of it, at 4:37
p.m. today, including the new city website, which was published yesterday
and announced this morning. Um, that also has the link to the flock
portal on it where you can see that 95,000
plus images have already been logged in the Newton Flock system. Again, the
website went live yesterday. Here we are again. Same cameras, same
fundamental questions, and this time we've got a little bit more data, but
not sufficient to answer all of my questions.
Our first duty is to truth. And so, I think tonight it is about time to get
real with where we are. The cameras are already installed.
Again, the database that went live yesterday
shows that as of right now, 95,145 images, unique images have been
detected. 30-day data retention. Total of 81 searches to date. The contract's
been signed. a sixf figure 36-month commitment of Newton taxpayers. Your
money has already been dispended for this camera installation. For three
commission meetings now, I still can't get a clear, straightforward answer of
how we got here. This doesn't have to drag on for another meeting. You can all
end this easily. If the records exist that I've
requested, simply produce them. If they don't exist, then own it and say
that I am not willing to accept another
iteration of staff is still working on it. The July 13th announcement told the
public that there were safeguards in place and documented. If the system were
properly authorized, documented, reviewed, and governed before
deployment, why is it taking so much time to reconstruct that data?
On July 13th, city told the public policies and training were in place. The
policy I've provided was dated July 14th. If there was anything in effect on
the 13th, just provide it. If there wasn't, own it and say so. If the
technology review required by the city's own purchasing policy occurred before
the purchase, including the security, legal compliance, CJIS compliance, audit
requirements, compatibility, and future resource needs were provided, then
provide it. If it didn't occur, then own it and say that it did not occur. I
repeat, I am not asking the city to manufacture explanations after the fact.
I am asking for what existed when the decisions were made. At some point,
we're still working on it stops being an explanation and starts sounding an awful
lot like obfuscation. So, tonight I have a question.
Are you willing to request that the flop camera program be placed on a future
commission agenda for formal public discussion with staff provided directed
to provide the outstanding written answers and supporting records in
advance of that meeting? It's a simple yes or no. If the citizens
forum isn't a proper place to address this, then put it somewhere where we can
on a commission agenda. Put it on the agenda. review the procurement, the
policies, the safeguards, and the oversight. According to the uh Flock
website that just went live, access is controlled for reasons.
Reasons. What's a valid reason?
Is it I have questions about where someone's going?
Is it I suspect something? Is it I have a case number? We don't know.
That's the controls we have apparently have in place. So, commissioners, I ask
again, who among you is willing to request that flock be placed on a future
agenda so these questions can be publicly discussed and answered
publicly.
» Well, let the record show. And for the citizens of Newton,
» Maggie >> Melanie, please. [clears throat] um we
we get discouraged from interacting with with um
» during the citizens forum. >> So I think that might be why you're
getting some [clears throat] fillets. >> So in that case again place it on the
agenda. As of right now, no one on the commission is willing to express that
that be placed on a public agenda. That is good information for the
citizens of Newton. I will be continuing to review the documents that I have been
provided and I am sure that I will be coming back with more questions.
» Thank you, Maggie. >> All righty. Tanner Dickerson.
» Tanner Dickerson down on Winward Drive. Uh just came to the council to see if
you guys would consider using shipping containers as a garden shed for
feasibility there. I know it's on the commercial building code already.
There's some regulations around that which is good. Um I'd like to see the
regulation around that preferred to just provision continuously
on the shipping containers. Uh they're durable, they're structurally sound. Um
they withstand heavy loads transportation across the ocean. They're
more secure than conventional sheds and they're affordable option.
Uh, the appearance I get is the big hitter. Uh, rather than prohibiting
them, I'd like to see the city establish reasonable requirements for paint color,
condition, screening, setbacks, placement, maintenance, and so they fit
in with residential neighborhoods.
Um, I guess it's the big points there.
That's all I got. >> Thank you for your consideration.
» Do you have a moment to stay after the commission meetings? I talk to you real
quick. Okay. Absolutely. >> Thank you.
» Thank you. >> Cody Salem,
» is it sllum? Yeah, >> it's good enough.
» All right. >> Good evening. Uh my name is Cody Silian.
I live at 1015 East 8th Street. It's good to see you all again. Last time I
was here, uh I got to speak with everybody, but I didn't get to speak to
you, mayor. Um so I am also here to talk about flock alprs, which is a bit of a
misnomer. Um, so for the information that I gathered from the internet, u I
was really on the fence about this kind of thing. Um, but after hearing what I
just heard, there's a lot more because I am not a cyber savvy person whatsoever.
Um, so I didn't get to speak at the first meeting. So I did propose a few
questions. One of them was if flock was so great for the community, why didn't
the community know about it? Um, the city of Witchaw is currently
being sued for the use of lock cameras. And we had two cities in Kansas their
flock contracts just last week. One was Wellsville, Kansas with a population of
2,000 people. Gardener, Kansas with a population of 2,000, sorry, 26,000
people. Newton has a population of 18,000 people. Having cameras is not the
main issue. All businesses and homes around have cameras. The issue is the
aggregation of the information and who it is being shared with.
Um, currently I believe a lot of that information is stored on Amazon servers.
That's why we seen a flock was posing with Ring and then that busted up during
the um, Super Bowl ad debacle. Um,
we have a wealth of knowledge in this community and experience as well. Um, if
we were brought in to the conversation from the beginning, we could have worked
together for an optimal outcome for the community, especially when safety is the
concern. Um, but Newton's crime rate is actually
declining and Kansas's crime rates are as a whole are at a 57-year low. So, at
this point, Flock feels like a solution in search of a problem.
I'm not a public speaker by nature, but I don't mind spending an evening
aggregating some information to bring to an argument that passed us by or really
a conversation. I apologize. Uh, at this point, I'd like to ask
anyone who may be listening who would like to see flock be removed, come out,
get involved, and speak at these meetings. Thank you.
» Thank you. >> Thank you.
» That's the end of that. Um,
that's the end of our regular meeting. Um as Maggie Snow shared the city portal
with the flock um is out there. It shows not only the number of images but the
few number of actual accesses and searches of the data that has been
collected in our community. Um I might clarify on the edge of our community.
It's not patterns within our community. Um
take a look. You can really dive in there. I am a data monkey. I I like it.
Um you can even go out and see the communities that we have uh sharing
agreements with and conversely those that we do not have sharing agreements
with and everything. Um you know the the commission doesn't get
into individual procurement issues very often. this this was within uh the
purview of our police chief and u this was a subscription to a tool that didn't
bubble up to the the body's visibility of it. I mean many of us have all been
part of group projects and everything and if we made every project there every
decision to be a group decision I don't think we'd ever get anything done. So,
um I don't think it was through any sort of obstucation or or in intent to skirt
anything. It was just simply uh Chiefs and his team trying to u get another
tool in in their tool belt. Um and with that, I will go around the horn for
commissioner comments >> regarding the same
» regarding anything this evening. We're about to close.
» U well
I I think uh the other the commissioners kind of know where I stand and uh with
this is just that I really think we need to review our
policy and and do some you know real make it more detailed or something more
accountability something um as I go as we go along here and I learn more and
more about these um cameras. You know, I I get it. I get why people are concerned
about it and um and it I feel it is something that should have came through
the public and we should have gotten public
uh feedback from it and and actually that's really good as well because then
you get policies can get built from the that collaboration. Um, so that's kind
of where I stand with the the flock stuff. I I'm not to against it
necessarily. I'm just I just think that we uh could have handled this a little
better maybe than we did. But lesson learned. I mean, we were not with
without flaw for for sure. Um, so that that's all I have to say about
that. >> Thank you, sir.
No sir. >> No sir.
» It it was really nice to see that the audit and the budget get, you know, kind
of wrapped up in the same night. Um it's it's sort of the um the what we work on
um almost the entire year. We're constantly looking back through an
audit. Um and we're working in today in our every day and then in our budget
we're always looking ahead. So we're looking at a period of about three years
um at any given point during the year and seeing these documents adopted and
the amount of time that staff worked on these um especially without um someone
in the finance director role. the finance department um was actually down
another the um accounts receivable gal so was down 40% of the staff um there's
just been a lot of transition this year and I I think the it says a lot about
staff and um we banded together to get through this and I know it was messy and
it wasn't typical of what you see um every year but we learned a lot and we
grew a lot and I'm glad that it's adopted but I just wanted to thank you
for your support and your grace. And I wanted to thank my team because they I'm
sure they are are happy and will celebrate tonight that we did get
through a great audit. We're in a great financial position. You see that our
budget um ended us in a good cash position. Um I'm I'm cautiously
optimistic about the future of our property taxes. Like Dan um is it
Daniel? Like Daniel mentioned, I know that
there's changes that are coming um at at the state level and so we'll be ready
for those next year. Um we'll be having a lot of conversations in the next 12
months before you get a new budget of how we can prepare ourselves for
potential changes. Um because I I I like Daniel understand where our residents
are coming from and we don't we we don't want to do that for our residents. You
know, we want to provide them the services that they deserve and they pay
for, but at the same time, we want to be good fiscal stewards of our money. So,
um, we hear you and, uh, we're working really hard. So, thank you.
» Thank you. [clears throat]
» Just a reminder not to leave because you do all need to sign this budget.
» It's not done to the paperwork. >> A reminder, [laughter]
sir. >> No, sir. Okay.
» Um, well, I will add to what Melanie said. Uh, I'm going to take a different
take on that. I do appreciate, um, chief, what you are doing. I uh applaud
applaud you and Erin in the uh building of that website. I've had time to look
at some, not all. It's very clear. Um I I'm I personally believe that we hire
our city manager who works with our department heads to make the best and
wisest decisions with our taxpayer dollars. Um I will say I consider this
to be a much more dangerous item than that. I have literally sat at
my desk at work, have visited with other co-workers about
a this or that only to find within minutes
something has popped up on my phone with regard to what I have spoken of.
And I think that can be it to me that's dangerous. Um, I it it requires being
really careful and mindful about the discussions you might have. So, thank
you for what you do. I thank all of the staff for this budget season. We always
take a deep breath after this is over with and we start to look forward and
move forward. So, thank you for all the hard work that you did. When we asked
something of you, you gave. And we are so thankful for how you supplied us with
whatever we needed at the time we needed it. So, thank you very much. Um, that's
it. >> Well, thank you. Um, policies are living
documents. We're going to learn from this and we're going to continue to
grow. So, you know, of that I have confidence. I would like to say to our
finance team and all of our department heads and everything. Thank you for all
your hard work on the budget. Congratulations on a clean uh audit and
enjoy your two weeks off before we have to start thinking about FY28. So,
[laughter] with that, we are ajourned.