Sophia for Wichita

09/05/2026

09/02/2026

08/28/2026

The City Manager has announced Jennifer (Jenni) McCausland as the new Assistant City Manager for Development Services and Quality of Life for the City of Wichita. She has over 24 years of experience in public service and higher education, most recently serving as the City Administrator for the City of Andover. Her first day will be October 26. We're excited to have her join the team to grow Wichita and help guide us to the next level of success.

Read more ➡️ https://bit.ly/4d5x44U

08/21/2026

I’m thinking about using Fridays for a quick “Friday Fast Facts” on local government terms that get thrown around a lot but aren’t always explained very well.

One thing I’ve realized is that people hear words like mill levy, RNR, or CIP and understandably have questions. And when government language is hard to understand, it becomes harder to stay engaged. We should do a better job translating it.

So, first up: Revenue Neutral Rate.

RNR is essentially the property-tax rate that would allow the City to collect the same amount of property-tax revenue as the year before.

Here’s an overly simple example: if the City bought one tank of gas last year and that exact same tank costs $1 more this year (it does), collecting that extra dollar would technically put us above revenue neutral. That is if we collect one more (property tax) dollar to pay for that increase.

Of course, we all understand that prices change. Government faces inflation too.

That’s why my position has been that City revenue growth should be tied as closely as reasonably possible to inflation and new growth in the private market not simply grow because property valuations grew.

There’s obviously more nuance to it, but that’s the point of these posts: making local government a little easier to understand.

Maybe CIP next Friday.

08/20/2026

08/15/2026

08/14/2026

Found a new friend at City Hall this morning. 🐾

Meet Artemis, this week’s Pet of the Week! She was found near 4600 E. Harry and is still hoping her family finds her. Her animal number is A190243.

More than 1,000 lost and found pets came through Wichita Animal Services in July alone. If your pet goes missing, check Wichita.gov/lostpets daily, and remember, microchips are required in Wichita and available at the shelter for just $15.

08/13/2026

08/13/2026