Representatives from six partnering agencies that could potentially have their funding cut told Douglas County commissioners on Tuesday that county support was important in allowing them to provide needed services to residents. Commissioners didn’t disagree. “We knew they were important when we funded them,” Commissioner Mike Gaughan said. But he said everything in the 2019 budget was on the table as commissioners looked for money to address overcrowding at the county jail. But it wasn’t clear what the immediate ramifications would be from a county funding cut, since some nonprofits might have the ability to partner with other organizations to continue [...]

Topeka city officials say high levels of chloride in the city's water supply pose no danger to residents. The city announced Thursday that its treatment plant recorded higher than normal levels of chloride in the Kansas River. The chloride is coming from the Smokey Hill River, which feeds into the Kansas River. The source of the chloride hasn't been determined. The chloride readings mean the salt levels in the water are high. City officials say the Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed the water is within its safe drinking water regulations. (Read more: LJWorld.com stories)

Kansas utility regulators are being urged to reject Westar Energy’s request for a $17.2 million rate increase and instead order the company to cut rates for Kansas customers by $69 million to $125 million. Those recommendations were made this week in testimony filed by the Kansas Corporation Commission’s own staff and the Citizens Utility Ratepayer Board, or CURB, a state agency that represents consumers in utility rate cases. “CURB’s evidence strongly supports the need to decrease rates for all Westar customers and we hope the KCC will adopt our recommendations in this rate case,” CURB consumer counsel David Nickel said in [...]

Even as City Manager Tom Markus presented his recommended budget to the Lawrence City Commission Tuesday, he advised that some of the numbers will change — potentially calling for reductions to what is proposed if the property tax rate is to remain flat. Markus said updated numbers will be presented to the commission on July 10, and the city will need direction on what’s acceptable and what changes commissioners would like to make. He said that, while he hoped some numbers would move in the right direction between now and then, the overall changes to revenue and expenses could make the [...]