The Examiner
IndeBus, which consists of six bus routes that run within Independence, is not on the budget chopping block like it was last year before the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority allocated some of its federal stimulus funds to help the city.
But Independence has not restored the hour of service – from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. – it added a few years ago but cut after a year in a budget-balancing move.
Furthermore, city officials are still trying to find a long-term solution to fund IndeBus. Fares and federal transportation money cover some of the cost, and the city covers the rest from the general fund, which is continuously strained by stagnant retail sales tax revenues and increasingly less revenue from various fees. The pandemic has pressured the general fund even more.
Independence, area counties drop mask mandate amid new CDC guidance
Precautions still recommended for unvaccinated
(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Orlin Wagner/AP
A dinosaur replica wears a mask outside Union Station in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. The dinosaur is promoting a Dinosaur Road Trip exhibit.
and last updated 2021-05-14 13:51:24-04
KANSAS CITY, Mo. â Independence, Jackson County and Clay County joined Kansas City, Missouri, and other regional jurisdictions Friday in rolling back its emergency health orders put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
âEffective immediately masks are not required indoors or outdoors and all social distancing capacity restrictions have been lifted,â the city said in a release announcing the changes.
Larger Independence budget has signs of optimism
Mike Genet
mike.genet@examiner.net
After the city of Independence made it through the 2020-21 fiscal year without mass layoffs or furloughs for employees, and with some signs of pandemic recovery showing, City Manager Zach Walker calls his proposed budget for FY 2021-22 one of “cautious optimism.”
The proposed budget of $336.8 million, unveiled during Monday’s City Council meeting, is about $22.8 million (7 percent) greater than the previous year’s budget, which was reduced due to the pandemic. Fortunately, he added, the city did not have to tap into a $25 million contingency loan from utility reserve funds, nor use any of $1.5 million contingency dollars in the general fund.
By Mike Genet mike.genet@examiner.net
The Examiner
While state and federal agencies look into the energy prices during February’s cold snap, some Independence City Council members warn about sticker shock if the city’s electric utility has to recover some costs.
The municipal utility had told customers a few weeks ago that they would see slightly higher bills into the summer due to the cold snap. To recover some of those costs, IPL said customers would see an increase of about $9 to $10 in the fuel-cost-adjustment portion of their bill for several months. Department director Jim Nail said he chose that method rather than a single, higher add-on to bills.
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