Welcome to the City of Eastborough
Mayor: Thom Rosenberg
Chief of Police: David Bridgewater
This address is the first, I believe, presented to the citizens of Eastborough. As mayor, I felt it to be necessary to communicate to you to inform you about your council and the status of our wonderful city. We have just concluded our 2006 fiscal year and our finances are in the positive column. Over the past two years your council has worked hard to provide its' citizens with the best services and, of course, at the best cost.
As you are well aware, through negotiations, we were able to reduce the cost of trash service. And too, by withdrawing from the Sedgwick County Fire District, we were able to contract fire service with The City of Wichita. For years, we have been taxed 18.5 mills by the county for this protection, but under the "first responder statute" the City of Wichita responded first because of the proximity of their fire stations. The Wichita levy was 11.0 mills, thus a saving to our city of approximately $70,000 which will help us fiscally with park and street expenses.
The council has tried to keep the taxes our citizens pay in line but we did opt for a 2 mill increase for the next fiscal year. This was necessary to help us with the 10 year street project as well as park expenses. Through the help of the State of Kansas, TRF funds at low interest rates, we were able to secure loans to finance the street project. Some of you may have noticed significant street repairs over the past three months. In fact, we were able to complete the initial two year project within the first year. We have contracted with a local engineering firm to assess drainage problems in west Eastborough, with the possibility of looking at the need for curbing. This will have to be voted on by those residents affected as to whether it would be cost efficient to install curbing and how it would be financed....(special taxes?).
Our budgeting process is a complicated one. Budgets are developed over the current fiscal year at our monthly meetings and we evaluate anticipated monies needed for the next year. We try to solidify the budget by August. One of the things we are considering is the replacement of our street signs. The projected cost may be as high as $125,000 to $150,000. There are no state or federal funds to help us with this project but we will look at all the options available to us to get this project done in the future.
Our two most expensive items on our budget are the parks and our police department. We are looking at ways to increase the tree population in our parks and have proposed an annual tree planting project. There have been suggestions that we add sprinkler systems to the other park areas. This would not be cost effective and, in fact, almost impossible to do. After our main park was completed, our initial watering bill was $5000/month. We were able to negotiate conservation rates with the City of Wichita to help offset those costs. Our police department under the direction of Chief Bridgewater continues to be a proud service to our Eastborough community. In order to secure quality officers it was felt that we needed to alter our health insurance to provide for officers who may have families.
At our last council meeting we voted to change our health insurance to an HMO concept utilizing Preferred Health Systems. The city will be paying for part of the extra cost for family coverage to those specific officers.
Judge Larry Hollis continues to do a fine job of handling our municipal court which convenes the first and third Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. Our city attorney, Jerry Bogle attends our monthly council meetings and continues to be a necessary part of Eastborough's community. His attention to detail and keeping our council on point is appreciated. We have enacted "Nuisance Ordinances" to handle situations that are detrimental to our community. Cases are being pursued by our legal system to keep residents who fall within these ordinances, in line. It must be understood that we are not a home owner's association and must abide by law as outlined for 3rd class cities. For years, the City of Eastborough has utilized The Derby Reporter as our official newspaper. I am sure not many of you read this paper. For that reason, we have negotiated with The Wichita Eagle to post our legal notices.
What about the future of Eastborough? I have tried to keep our city on a high profile. We have excellent relations with The City of Wichita and the County of Sedgwick. I have been active in attending state mayor's meetings and meetings sponsored by The Kansas League of Municipalities. The City of Eastborough is on firm ground and remains proudly respected as part of the Kansas community.
Finally, I would like to recognize three council members who will be finishing out their term of office in April. Councilwoman Lisa Decker has performed above the call of duty. Under her direction, she was responsible for setting up and coordinating the 10 year street project and helped us secure TRF funding. Lisa also helped me in negotiating the fire contract with the City of Wichita. Councilman Kory Parkhurst has been instrumental in our annual budgeting process. His attention to detail was superb and his contribution to the City of Eastborough was appreciated. Councilman Shawn Devlin has served on the council unselfishly for many years. He has contributed much time to our park programs and evaluating the need for and setting up programs for future park maintenance. These council persons have volunteered their time in an unselfish manner, and I truly appreciated their efforts.
I continue to ask for support from our citizens. I would like to see more of you at our monthly open council meetings. We meet at 5:30 on the 4th Tuesday of each month. We also, from time to time, have special meetings as the occasion arises.
I am proud to serve as your mayor. Over the next two years of my term I will strive to serve my city in a professional manner and take all your suggestions under advisement. The City of Eastborough stands strong. Let's keep it that way.
Respectfully,