TOPEKA (KSNT) – Topeka leaders talked about the city’s looming budget issues and the sale of a contentious hotel property Tuesday morning.
City Manager Robert Perez and Mayor Spencer Duncan met at 10 a.m. on April 28 to hold their city manager-mayor press conference inside City Hall. They were also joined by other local leaders such as Police Chief Chris Vallejo and Director of Community Engagement Monique Glaude.
Duncan said the city is still on track to sell the Hotel Topeka on June 15 to Endeavor Hotel Group. This comes after Shawnee County commissioners approved a letter of intent for important renovations and repairs at the nearby Maner Conference Centre.
“I know it hasn’t been easy,” Duncan said. “There’s always gonna be in a deal like this a few bumps in the road, but that’s normal. It has been nothing out of the norm, and so the good news is the county has continued to work with us in this effort, being good partners, and follow through on exactly what they promised.”
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Duncan also touched on the recent budget survey results released on April 27. The City of Topeka is currently facing a $15 million deficit and asked for opinions from locals on what areas needed to be priorities in the fiscal year 2027 budget.
“We’re gonna have to make some difficult decisions with the budget this year,” Duncan said. ” I will not shy away from that, and at the same time, this is not an insurmountable challenge. We will meet it and we will solve it, I promise you that.”
Topekans who took the survey identified streets and infrastructure as the top funding need for the next budget. Other topics that received a lot of votes during the one-month survey included public safety services, social services and affordable housing and neighborhood development and redevelopment.
Duncan said the city has faced tough times in the past. He said the city is examining all possible methods to help reduce the deficit before making any cuts.
“Do I think that, at the end of the day, we may have to make what you call cuts? Yeah, I will also tell you that we have 100 plus positions that haven’t been filled for a while and we’ll start with that,” Duncan said. “I’d rather – now, do we need to fill some of those? Absolutely. But are there some of those we can say, ‘well, let’s hold off for another year without filling those?’ Which gets us, you know, a pretty nice portion of dollars back so that we don’t have to make true cuts to what we currently have.”
Duncan also said that people should keep an eye out in May for some announcements from his office regarding first-come, first serve one-on-one meetings with locals along with some upcoming town hall sessions. He said more information on these town hall sessions will be put out next month with times and locations.
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