TOPEKA (KSNT) – Topeka Mayor Spencer Duncan addressed the recent departure of former City Manager Robert Perez and ongoing data center discussions Thursday.
Duncan sat down with 27 News Anchor David George on the morning of Nov. 5 to talk about an upcoming sales tax vote, Perez’s resignation, a proposed data center and more. Duncan said he wants to move forward aggressively with identifying a new city manager for the Capital City and that Perez’s departure did not stem from anything negative.
“We did this in the best interests of our citizens so that we could all move forward and that’s what we’re doing now,” Duncan said.
“It’s like with any relationship, sometimes after a while you just say, ‘this just hasn’t been what both sides thought,'” Duncan continued. “He had some new opportunities he can go explore. We were ready to explore some new opportunities. It really was that simple.”
Topeka residents will also have the option of taking part in a special election next year on March 2, 2027, to decide on whether or not a new 0.1% retailer’s sales tax should be established. City staff anticipate the tax will generate $40 million over the course of 10 years to assist with funding homeless initiatives and the affordable housing trust fund.
Washburn president talks campus transformation, new health institute
“The good news is the citizens get to decide this, not the city council, right? So, that’s why it’s on the ballot,” Duncan said. “At the end of the day, if the citizens say, ‘hey, we really don’t want to do this one-tenth of a cent to go towards housing homelessness,’ that will be their decision.”
Duncan also talked about ongoing discussions revolving around data centers in Shawnee County. He said the topic is a county issue for now.
“They [Shawnee County government] are gonna have to make a final decision,” Duncan said. “All we can do as a city is, we have a moratorium in place. If they’re gonna need water, we’ve been very clear that that decision has to come through the city council and, in fact, any decision as it relates to a data center has now been taken out of administrative hands and put directly with the city council. So, any conversation we have in this city will be public and it will be the decision of the city council, nobody else within the city.”
Looking ahead, Duncan said he is pleased the city’s budget is approved and that several road projects in Topeka should be wrapped up soon. You can watch our full interview with Duncan above.
For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.
Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf
