15 organizations face cuts in Sedgwick County funding

The Sedgwick County Zoo and Exploration Place are not the only ones facing county budget cuts next year.

Thirteen other organizations were notified in a letter from the Sedgwick County Manager’s Office this month that their county funding will be reduced in the 2016 recommended budget.

The proposed cuts would affect the zoo, Exploration Place, economic development organizations, arts and culture groups, charities, nonprofits and the Wichita Area Technical College.

“We are operating under the Boy Scouts motto, which says prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” said Abdul Arif, executive director of the South Central Kansas Economic Development District, which is facing cuts.

Organizations will know the extent of the proposed cuts when the county publicly releases the 2016 recommended budget Monday morning.

“They didn’t say they were completely cutting our funding, but they said they were reducing it,” said Betsy Anderson, a coordinator with the Kansas Junior Livestock Show, which also received a letter.

Groups can address the Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners at public hearings on July 29 and Aug. 6.

Some of these organizations were told back in May that their budgets could potentially be cut. However, money for the organizations, including the zoo and Exploration Place, was included in a draft budget released in June by then county manager William Buchanan.

Impact of the cuts

Project Access, which helps uninsured people with medical care, was one of the groups that received a letter notifying them of a cut.

On Wednesday, the commissioners voted 3-2 to amend an agreement for Project Access that increased the county’s maximum compensation by $25,000 to a total 2015 contribution of $200,000.

“Project Access was here today and we gave them some money,” Commissioner Tim Norton said after Wednesday’s commission meeting. “But I think they may be recommended to be defunded at a certain level.”

“It’s interesting that we would give them money today and then propose (cuts) in the next budget. … That doesn’t make sense to me.”

Chairman Richard Ranzau and Commissioner Karl Peterjohn voted against the amendment.

Economic development funding also will take a hit.

The South Central Kansas Economic Development District, a nonprofit that serves a 14-county area in the region, is facing a reduction in its funds.

The money goes for weatherization and small business lending, Arif said.

County commissioners already voted in May to terminate the long-term funding agreement with another economic development group, the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition.

Several culture and recreation groups, like the Wichita Arts Council, Kansas Junior Livestock Show and Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission, also were put on notice.

Arts Council president Arlen Hamilton said the volunteer-run group has used county money to get relatively unknown art projects off the ground.

“We always try to fund events ideas and projects at a level that gets it started and helps the individuals that are trying to make Wichita more creative and innovative,” Hamilton said.

“This money has been spent to make the county a better place to live and improve the quality of life.”

The largest recipients of county funds that could take a hit are the zoo, Exploration Place and Wichita Area Technical College.

One of the smallest county contributions, at $5,000 in 2015, is for the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.

“It’s big to us but it’s small to the county,” said Bob Hanson, that group’s president.

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 8:02 PM with the headline "15 organizations face cuts in Sedgwick County funding."