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Topeka is proud to share it has been recognized for achieving 2020 What Works Cities Certification at the silver level. What Works Cities (WWC) Certification evaluates how effectively cities are managed by measuring the extent to which city leaders incorporate data and evidence in their decision-making – whether they have the right people, processes, and policies in place to put data and evidence at the center of decision-making – against a national standard of excellence. WWC is a national initiative launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2015.
Topeka is one of 16 cities to achieve Certification at the silver level. Over the past year, the city has demonstrated measurable progress on foundational data practices, representing Topeka’s commitment to advancing how data is used to better serve residents.
“The City of Topeka is data driven when establishing our strategic goals and priorities,” said by Mayor De La Isla. “By identifying the key issues our community is facing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and comparing them to our strategic goals and priorities, we can begin to formulate tailor-made community recovery decisions that provides actionable, long-lasting solutions.”
Through improved data-driven management, Topeka has:
● Improved transparency efforts.
● Improved reporting to the Governing Body.
● Improved tracking of responsiveness to constituents.
What Works Cities Certification is inspiring a movement of cities that are doubling down on their commitment to building a more effective, more efficient, and more equitable local government that works for its residents, and using Certification as a roadmap for doing so. Nearly 200 U.S. cities have completed a What Works Cities Assessment; to date, only 24 cities have met the What Works Cities national standard in achieving Certification.

About What Works Cities: What Work Cities, launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies in April 2015, is a national initiative that helps cities use data and evidence more effectively to tackle their most pressing challenges and improve residents’ lives. It is one of the largest-ever philanthropic efforts to enhance cities’ use of data and evidence. Through the initiative’s expert partners, cities around the country are receiving technical assistance, guidance and resources to succeed in making more informed decisions, tackling local challenges, and delivering more effective services and programs for their residents. Cities in the What Works Cities network also gain access to a collaborative network of peers in cities across the country. For more information, visit whatworkscities.org.

Over the last year, Topeka and Shawnee County saw its homeless population grow, according to the annual Point in Time Homeless Count.

The count took place on Wednesday, January 26, 2022. The one-day event provides a snapshot of the individuals in our community who are experiencing homelessness, as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Nearly 50 people helped with this year’s count.

According to the count, 365 people, and 297 households are experiencing homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County. 64% of those who are homeless are male, while 36% are female. 40% of the homeless population are unsheltered, meaning they are not living in an emergency shelter or in transitional housing.

“The increase in the number of unsheltered homeless is no surprise to the Topeka/Shawnee County Homeless Task Force,” said Corrie Wright, Division Director of Housing Services for the City of Topeka. “The pandemic has made it more challenging to house people and we are desperately working on the solution. The count helps us recognize this disparity and fix it as quickly as possible.”

Below is a chart that breaks down the numbers from 2020, 2021 and 2022. For a more detailed look at the 2022 numbers, visit https://cot-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/HousingSvcs/Point+in+Time+Count+-+2022.pdf.

 

	2020	2021	2022
People	401	298	365
Households	306	123	297
% of Veteran Households	10	16	10
% in an Emergency Shelter	63	52	45
% in Transitional Housing	13	13	15
% Unsheltered	24	35	40

 

To receive funding for programs, HUD requires communities complete a count each year. The count ensures the City can obtain the appropriate level of funding to be able to provide needed services to those experiencing homelessness and those at risk for homelessness.

 

Topeka and Shawnee County’s homeless population is at a four-year high, according to numbers released Thursday from the City of Topeka’s annual Point in Time Homeless Count.

The count took place on January 25. The one-day event provides a snapshot of the individuals in the community who are experiencing homelessness, as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). More than 40 people helped with this year’s count.

According to the count, 412 people and 322 households are experiencing homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County. 59% of those who are homeless are male, while 40% are female. 157 people are unsheltered, meaning they are not living in an emergency shelter or in transitional housing.

“The increase in the number of unsheltered homeless is no surprise to the Topeka/Shawnee County Homeless Task Force,” said Corrie Wright, Division Director of Housing Services for the City of Topeka. “It is imperative that the community works collaboratively to help address these growing numbers. Under City Manager Stephen Wade’s leadership, and with support from the Topeka Governing Body, we look forward to working collaboratively with the city’s consultant and community partners to reach long-term solutions.”

Below is a chart that breaks down the numbers from the previous four counts. For a more detailed look at the 2023 numbers, visit https://cot-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/02/16173423/City-of-Topeka-Point-in-Time-Homeless-Count-2023.pdf.

	2020	2021	2022	2023
People	401	298	365	412
Households	306	254	297	322
# of Veteran Households	40	16	37	25
# of Individuals in an Emergency Shelter	254	155	163	194
# of Individuals in Transitional Housing	51	38	54	61
# of Individuals Unsheltered	68	105	148	157

 

To receive funding for programs, HUD requires communities complete a count each year. The count ensures the city can obtain the appropriate level of funding to be able to provide needed services to those experiencing homelessness and those at risk for homelessness.

 

Topeka and Shawnee County’s homeless population has increased by 125 people since
2023, according to numbers released Friday from the City of Topeka’s annual Point in Time Homeless
Count.

The count took place on January 25, 2024. The one-day event provides a snapshot of the individuals in
the community who are experiencing homelessness, as defined by the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD). More than 40 people helped with this year’s count.
The Topeka and Shawnee County Continuum of Care (CoC) held off on releasing their annual Point in
Time data in order to collaborate with other CoC’s across the state. Statewide collaboration will not only
give them better data, but allows for more funding opportunities. However, given the recent inquires,
the Topeka/ Shawnee County CoC is releasing their local data ahead of the statewide release.

“After the Continuum of Care communities submits their Point-in-Time results, HUD reviews the data
and then gives the CoCs a thumbs up when they approve the reports,” said Christy McMurphy,
Executive Director for the Kansas State Homeless Coalition. “For the first time, the Kansas Continuum of
Care leads decided to compile a statewide Point-In-Time report, to be released after all Kansas’ CoC data
has been approved by HUD. The statewide report will list each Kansas CoC’s results as well as a
statewide compilation.”

According to the count, 537 people and 442 households are experiencing homelessness in Topeka and
Shawnee County. 62% of those who are homeless are male, while 37% are female. 203 people are
unsheltered, meaning they are not living in an emergency shelter or in transitional housing.

“In light of the national trend indicating a rise in homelessness, the increase comes as no surprise to us,”
said Carrie Higgins, Housing Services Division Director. “We are fortunate to have great partners that
collaborate with us and we used the PIT count as another touch point to connect individuals to
services.”

Below is a chart that breaks down the numbers from the previous four counts. For a more detailed look
at the 2024 number, visit:
https://citymanager.s3.amazonaws.com/City+of+Topeka+Point+in+Time+Homeless+Count+2024.pdf

 

To receive funding for programs, HUD requires communities complete a count each year. The count
ensures the city can obtain the appropriate level of funding to be able to provide needed services to
those experiencing homelessness and those at risk for homelessness.

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
People	401	298	365	412	537
Households	306	254	297	322	442
# of Veteran Households	40	16	37	25	47
# of Individuals in an Emergency Shelter	254	155	163	194	276
# of Individuals in Transitional Housing	51	38	54	61	58
# of Individuals Unsheltered	68	105	148	157	203

The City of Topeka is pleased to announce the release of the community input gathered during the recent public sessions and open survey as part of the recruitment process for the next Topeka police chief. 

To ensure the selection of a police chief who meets the expectations and needs of the community, the city provided multiple avenues for public participation. From July 22, 2024, through August 3, 2024, a community survey was made available in both English and Spanish, collecting a total of 260 responses. In addition to the survey, three public input sessions were hosted in various parts of the community, allowing residents to share their thoughts and priorities directly. 

“The community emphasized the need for a police chief who values communication, transparency, and community engagement, with a focus on reducing crime, improving public safety, and addressing mental health and homelessness,” said City Manager Dr. Robert Perez. “We will use this feedback from community members to make sure we find the best candidate for this community.” 

This data will help craft the job posting to help attract the best candidates for this position. Please stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks regarding the interview process with candidates. 

You can view the police chief input report here: https://bit.ly/policechiefpublicinputreport   

Since July 2024, Topeka and Shawnee County’s homeless population has decreased by 12 individuals according to the City of Topeka’s January Point in Time Homeless Count released on March 18.

The count took place on January 22, 2025. The one-day event provides a snapshot of the individuals in the community who are experiencing homelessness, as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). More than 40 people helped with this January’s count.

According to the count, 534 people and 399 households are experiencing homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County. Of the 534 individuals, 60% of those are male, 39% are female, .5% identify as transgender, and 151 are unsheltered, or not living in an emergency shelter or transitional housing.

“The point-in-time count provides a valuable opportunity to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with essential services and resources in the community,” said Carrie Higgins, Housing Services Division Director. “We are grateful to all the volunteers and partner agencies who contributed to the count and continue to support efforts to improve our community.”
Below is a chart that breaks down the numbers from the previous four counts. For a detailed look at the Jan. 2025
numbers, Click Here.

	2020	2021	2022	2023	Jan. 2024	July 2024	Jan. 2025
People	401	298	365	412	537	546	534
Households	306	254	297	322	442	433	399
# of Veteran Households	40	16	37	25	47	46	49
# of Individuals in an Emergency Shelter	254	155	163	194	276	255	289
# of Individuals in Transitional Housing	51	38	54	61	58	75	94
# of Individuals Unsheltered	68	105	148	157	203	216	151

To receive funding for programs, HUD requires communities complete a count each year. The count ensures the
city can obtain the appropriate level of funding to be able to provide needed services to those experiencing
homelessness and those at risk of homelessness.

Point in Time Count Jan. 2025

Since January 2024, Topeka and Shawnee County’s homeless population has increased by nine individuals according to the City of Topeka’s July Point in Time Homeless Count released Thursday, August 1.

The count took place on July 17, 2024. The one-day event provides a snapshot of the individuals in the community who are experiencing homelessness, as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). More than 40 people helped with this July’s count.

According to the count, of 546 people and 433 households are experiencing homelessness in Topeka and Shawnee County. Of the 546 individuals 59% of those are male, while 40% are female, and 216 are unsheltered, or not living in an emergency shelter or transitional housing.

“With the rising numbers of those experiencing homelessness nationwide, we believe it’s crucial to collect data more regularly,” said Carrie Higgins, housing services division director. “Given the warmer weather and anticipated increase, we are encouraged to see only a modest rise since January. The count also provides a valuable opportunity to connect individuals experiencing homelessness to services and resources in the community.”

Below is a chart that breaks down the numbers from the previous four counts. For a more detailed look at the July 2024 numbers, visit: Summer PIT flyer.pdf (Summer+PIT+flyer.pdf (citymanager.s3.amazonaws.com)

To receive funding for programs, HUD requires communities complete a count each year. The count ensures the city can obtain the appropriate level of funding to be able to provide needed services to those experiencing homelessness and those at risk of homelessness.

	2020	2021	2022	2023	Jan. 2024	July 2024
People	401	298	365	412	537	546
Households	306	254	297	322	442	443
# of Veteran Households	40	16	37	25	47	46
# of Individuals in an Emergency Shelter	254	155	163	194	276	255
# of Individuals in Transitional Housing	51	38	54	61	58	75
# of Individuals Unsheltered	68	105	148	157	203	216

On Tuesday, the City of Topeka’s Administrative and Financial Services Department released the proposed 2023 operating budget.

The total City budget for FY23 is $340.1 million, a small 0.33% increase from FY22. Of this, the City’s General Fund budget is $104.1 million. The City’s General Fund is the largest single fund and funds many of the City’s municipal services.

Overall, the general Fund budget increased by 6.2% from the FY22 budget. Over the last five years, the General Fund budget has not increased more than 2% from the previous year. The larger increase this year is a direct result of inflationary costs which are as high as 8.6%. The City recognizes the impact this has on taxpayers and has raised costs carefully and with intention.

“We are excited to present the 2023 operating budget for the City of Topeka. We are confident that the budget will allow the City to offer high-quality services at an appropriate cost to taxpayers. We continue to work to align City resources with the needs and values of our community, and this budget puts us in a great place to do that,” said Stephen Wade, Director of the Administrative and Financial Services Department.

Budget priorities

The proposed 2023 budget supports the following budget priorities established by the Governing Body; investing in infrastructure, continuing a commitment to public safety, continuing a commitment to developing neighborhoods, selected strategic investments toward quality of life, and good governance.

At the beginning of this budget cycle, the City held six community workshops centered on the five budget priorities established by the Governing Body. During these workshops, the City received feedback on what the community’s goals and objectives are for each of the priorities. Since the workshops, City staff has worked to incorporate the ideas from the community into the budget, along with developing key indicators to measure progress towards each of the Governing Body’s budget priorities.

Expenditure highlights

The largest portion of the General Fund budget (77.8%) is personnel costs at $80.9 million. Personnel costs, including wages and benefits, have seen a 5.7% increase compared to the FY22 budget.

Commodities, which includes materials for asphalt, rock, sand, salt, fuel, chemicals, and office supplies, have seen the largest increase as a result of inflation, increasing 15.5% from the FY22 budget. Contractual expenses have increased 6.8%.

Like other government entities and businesses, the City faces challenges in recruiting employees. As of the publication of this budget, the vacancy rate in the City is approximately 12%. This budget includes $100,000 that has been added to the Human Resources budget for the purpose of recruiting talent to the City.

Mill levy

Each year the City adopts a mill levy rate that determines the amount of property tax the City will receive. 1 mill is roughly $1.3 million. For the previous ten years, the City’s mill levy has remained flat with no increases or decreases. After an assessed value increase of 8.5%, the Governing Body directed staff to decrease the mill levy by 1 mill.

Next steps

The Governing Body and City staff will host a Budget Workshop on Tuesday, July 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the Holliday Building. Community members can attend the workshop in person, or watch on the City’s Facebook page, the City’s Livestream, or on Cox Local Channel 4.

On July 12, the Governing Body will vote on whether or not to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate from the previous budget year.

The budget will be presented at the July 19, August 9, and August 16 City Council Meetings. Community members can make public comment at these meetings. A public budget hearing will be held on September 6 where citizens will be given another opportunity to offer feedback on the budget. The proposed budget can be viewed online at https://www.topeka.org/finance/budget/.

2023 Citizen’s Guide to City Budget

 

On Monday, the City of Topeka’s Administrative and Financial Services Department released the proposed 2024 operating budget.

The total city budget for FY24 is $371.9 million. Of this, the city’s general fund budget is $116.2 million. The general fund is the city’s largest single fund, which supports many of the city’s municipal services.

The city’s budget continues to see cost increases as a result of inflation. As an example, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the cost of building and maintaining highways has risen 50% since 2020. This, and other cost increases, has forced city departments to carefully monitor and propose budgets that allow the city to continue to provide high-quality services to its citizens.

“We have prepared a budget for FY24 that will allow for the city to provide needed services to the citizens of Topeka. The City of Topeka’s finance team did a phenomenal job balancing the needs of the present with the long-term sustainability of the future. We have worked to align city resources with the areas of greatest importance to our taxpayers. This budget will allow us to continue to move the City of Topeka forward,” said Freddy Mawyin, Chief Financial Officer.

Budget priorities

This is the second year the city has utilized the Outcome Based Budgeting (OBB) process.

At the beginning of the year, city staff engaged the Governing Body in a strategic planning process. The purpose of the strategic plan is to ensure city staff are aligning resources with the priority outcomes of the Governing Body and the community. During this process, the Governing Body established the city’s priority outcomes as Community Appearance, Growth, and Housing.

During the OBB process, city staff continue to work to align city resources with the priority outcomes. In addition to the three priority outcomes, a fourth area known as Operations was created, which captures many of the city’s functions that are statutorily or otherwise needed for the city to function properly.

In presenting the budget this year, the city focused on priority outcomes and their associated services.

Expenditure highlights

The largest portion of the general fund is personnel costs at 75% of the total budget. Personnel costs increased by about $6.6 million or 8.1% compared to the FY23 budget.

New to the FY24 budget is a proposed $500,000 that would be set aside for individuals who qualify for property tax rebates. This new program would be modeled after the state’s Homestead Refund program, and would provide further relief for those who need it.

Another new initiative is a proposed $1 million that would be dedicated to supporting the city’s unsheltered homeless neighbors. The city is in the process of working with a coach and facilitator, as well as community partners, as part of a task force to discuss the needs and gaps in the community related to our unsheltered neighbors. The proposed $1 million does not have a dedicated use yet, but would be made available to support recommendations made from the task force.

During the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) process, the Governing Body made the decision to move $2.3 million worth of debt financing into the FY24 operating budget. This move will allow for long-term savings from not having to pay interest costs from debt financing.

Next steps

On July 18, the Governing Body will vote on whether or not to hold a vote to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate from the previous budget year.

The Governing Body and city staff will host a Budget Workshop on Tuesday, July 25 at 6 p.m. at the Holliday Building. Community members can attend the workshop in person, or watch on the city’s Facebook page, the city’s Livestream, or on Cox Local Channel 4.

The budget will be discussed at the July 18, August 8, 15 and August 22 Governing Body meetings. Community members can make public comment at these meetings.

A public budget hearing will be held on September 5, where citizens will be given another opportunity to offer feedback on the budget. City staff anticipate the budget to be adopted on September 12.

The proposed budget can be viewed online at https://www.topeka.org/finance/budget/.

 

On Tuesday, the City of Topeka’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services unveiled the proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2025.

The total city budget for fiscal year 2025 is $400.3 million, with a balanced General Fund budget of $128.4 million. The General Fund is the largest single fund, supporting many of the city’s municipal services. In response to inflation, as well as an increase in employee wages, city departments have had to meticulously manage and propose their budgets to ensure continued service delivery to residents.

“We have developed a budget for fiscal year 2025 that will allow the city to provide essential services to the citizens of Topeka. The Finance team has done an outstanding job balancing current needs with long-term sustainability. We have aligned city resources with our taxpayers’ highest priorities, and this budget will enable us to advance the City of Topeka,” said Ben Hart, Acting Chief Financial Officer.

Expenditure Highlights

• Increased Costs: Personnel and contracting costs comprising of 75.83% of the General Fund budget, increased by approximately $9.43 million, or 10.72% for personnel and $4.2 million, or 20% for contractual services. These cost increases are a combination of union contracts, inflation, and other contractual obligations.
• Property Tax Rebate Program: Continuing the success from last year’s budget, the city is keeping the Property Tax Rebate Program in place at $300,000. This program, modeled after the state’s Homestead Act, provides additional relief to eligible individuals.

Next Steps

• August 13, August 20, August 27: The budget will be presented at Governing Body meetings, where community members can offer public comment.
• September 3: A public budget hearing will provide another opportunity for citizens to give feedback on the budget.
• September 10: The anticipated date for budget adoption.

The proposed budget can be viewed online at City of Topeka Budget.