Over the spring and summer this year, Hutchinson City Council meeting audiences, both in person and online, came to expect a show on the first and third Tuesday of the month. The drama came to a head on Sept. 9, when then-City Manager Enrico Villegas and then-City Attorney Cody Smith resigned.
That set off a week with three special meetings and a regular meeting, all of which were blessedly boring. On Sept. 9, the council addressed the resignations. On Sept. 10, the council and city staff addressed the 2027 budget. On Sept. 14, the council appointed an interim city manager who is familiar with the city government and community in Gary Meagher.
And on Sept. 15, the council unanimously approved the budget, which is projected to double the general fund’s ending balance, in a meeting that was productive, civil and orderly.
Last week, we wrote that the city should try to get back to basics, doing what it is supposed to do effectively and efficiently without making things harder than they have to be. Nobody outside the newsroom read that editorial before the Sept. 15 meeting, so we can’t claim that it was a result of taking our advice. Nonetheless, we are relieved that enough of the right people seem to have reached the same conclusion.
It remains to be seen whether this stretch of boring productivity will last. And even if those involved keep an attitude of getting things done, there will be difficult issues, because local government isn’t easy. The city will probably have to revisit the question of whether to invest in using treated wastewater to irrigate Carey Park to reduce groundwater use. That is an issue that reasonable, rational people can disagree on.
City staff are still working on long-term zoning rules for data centers, and we have seen how intense data center discussions can get. And the public has yet to learn of a resolution to the state attorney general’s investigation into Hutch Rec, which the city inserted itself into.
But the approach of city staff and the city council since Sept. 9 shows that the city can tackle things professionally. Let’s keep it up.
–The Hutchinson Tribune Editorial Board