Wichita's Airline Subsidy With Recycling Funds Found Legal

Date: May 22, 2003

Source: News Room

The City of Wichita did nothing wrong when it used money from its landfill cleanup fund to subsidize a discount air carrier, according to Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline. When the Wichita City Council adopted its budget for 2002, it voted to take $4.5 million out of the landfill trust fund to subsidize AirTran Airways. The state Legislature prohibits counties from spending trash disposal fees on other programs. But that law applies only to counties and not to cities, according to Kline. The city still has enough money in its trust fund to care for Brooks Landfill for the next 30 years and to clean up known pollution, as required by state law.
More information: www.wichitagov.org/gov/government.asp.

Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin