Then-city manager Stephen Wade sought help last November from a vocal, longtime critic of Topeka's city government, contracting to pay $49,500 for eight months of consulting services from attorney Joseph Ledbetter.
Topeka City Councilwoman Karen Hiller said Thursday she wished she had been told about the deal.
"I was not aware of the contract until very recently," Hiller said. "I do not recall any knowledge of consultation with council or council members, no report of the contract and no report of work product."
But the arrangement was "a great investment for the city" as Ledbetter shared ideas that will benefit it financially, Topeka City Councilman Tony Emerson said Wednesday.
Wade on Thursday explained his hiring of Ledbetter.
"It is very good leadership practice to take your biggest critic and pull them close so that you can listen to what they have to say," Wade said.
Ledbetter came up with ideas that are likely to generate several million dollars' worth of revenue for the city in coming years, Wade said.
Interim city manager meets with Joseph Ledbetter to consider future
The mayor and council voted 10-0 on July 11 to fire Wade, for reasons that haven't been made public.
Richard Nienstedt, Topeka's interim city manager, said Thursday he hasn't decided if the city will continue to receive consulting services from Ledbetter.
"Steve had Mr. Ledbetter do some specific tasks and they were accomplished," Nienstedt said. "I have met with Joe and visited with him about doing additional work but have not yet decided what that path will be. I guess you could call it a work in progress."
City Councilman and Deputy Mayor Neil Dobler said Thursday he knew Wade had Ledbetter under contract for various projects but wasn't aware of the contract terms.
"While I do think Mr. Ledbetter provides value, I will support the city manager on whether or not to renew the contract and under what terms," Dobler said.
Capital-Journal acquired copy of contract through KORA request
After submitting a request through the Kansas Open Records Act, The Capital-Journal paid $5 Tuesday to the office of city clerk Brenda Younger to acquire a copy of the city's contract with Ledbetter's Capital Consulting LLC.
The contract was signed by Wade and dated Nov. 8, 2022. It covered the time period of "Nov. 8, 2022, through July 2023."
Ledbetter's contract "was directly with Steve Wade," Nienstedt said.
Topeka's city manager has the authority to enter into such contracts, said city Councilman Spencer Duncan.
The agreement said Ledbetter's company was in the business of providing community-based consulting services and lobbying, and "has the requisite skills and experience to perform such services."
'Recommendations of reorganizations' was part of contract
The contract called for Ledbetter to serve as an "independent consultant" for the city, including the following:
• Being an adviser to Wade.
• Providing "analysis and recommendations of reorganizations, mission statements, streamlining departments to increase efficiencies, productivity and cost cutting as requested."
• Performing any special projects that Wade might assign Ledbetter from time to time.
• Performing or assisting with other tasks that included, but were not limited to, working with the Kansas Turnpike Authority and Kansas Department of Transportation on projects in Topeka.
Joseph Ledbetter suggested city 'readiness to serve' charge
In explaining his reasoning for contracting with Ledbetter, Wade described him as being a "very good attorney."
Ledbetter did considerable research for the city on housing incentives and economic development, and interviewed builders inside and outside this community, Wade said.
"He had ideas for ways to increase the number of houses inside the city limits and not have all the residential buildings go to the county," he said. "That in itself will raise a considerable amount of taxes."
Ledbetter also suggested implementing the "readiness to serve" charge that the city is now assessing, Wade said.
"A customer who has a City service line connected to the City water main shall pay a monthly readiness to serve charge that is based upon the size of the water meter," that ordinance says. "This charge shall apply regardless of whether water has passed from the City water main through the City service line during the billing period."
More:Stephen Wade's mental health spiraled. Now he's sharing about his struggle to get help
Councilman: Contract appears to have been 'great investment'
Emerson became aware of the consulting contract with Ledbetter late last year, he said.
Wade told Emerson that Ledbetter was carrying out a number of assignments for the city, including assisting its utilities department as it analyzed future rates.
The council last April voted 7-2 to raise city water, wastewater and stormwater utility rates by percentages that were lower than had initially been requested by the utilities department.
"From what I was told, Joe's work helped identify ways to save money and lower the proposed increase," Emerson said.
He said Ledbetter also assisted the city in its talks with the Kansas Department of Transportation regarding the planned replacement of the Polk-Quincy Viaduct and with the Kansas Turnpike Authority regarding potentially putting in a proposed Kansas Turnpike interchange in southeast Topeka.
"If these few things were all Joe worked on, his contract was a great investment for the city," Emerson said.
Who is Joseph Ledbetter?
Ledbetter has been a frequent speaker in recent decades at meetings of the Topeka City Council.
He is a former president of the Hi-Crest Neighborhood Improvement Association and serves on the Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Ledbetter filed defamation lawsuits in 2010 against then-Mayor Bill Bunten and then-Shawnee County Commissioner Vic Miller saying both inaccurately identified how many times he failed the Kansas Bar exam.
Ledbetter passed that exam on his second try.
Shawnee County District Court judges dismissed both lawsuits.
What does Joseph Ledbetter say?
Ledbetter said in an email Thursday to The Capital-Journal that the ideas he put forth demonstrate the value of having new eyes evaluate problems in an organization.
He said he did the following:
• Provided ideas for increasing single family/duplex housing stock and suggested offering incentives for police and fire department personnel — and possibly other groups, such as military veterans — to buy or build homes inside the city.
• Contacted several developers about the new reinvestment housing incentive district program that recently became available, including the developer of the first such project approved by the city's mayor and council to be constructed near S.E. 10th and Rice Road.
• Suggested other moves to help achieve the council's goal of adding 480 housing units per year in Topeka, including providing each new home or duplex built here with a free water meter to help the city expand its customer base and property tax revenues. He proposed financing such efforts using money either from utility reserves or from a "readiness to serve" charge.
• While working on city utility consulting, proposed that an RTS (readiness to serve) fee be charged monthly to each vacant residence and vacant commercial property in Topeka, as many rural water districts charge monthly for their service, even if it's not used.
"I asked for the stormwater monthly charge to be added also, and there was discussion about adding a sewer RTS charge as well on vacant houses, and commercial property," Ledbetter said.
He said it was estimated that would raise about $50,000 to $60,000 a month, which would amount to at least about $600,000 a year, and wouldn't impact current customers being charged for their utility use.
"Much later, after an agreement to implement a basic charge on vacant houses/commercial property was approved by the manager, the legal staff told me this charge for water fees on vacant houses has been on the books for years but not collected," Ledbetter said.
He said he and city utilities department supervisors hadn't been aware of that as they examined the issues involved.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
Tim Hrenchir