Topeka Consultant Spending vs. Payroll: What the Data Shows
A City of Topeka KORA response shows Public Works and Utilities alone paid $20.7M (2024) and $17.9M (2025) on professional engineering and contract-service lines, and a separate KORA response shows Bartlett & West was paid $52.37M over ten years (Dec. 2015–Dec. 2025), about $436K a month. That is far above what the operating budgets imply. General Fund ratios still look normal against Springfield, MO, so the evidence supports heavy, concentrated reliance on a few outside firms, not a proven lack of in-house competence. On this page Bottom line Topeka: professional services by year Share of payroll and budget Peer benchmark Henry's specific claims Payments by firm (KORA records) Bartlett & West: 10 years of payments Definitions and data gaps Draft post language Sources Contact Bottom line Reliance confirmed; incompetence not proven. City payment records obtained by KORA show Bartlett & West was paid $52,371,843 from Dec. 31, 2015 to Dec. 5, 2025, about $436K a month, mor...