HISPANIC COMMUNITY FAQ'S
Connecting with Our Hispanic Community
At the heart of our city is a vibrant, ever-growing Hispanic community. Tyler is committed to listening, learning, and addressing the unique concerns and aspirations of this valued part of our city’s fabric. On this page, you’ll find answers to some of the most commonly asked questions from Emporia's Hispanic residents—direct from Tyler himself. This is a space where transparency meets action, and where every voice matters.
We need jobs. What is the city doing to attract jobs to the community?
When it comes to jobs and attracting jobs, the City partners with numerous agencies. For example, the City has worked with the Southeast KansasWorks Workforce Center in several ways:
- Attending career/job fairs and promoting employment opportunities at the city;
- Posting Jobs on KANSASWORKS.com;
- Lending professionals to assist with mock interviews;
- Supporting and promoting Rapid Response activities to Dislocated Workers (examples: Michelin, Holiday Resort, Tyson); and
- Sharing referrals from the Housing and Community Development Department/Boards/Committees.
In addition, the City could also be participating in Work-Based Learning Opportunities such as:
- Utilizing On-the-Job Training (OJT): The City has previously accessed OJT funds to support employee training. This funding helps offset training costs while developing a skilled workforce.
- Becoming a Youth Work Experience Host: Serve as a host employer for young adults ages 14–24, providing meaningful, real-world work experiences. These internships may be paid or unpaid, depending on the program or initiative.
- Actively partnering with our local workforce systems to expand access to youth work experiences and promote awareness of local career pathways.
- Hosting a Career Curiosities Tour: Inspire youth by offering a behind-the-scenes look at local government operations.
- Supporting the coordination of activities and help with bringing Southeast KANSASWORKS into important local/regional conversations. The Southeast KANSASWORKS - Local Workforce Development Board plays a critical leadership role in aligning workforce strategies with regional economic development efforts by fostering employer engagement, guiding investment in high-demand sectors, and ensuring job seekers are equipped with the skills needed to meet current and future labor market demands.
Other partnerships include RDA, Emporia Main Street, and the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce. RDA is specifically charged to increase employment opportunities and is 100% city funded via a special sales tax approved by Lyon County voters. We are raising our expectations for that agency by asking them to focus efforts on recruiting employers who pay a higher wage and to broaden their support for all businesses, not just large, industrial manufacturing jobs but also supporting small- and medium-sized businesses.
Emporia Main Street continues to provide resources to entrepreneurs and other small businesses thanks in part to some of the funding allocated by the City of Emporia. The Chamber and Emporia Spanish Speakers have now offered Mi Negocio Academy twice, and our City Manager gives remarks at the graduation ceremony. I’m interested in how we can further support this program.
Finally, the City has approved funding for Flint Hills Technical College as they work to continue to provide educational opportunities for our employers who need more skilled labor. We are working with Emporia State University to identify ways they can assist our residents develop needed skills for employment, too.
I was told there are no more grant funds for fixing houses. Will there be more funds in the future? Where do those funds come from? If the city can give hundreds of thousands of dollars to private entities such as Champions Landing, why can't it match more dollars for residents to improve their quality of living?
The application period is over for the current grant. The funding for that grant came from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka’s Affordable Housing Program. Although it was a large grant, we had many more applications than grant funds to offer. This grant will provide for 30 projects, which may take two to three years to complete. Once complete, we will reapply. If additional grant sources become available, we could also apply for them; however, Emporia has a very limited number of contractors willing and able to do the work.
Historically, we would occasionally acquire CDBG funds (Community Development Block Grant from the State of Kansas) for housing rehabilitation, but several factors have made that source very difficult to use and obtain. We have recently attempted to obtain a Moderate Income Housing grant from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), but this entails developing new housing. Our current supply of contractors does not help make a good case for this funding source.
Are there plans to invest in underrepresented areas of Emporia that are home to many Hispanic families?
I think the best way to tackle this question is to provide an overview of our City’s budget. While we have an annual budget of over $75M, over 50% of those dollars are restricted to specific services like the Library, tourism, economic development, parks, and streets. Water and trash services make up one-third of our budget. Thus, as much as it sounds like the City has all kinds of money, the fact is that we have very few resources to invest outside of fixed services annually.
Our most flexible fund is the general fund, and that is where we fund services like fire/EMT, emergency management, and police. These services are vital to the health, wellness, and safety of our City, so they are high priorities.
That said, I do want to know more ways we can invest funds in parts of town where a large percentage of our Hispanic families live and play. I am impressed with what has been done at Las Casitas Park, and the upgrades to Peter Pan Park have also been significant.
Housing investments are needed, but those dollars are harder to find. If street repairs are needed, then please contact the City of Emporia at: https://www.repd.us/emporia. Further, if there are grants available for Hispanic businesses that require some type of local/city match, then please let me know. I’ll be on the lookout for these opportunities, too.
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