The Prairie Village City Council voted 8-4 to send a $22,900 donation to its Sister City in Dolyna, Ukraine for the purchase of drones. The western Ukrainian city of about 21,000 lies 300 miles from the capital of Kyiv. Dolyna officials want the drones, which are capable of delivering explosives in military operations, for humanitarian purposes.
Councilman Cole Robinson justifies the drone donation as “$1 per resident” of the northeastern Johnson County city. The Ukraine discussion begins at 04:17:00 in the live stream.
We contacted supporters of the Dolyna donation and asked if they saw an irony in giving taxpayer money to Ukrainians while denying their constituents an opportunity to vote on a $30 million new city hall. City officials say a tax increase to pay for the new city hall is unlikely and, therefore, believe residents should not have a say. However, the city has not published any data demonstrating that a tax increase won’t be needed, and none was provided when The Sentinel requested it.
A combative response was received from Councilman Ron Nelson. He dodged our question, preferring to level accusations:…