KTKA

Last night, the City Council re-voted on issues brought into question by the Shawnee County District Attorney. The City Council approved the purchase of a new police helicopter and IT system. Mayor Bill Bunten once again promised to veto the purchases.

The Council came under fire from the DA for possibly violating a state spending law.

At the Council meeting, Donovan Stevens, with a company that's financing purchases for Topeka, spoke out in favor of the purchases.

He accused the Council of losing credibility with the business community if the Council backed out of the two contracts.

Sabrina Wells teaches public budgeting at Washburn University. She says that simply won't happen.

Wells said, "There are plenty of finance companies. The City is not going to dry up because of lack of funding to finance a major project, I don't believe."

She says much like mortgages on our homes, the Council only has to show that there is enough money in the budget to make the payments, rather than the whole purchase price.

We took to the streets to find out what you thought. We wanted to know if the latest controversies shook the public's confidence in the City Council's ability to make decisions.

"I think it's kind of sad. They're grownups and they're bickering amongst each other, and we put you into solve some problems. It seems like the problems are down to the personal level," said Topekan Vicky Grimes.

Vickie Gorrell said, "I think they are struggling with the process. They want to see some changes and they're not sure how to follow the process."

Wells added, "You don't want a robot there. You don't want every decision, even the major ones, you want some discussion. You get better decisions that way.">