Committee of businessmen to oversee arena tax spending

Sedgwick County commissioners plan to appoint nine local businessmen to a tax oversight committee to make sure $184.5 million in arena sales tax dollars is spent properly.

The commission is scheduled to approve the appointments during Wednesday's meeting.

The 1-cent sales tax begins July 1.

Sedgwick County Manager Bill Buchanan said Monday that the committee will meet as soon as possible to select a chairman and get organized.

"There's really not a lot to do until we start getting money, spending money," he said.

Committee members and the commissioners who appointed them are:

• John Clevenger, president of Commerce Bank, Wichita Region, appointed by commission Chairman Dave Unruh.

• Greg Sevier, an accountant for Peterson, Peterson & Goss, a CPA firm, appointed by Unruh.

• Frank DeSocio, owner of Joma Bowling Co., which owns Northrock Lanes, appointed by Tom Winters.

• Bruce Armstrong, banker and mayor of Haysville, appointed by Tim Norton.

• Tim Short, president of Financial Management Resources Inc., an accounting firm, appointed by Winters.

• Mark Dennett, vice president for commercial lending at Intrust Bank, appointed by Lucy Burtnett.

• George Arnold, former Derby City Council member, appointed by Ben Sciortino.

• Jose Gutierrez, personal banker at Bank of America, appointed by Burtnett.

• Richard Schodorf, attorney for the U.S. attorney's office, appointed by Sciortino.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.