Month: August 2018

The Unified Government Commission is expected to approve a budget on Thursday night.

Budget approval would be at the 7 p.m. Aug. 2 meeting at the Commission Chambers, lobby level, City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

A special meeting has been called for a budget workshop at 5 p.m., if needed, in the fifth floor conference room at City Hall.

Under the UG administrator’s proposed budget, the city mill levy rate would be lowered by 2 mills to about 30.003 mills, while the county mill rate would remain the same at 38.880. Valuation has increased an average 7.9 percent in the community this year, meaning a possible tax increase for some taxpayers. The amount of the increase would vary according to the amount of increase in valuation on each individual property.

The property tax on a $100,000 home with an 8.7 percent assessed valuation growth was estimated at an increase of $54 in city taxes this year, and an increase of $38 in county taxes, for a total increase of $92 in taxes to the UG, according to UG estimates.

The property tax on a $500,000 commercial property with an 11.2 percent assessed value increase would be $10,682 with the proposed 2-mill reduction in 2019 in city taxes, as compared to $9,860 in 2018, an increase of $822. On the county side of the tax bill, the same commercial property that paid $4,860 in 2018 would pay $5,388 in county taxes with a 10.9 percent assessed value increase, an increase of $528, according to UG estimates.

The UG’s portion of the property tax bill is about 46 percent.

According to the 7 p.m. agenda, the changes to the UG administrator’s proposed budget, which were discussed at the Monday night budget workshop, are listed as:

• District attorney’s conviction integrity unit, $38,750 for staffing in 2018 and $155,000 for 2019, plus $7,500 for equipment in 2018;

• Attorney general – Schlitterbahn case, a reduction of $150,000 in 2018 and a reduction of $150,000 in 2019 from the UG administrator’s original budget estimate, all from county funds;

• Self-Supporting Municipal Improvement District, for downtown Kansas City, Kansas, $25,000 more for 2019 from the city general fund;

• UG building security, $100,000 from the county fund for 2018 and $100,000 from the city fund for 2018;

• Juvenile Center increase, $450,000 in 2018 for the Memorial Hall parking lot from the tourism and convention fund; a reduction of $450,000 from the transient reserve fund; a $1 million transfer from operations to cash fund project only if needed, a reduction of $1 million transfer from operations to debt only if needed;

• K-7 and Parallel Parkway intersection improvement project, a reduction of $300,000 from the 2019 and a reduction of $300,000 from 2020 from the bond and interest fund (defunded);

• Contingency reserve funds, Addition of $3,750 to the county general fund for 2018; reduction of $5,000 from the county general fund for 2019; reduction of $100,000 from the city general fund for 2018; reduction of $25,000 from the city general fund for 2019.

According to the document that lists changes to the budget, the funds for the conviction integrity unit would be placed in a special account in the county budget under the county administrator, which will be held until it is authorized for expenditure by the UG Commission.

UG commissioners will have a last opportunity to change the budget before they vote on it at the 7 p.m. meeting.

Resolutions will be on the agenda to set the tax rates for several taxing entities:

• The UG budget as proposed by the UG administrator would lower the city mill levy by 2 mills, leaving the county mill rate the same as last year. The combined city-county mill levy rate would be 68.883 if the UG administrator’s proposed budget is adopted.

• Sewer service rates would increase five percent.

• The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) fee on the Board of Public Utilities bills would remain the same, at 11.9 percent. This is a fee that the UG places on BPU customers’ bills.

• The UG’s Capital Maintenance Improvement Projects will be set.

• The UG’s Annual Action Plan including the Community Development Block Grant program, HOME Investment Partnership Program and Emergency Solutions Grant Program, will be set.

• The Self-Supporting Municipal Improvement District for downtown Kansas City, Kansas, an 11.06 mill levy was discussed at the last budget workshop.

• The proposed county library tax is $3,203,704, with a reserve of $280,000.