A bill under consideration in the Kansas House would allow local governments and school districts an exemption on the state’s tax lid.
The bill would allow the local governments to look at a seven-year period, and return to a previous mill levy within that seven-year period, said Mike Taylor, Unified Government lobbyist.
He said the exemption would be of use when cities have cut their mill levies, as the UG has, and then a recession, tornado or emergency comes along that necessitates a tax increase.
Currently, if cities want to increase their mill levies past a certain point, they have to hold an election.
He said the UG supports this bill, as it has cut the mill levy rate for the past three years by 14 percent. If something major happened, the UG would be able to raise the mill levy without going to a public vote, he said.
He also said that under the current law, some cities are afraid to cut the mill levy too much, because if they need to raise taxes again in the future, they might need to hold an election.
A hearing on the bill is scheduled this afternoon.
Taylor also said he plans to testify in favor of Medicaid expansion on Thursday.
“It’s a big issue for Wyandotte County,” he said.
There are an estimated 10,000 Wyandotte County residents who would have access to health insurance that they can’t get currently, he said.
Medicaid expansion would be expected to lessen the burden on local governments that currently are picking up some of the cost of uninsured persons, and also of hospitals that are burdened by uninsured patients.
