Unified Government Administrator Doug Bach proposed a UG budget of over $400 million on Thursday night.
The budget was bolstered by about $42 million in federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) loss replacement funds.
Bach emphasized a “Road to Recovery” theme in his presentation to the UG Commission. Last year, during the pandemic, he said, was a difficult budget where they reduced their operational budget, reduced cash spending, froze employee salaries, furloughed some non-public safety employees, slowed down hiring, and reduced maintenance.
Their view last year was to take a one-time hard hit and keep from depleting their reserves, he said. The UG slowed down its spending, he said, and at the same time, revenues did not decline as much as they forecast. They were left in a position of being able to recover more quickly from the pandemic.
Last year, Health Department operations were expanded as never before, and targeted at the underserved population, he said.
At the same time, it was a good year for economic development here. Around $1 billion was announced in new commercial and residential projects in 2020 for Wyandotte County, he said. He listed several investments east of I-635, including the Merc Co-op grocery downtown; Donnelly College’s new building; Splitlog Coffee and Slaps’ expansion on Central Avenue; and a new Menards store off I-35. In addition, he mentioned the Y Lofts, Boulevard Lofts, Lanier’s downtown project at 5th and Minnesota, the Yards 2 apartments, and the Rock Island Bridge destination project.
There is a new focus on residential development, he said, with growth in housing starts.
The new budget recommendations include continuing anti-blight efforts, long-term planning for infrastructure, focusing on infill housing, addressing UG workforce issues, stabilizing the UG’s fiscal position and setting priorities for ARPA spending.
The budget details are contained in a budget book of almost 1,000 pages online at https://xfer.wycokck.org/public/file/XwtZzjJiCUWudaJv1Z2WUw/Unified%20Government%202021%20Amended%202022%20Proposed%20Budget.pdf. There is also a slide presentation about the budget online at https://www.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/finance/documents/2022-administrators-budget-presentation.pdf.
This budget doesn’t really focus on the $87 million in ARPA funds, and the commission will look more at the bulk of the ARPA funding in the coming months, Bach said. There are some areas in this 2022 budget that use ARPA funding, however.
Some ARPA funds currently are proposed to be used in the general fund and other funds to build up the reserves. The reserves are proposed to go over the target of 17 percent for a few years, and then to come back down to around the 17 percent level.
Bach said the UG also will continue its fight against COVID. The Health Department, which was budgeted $13.6 million in 2020, is proposed to receive $16.9 million in the 2021 amended budget and $10.1 million in the 2022 budget, according to budget documents.
Bach proposed a flat mill levy rate of 77.79 for the combined Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County, the same as last year. The proposed Kansas City, Kansas, mill levy rate is 38.47, while the Wyandotte County proposed mill levy rate is 39.327.
The UG had reduced the mill levy rate for three consecutive years previously, he said, resulting in a city property tax rate that was almost 15 percent lower. He suggested that the UG might consider another mill levy reduction in 2023 or 2024.
If property owners’ assessed valuations remain the same, they will see the same tax amount as last year, but if their assessed valuations increased, they may see an increase in the amount owed on their property tax. The real estate market here saw higher prices this past year, causing valuations to rise in general.
According to the detailed budget information, Wyandotte County’s assessed value was a 4.2 percent increase for the 2021 budget over the previous year’s assessed value. The total assessed value in the county was $1.58 billion. According to budget documents, the 2021 county assessed valuation for the 2022 budget was estimated to rise by another 3.9 percent.
A Kansas City, Kansas, resident who lives in the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools district would see the same amount of property tax on a $100,000 home this year as last year, if the valuation stays the same, and if the school district and other governmental bodies do not change the mill levy rate. An estimated total property tax bill in that district would be $1,880.76 for the 2021 budget and 2022 budget, according to UG information.
To the average resident, one mill means about $23 on a $200,000 home, Bach said. To a business, it means $125 on a $500,000 commercial property.
But to the UG, one mill would mean 10 miles of a lane of street overlay, or 14 police officers, he said.
According to UG officials, the budget included revenues of $403.1 million and expenditures of $420.2 million.
UG officials had talked earlier about restoring some of the jobs that were cut or went unfilled during the past year. The UG stated that in July, there were 323 unfilled positions. According to officials Thursday night, there were 173 positions that were unfilled. This budget fills 48 key positions, according to officials, leaving about 88 positions unfilled.
In answer to a question from Mayor David Alvey about why 88 are unfilled, Bach said they did an analysis on the priorities, reclassified some positions and decided to fill additional ones. The 88 positions are not aligned closely with the commission’s highest priorities, Bach said.
Public safety will be addressed through community-based programs, according to UG officials. Twenty-seven of the 48 key positions to be filled will be for the Police Department, through its academy. The public safety category is 55 percent of the UG’s budget.
Bach said $10 million has been built into the proposed budget to address workforce culture and compensation within the UG.
The proposed budget also includes a stormwater fee increase from the current flat fee of $4.50 a month for all categories, to $6 a month for residential customers and $14 a month for nonresidential customers. According to UG officials, the UG Commission will be discussing a stormwater fee plan for later years.
When Commissioner Mike Kane heard that there was a 25-cent contractual increase proposed for the trash collection fee, he said the UG needs to get it to where the company performs its job function, “and they’re not.”
Trash hasn’t been picked up in three weeks from a residential area by Wyandotte County Lake, Commissioner Kane said. He said he would hate to see the company get an increase until it’s doing its job the way it’s supposed to.
Commissioner Gayle Townsend asked about Parkwood Pool, which is currently closed. Next year, there is a proposal for an outside contractor to run the pool. According to UG officials, the company will run the entire operation, and it is their intent to operate with maximum levels of lifeguards next year, but they can’t guarantee it due to the shortage of lifeguards in the Kansas City area.
Commissioner Kane requested that students in Kansas City, Kansas, area schools be recruited to be the lifeguards. Commissioner Townsend said they had tried to do that in the past, but it was difficult because in the past there was not appropriate staffing or facilities to teach swimming. They will continue trying even though it was difficult.
The proposed budget will be discussed by the UG Commission, which has been holding meetings on it since March. Future budget meetings include Aug. 26 and Sept. 2, with budget adoption on Sept. 9. Aug. 26 also is when the UG Commission is scheduled to discuss ARPA grant funds and adopt the ARPA immediate needs budget.
The UG budget hearing will be at 5 p.m. Sept. 7 at the fifth floor meeting room at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.
The bulk of the federal ARPA funding is in a separate process from the UG’s budget; about half of the $87 million has already arrived and half will arrive next year. The UG is considering some of the ARPA funds for “immediate needs.” The UG has a few years to decide how the rest of the ARPA funds will be spent. Residents who would like to comment on how the UG should spend ARPA funds may send an email to ARPA@wycokck.org. A UG website on ARPA funding is at www.wycokck.org/ARPA.
The budget presentation, with much more detail, is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afsetZCc38M.
