New fire station in Piper receives budget approval

The Unified Government Commission formally added a new fire station in Piper before unanimously approving the budget on Thursday, July 28.

Commissioner Mike Kane backed the change to have the UG formally put the $4 million funding for the fire station in the budget. UG officials said the project could cost in the $3 to $4 million range. It is expected to cost the UG about $260,000 to $300,000 a year if it is spread out over 20 years.

Commissioner Kane said Piper has grown from 1,328 households in 1990 to 3,790 households currently, not counting three apartment developments.

He said the Piper area is paying an annual property tax of $15.1 million. While there is an old fire station called a “pole barn” at 123rd and Leavenworth Road, it doesn’t have an ambulance there, he said. There is a paramedic on a fire truck. The closest ambulance is at 94th and State Avenue, he said, and could take as much as 10 minutes to get to some Piper locations

“At $15 million, we deserve a fire station out west, and we deserve it, not five or 10 years, but we deserve it now,” Commissioner Kane said.

While she didn’t offer an opinion on the way to finance it, Commissioner Melissa Bynum supported the idea of making a commitment in the budget to build the Piper fire station.

Commissioner Hal Walker was in support of the fire station and said he was concerned that sometimes past UG officials and commissioners have made commitments that have not been carried out in future years.

He said the UG has a commitment to provide fire and ambulance services to Piper. “Our obligation is not contingent upon us finding savings in some way,” he said. “Our obligation is there whether we save a dime.” He added he did hope the UG is able to save money on operations.

Commissioner Gayle Townsend had no doubt about the need for the fire station, but she had some questions about where the money would come from.

UG Administrator Doug Bach said the Piper fire station now will be under the capital maintenance improvement program category of the 2017 budget, and he moved it out of the uncommitted funding source of the Public Building Commission part of the budget. It will add a dedicated $4 million to city debt, and the UG will be obligated to fund the debt every year going forward, he said.

The other additions to the budget discussed in the Monday night meeting also were approved on Thursday night. The original $345.7 million budget contains some shoring up of the fund balances, a large blight reduction program, more road repair funds, new police vehicles, police body cameras, four new fire apparatus, two new ambulances, more spending on parks, a 2 percent raise for UG employees, and an extra $250,000 for the Wyandot Mental Health center. There was also a 2-mill property tax reduction in the budget.

Perhaps the most notable part of the budget process this year was an anticipated extra 12 mills to be received from the early payoff of the sales tax revenue (STAR) bonds at Village West, equal to about $12 million. These funds shift a small amount of the UG’s revenue stream to sales taxes rather than solely relying on property tax, although property tax is still the largest source of revenue. Mayor Mark Holland held a series of community meetings where he asked residents what their priorities were for spending the funds from the STAR bonds, and also a community survey was taken that also contained priority information. The UG also anticipates getting a $1.4 million penalty payment from the Hollywood Casino for not building a hotel this year.

The commission, administrator and financial staff spent several minutes discussing the best way to accomplish the fire station project.

While Mayor Holland pointed out that the UG could have added the fire station during the year even if it wasn’t specifically funded in the budget, through issuing temporary notes, Commissioner Kane said he nevertheless wanted a commitment to it in the budget.

The fire station had the support of all the commission and mayor, although the mayor and administrator had gone about it in a different way, earlier saying they would have liked to wait for a negotiations agreement with firefighters before putting it in the budget. There are multiple needs for new stations or repairs throughout the community, according to UG officials.

The UG still will have to work on staffing for the new fire station, and that will be dependent on working out an agreement with the firefighters, as well as the committee that has been meeting on the implementation of the fire study plan, according to officials. The fire study recommended consolidating some fire stations in eastern Kansas City, Kan., that were close together, while adding the Piper station. The UG hopes to achieve some savings from the fire study implementation, in the areas such as consolidating stations and reducing overtime, which was over $1 million, according to officials.

Commissioner Walker voted against the budget item for the UG’s payment in lieu of taxes fee on the Board of Public Utilities’ bill, stating that the UG has not made any progress in reducing the PILOT fee, and it was a past commitment. He said he would vote against it until they start reducing it. The PILOT fee was not changed this year. The PILOT fee passed 8-1.

To see an earlier budget story, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-budget-proposal-recommends-1-mill-property-tax-reduction/.

UG budget information is online at http://www.wycokck.org/InternetDept.aspx?id=9730&menu_id=954&banner=15284.