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Drop in sales tax revenues reported in KCK

Kansas City, Kansas, has experienced a drop in sales tax revenues recently, according to Unified Government officials.

Sales tax revenues came in at 91.9 percent of the amount budgeted for the fourth quarter of 2018, according to Kathleen VonAchen, the UG’s chief financial officer. She included the information in her April 1 quarterly budget report at the Economic Development and Finance Committee meeting.

Sales tax revenues for the fourth quarter were $42.6 million, as compared to the amended budget estimate of $46.4 million, a difference of about $3.74 million, according to UG figures.

For the fourth quarter, the UG revenues for sales tax were about double that of property tax, as the county and city now derive more of their income from sales taxes than in years before The Legends Outlets was built. The property tax for the fourth quarter came in about 1.2 percent over the estimates.

UG Commissioner Ann Brandau Murguia asked for more information about the reasons for the sales tax revenue difference.

“My sales tax estimate included a 6 percent increase, and that was probably overly optimistic,” VonAchen said at the meeting. “It’s a combination of my sales tax estimate being overly optimistic and the economy declining quicker than I anticipated.”

Some of that effect on sales taxes at The Legends Outlets may have been because there were renovations going on at some of the Legends locations, she said. Some of the properties were not open and not collecting sales taxes during that transition, she added.

When actual fourth quarter sales taxes in 2018 were compared to actual fourth quarter sales taxes collected in 2017, there was a decrease of $2.78 million, according to UG figures.

Commissioner Tom Burroughs said he believed that renovations and transitions at The Legends Outlets may have caused the reduction in sales tax. He said he also would like to see more information about it. The shopping center has more than 100 stores and restaurants.

New stores added within the last year to the Legends Outlets have included Torrid, Michael Kors, Rack Room Shoes, the Dapper Doughnut, El Toro Loco Mexican Bar and Grill, Journeys and HomeGoods.

In a more recent sales tax figure, March 2019 sales tax distributions in Wyandotte County were 14.4 percent less than March 2018 figures, according to a Kansas Department of Revenue sales tax distribution report. According to that report, $1.968 million was collected in March 2018 in Wyandotte County as compared to $1.685 million in March 2019.

Nearby Johnson County experienced an 8.5 percent drop in its sales tax during the month of March 2019, Shawnee County was down 6.8 percent, Douglas County was down 7.7 percent, Sedgwick County was down 4.6 percent, and Leavenworth County was down 6.7 percent.

March was characterized by some extreme weather in snow and rain, with some school closing days during the month.

Possibly affecting retail totals in areas other than The Legends, a Kmart store at 78th and State Avenue closed in late January 2019.

The three-month period of January through March saw only a .4 percent drop in Wyandotte County sales tax distributions from 2019 to 2018, according to figures on the KDOR website.

Speaker urges cooperative approach to urban challenges

by Murrel Bland

When everyone realizes his and her economic potential, a city truly progresses.

That was the message that Janis Bowdler brought to more than 800 persons who attended the annual meeting of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday, April 4, at the Reardon Convention Center.

Bowdler is president of J.P. Morgan Chase and Company Foundation. She lives in Washington, D.C. Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor David Alvey discussed community development and other matters with Bowdler and Gov. Laura Kelly.

The J.P. Morgan and Chase Foundation has made a commitment to invest $1.75 billion during the next five years to strengthen the workforce, revitalize neighborhoods, grow small businesses and improve the financial health of individuals.

Gov. Kelly used the opportunity to promote her legislative agenda. She favors expanded early childhood education, expanded Medicaid, improved infrastructure, a solution to the public school court case and reform of the prison system and the Department of Children and Families.

Bowdler is the co-author of the book “Building Equitable Cities,” published by the Urban Land Institute. The book argues that cities should combine nonprofit organizations, government entities and the private sector to create an environment in which all people have meaningful opportunities to move up the economic ladder. That will cause cities to expand their economies.

Bowdler said she realizes that such an approach may not be easy because of past bad experiences in neighborhoods. But it is still necessary, she said.

Gov. Kelly introduced her Secretary of Commerce, David Toland, who will be a key person in economic development in rural Kansas cities and counties. Toland, who is from Iola, Kansas, where he headed an economic development effort, was the target of conservative members of the Kansas Senate during his confirmation hearing. Nonetheless, last week he received a majority of votes needed for approval.

Mayor Alvey said that an improved tax base is needed to provide the services that residents deserve. He compared what one mill would raise in the Turner School District (about $160,000) with what one mill would raise in the Blue Valley District in Johnson County, about $2.4 million.

Mayor Alvey, Gov. Kelly and Bowdler all agreed that communities must invest in education to assure that there will be an adequate, well-trained workforce for the 21st century.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press.

KCK Chamber to hold fireside chat Thursday with Gov. Kelly and JPMorgan Chase Foundation president

The Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce will feature a fireside chat with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Janis Bowdler, president of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation on Thursday.

Part of the chamber’s annual meeting, the fireside chat will take place at a luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at the Reardon Convention Center, 5th and Minnesota, Kansas City, Kansas. Mayor David Alvey will moderate the discussion.

The event’s theme is “Building Equitable Cities.”

“We are excited at the opportunity to hear Ms. Bowdler’s global, corporate perspective as it relates to our emerging region,” said Daniel Silva, president and CEO of the KCK Chamber, in a news release. “Part of our mission at the Chamber is to propel economic growth and sustainability through strengthening our workforce, empowering small businesses and improving the lives of individuals throughout our region. We are also thrilled to hear Gov. Kelly’s state perspective as the highest ranking elected official in Kansas.”

It will be the first time Gov. Kelly has given a speech to the KCK Chamber.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently announced it would expand their branches into nine top U.S. markets, including the Kansas City region. While the firm has had commercial banking clients in the region for decades, as well as more than 454,000 consumer customers and 15,000 business banking customers, their branch presence will be new.

The KCK Chamber event has sold out, with more than 820 guests expected to attend.

Bowdler is the co-author of “Building Equitable Cities: How to Drive Economic Mobility and Regional Growth.” The book offers practical ideas on growing the local economy and increasing opportunity.

The idea of the “equitable city,” where urban areas empower the people to build up their cities, fits in well with what the KCK Chamber and local government are trying to do here, said Katelyn McInerney, the KCK Chamber’s director of marketing and events.