Category: Opinions

Opinion column: Tax question scheduled to come up at tonight’s UG budget meeting

Window on the West
Opinion column
by Mary Rupert

Should property taxes be reduced or not, and if so, by how much? That’s one of the questions that may come up at tonight’s Unified Government budget meeting, scheduled at 5 p.m. on the fifth floor of City Hall, 701 N.7th St., Kansas City, Kan.

The budget as it was originally announced proposed a slight, 1 mill property tax reduction for 2017, with a 2 mill reduction for 2018. The budget will be adopted at the end of this month.

Commissioner Hal Walker made a good point at the last budget meeting, on July 11 (https://wyandotteonline.com/police-chief-requests-1-million-for-body-cameras-ug-commission-votes-to-set-maximum-mill-levy-at-same-amount-as-previous-year/). He said he believes the present UG Commission’s predecessors made a commitment to the taxpayers that when this money came in from Village West, their payoff was going to be reduced taxes.

Certainly, I think there has been a big expectation from many in the community that their property taxes would be reduced when the sales tax revenue (STAR) bonds are paid off at Village West. Construction started on the Kansas Speedway in 1998, and then development occurred at The Legends Outlets nearby and other Village West locations.

I looked up some past references to property tax expectations, and I found:

• The recent citizen survey taken by the UG regularly lists property tax reduction as one of the residents’ priorities.

• The listening tour of the community’s UG districts also had property tax reduction as the top resident and business priority. Nineteen percent of the residents thought property tax reduction was the top priority, with $2.28 million the amount to be reduced. Twenty-six percent of the businesses wanted property tax relief as the first priority, with $3.17 million the suggested amount. (http://www.wycokck.org/Listen/)

• In 2014, Mayor Mark Holland remarked in the state of the government address that the UG had to lower taxes, and the mill levy was too high. The UG needed to address spending now so that it didn’t spend all the $12 million from the payoff of the STAR bonds in advance.

• In 2013, Mayor Holland reaffirmed a commitment to reducing property taxes and announced a four-step plan in his state of the government address. He discussed shifting the load from property to sales taxes.

• In 2013, when the UG candidates were running for office, many of them, including Walker, Ann Murguia, and Holland, cited lower property taxes as one of their goals. (http://fox4kc.com/2013/02/18/kck-mayoral-candidates-square-off-in-debate/)

• A 2009 progress edition story in the Wyandotte West written by a UG spokesman quoted a Wall Street Journal story as saying that residents are watching tax rates fall.

• In 2006, Mayor Joe Reardon said he would make property tax reduction a priority. (State of the government speech)

• It wasn’t just the Village West development that had residents expecting lower taxes. With the consolidation of the city and county governments, lower taxes were promised. On June 30, 1998, the Kansas City Kansan reported that tax cuts were the goal of consolidation, and the UG Commission’s goal was to lower property taxes by 8 percent, by decreasing taxes 2 percent a year, in the first four years after consolidation.

On the other side of the argument, one could make the case that taxes would have been much higher had not the new development occurred at Village West. Each year the UG budget department reports that property tax rates have fallen over the past 20 years.

Sometimes it is necessary to make changes in one’s goals, depending on the circumstances. Everyone does that frequently. Sometimes there are new expenses that are beyond one’s control. But also, people should not pretend that tax reduction was never a plan or a promise.

Currently there is a feeling that because of the property tax lid imposed by the state, if the community lowers property taxes too much, it won’t be able to meet any future needs, and be unable to raise them later.

I think Commissioner Walker is correct when he says that the community expects a property tax reduction, and the commission would be wise to listen and at least make sure that there is some property tax reduction this year.

To reach Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].

Governor speaks to business leaders

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

Gov. Sam Brownback came to Kansas, City, Kan., Friday, July 15, to speak to members of the Congressional Forum, a committee of the Chamber of Commerce. About 75 persons, mostly community business leaders, attended and heard the state’s chief executive speak on a wide range of subjects.

Gov. Brownback, a conservative Republican, had high praise for the economic development efforts in Wyandotte County, particularly in the western area.

The governor cited the recent ground breaking for the $62 million U.S. Soccer training complex just east of 98th Street and Parallel Parkway and the $310.5 million Amazon distribution center to be built just south of the Turner Diagonal near Riverview Avenue. Both are expected to be completed late next year.

The soccer complex will be a venue for training not only players, but also coaches and referees from all over the world. The governor said it could be the site for training the U.S. men’s team to win its first World Cup. He mentioned that the U.S. Women’s team has won its World Cup three times in 1991, 1999 and 2015; that drew applause from the women in the audience.

The governor praised Community College President Doris Givens for the school’s willingness to establish a warehouse-training program for employees of the Amazon center.

The recent legislative session was a difficult one, the governor said, as state tax revenue continues to fall sort of projections. This has caused deep cuts in various state programs, including those in the areas of higher education and healthcare. The state had to sell $900 million in bonds to break even at the end of the fiscal year June 30. The state’s credit rating has been downgraded.

The governor’s critics, including moderate Republicans and Democrats, have complained that his tax elimination for limited liability corporations (LLCs) has forced the legislature to increase sales tax–one of the highest in the nation. He did say that he would consider legislation that would eliminate the tax on food, particularly for those with limited incomes.

He said tax collections are down because the three major business groups in Kansas—agriculture, aviation and gas and oil—are hurting. He dismissed the suggestion that he might approved legislation to reinstate the income taxes for LLCs. He said that states with no income tax continue to grow.

The governor’s critics have said that states with no income tax have strong tourism trades such as Florida and Wyoming; Kansas does not have mountains and or seashores. Gov. Brownback agreed that more money needs to be spent on Kansas tourism.

The governor praised state legislators in general and the four who attended the forum. Those present included state Representatives Pam Horton Curtis and Tom Burroughs and state Senators David Haley and Steve Fitzgerald. All are Democrats except for Fitzgerald, who is a conservative Republican. The governor said these legislators serve for very little money and are very dedicated.

The governor put in a plug for his plan to bring the American Royal to Wyandotte County. He has proposed to use the sales tax revenue bonds to finance a new location for the Royal. He said the American Royal could also be a center for genetic research on farm animals.

There has been speculation that one location for the American Royal could be Wyandotte County Park, Bonner Springs, across the street from the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive Director of Business West.

Opinion: Nonviolent approach needed toward solving problems

Sometimes we think it goes without saying that we support nonviolence, the police, the community and individual members of the community.

But in these times, we are finding that we need to say it again.

We support people sitting down and talking over their differences; we do not support violence against anyone.

There have been tragedies this summer involving snipers shooting at police in other communities, and of police shooting suspects in other communities. The killings sadden the nation, and are unnecessary.

We don’t see spending more money as necessarily the solution to this situation. Rather, better communication with the community will probably solve problems.

Kansas City, Kan., and Wyandotte County are to be commended for their efforts to have a dialogue with the community last year on important topics involving the police and minority communities here, leading to substantial changes in hiring, promotion and policies.

A sad thing about some of the recent violence in other communities is that some of those communities also had good records when it came to their relationship with minorities, but protesters were angry about events that had happened in other communities.

Local leaders at all levels should emphasize nonviolence and dialogue, and residents need to commit themselves to work to solve problems without violence.