Citizens have been challenged to understand what the Lyon County Extension merger and their proposed taxing authority will mean.
We hope this opens a broader discussion about our entire tax situation and more specifically discuss if we have a tax problem. When compared to other counties in Kansas our taxes are high, citizens wages are low and 64 percent of our children are on free and reduced lunches.
Having high taxes and low wages does little to help our citizens prosper and hinders growth because when businesses are choosing a community to locate in they will look for one with better demographics.
Over the years our community has done little to take control of our tax situation in an effort to either lower them or put limits on them.
Holding the line or making changes in our tax situation can be difficult because there are 52 different taxing entities. While many entities that receive tax money work on the premise of lobbying for little increases it is the taxpayer who gets hit with the big increase in the end when all the little increases are added up.
In addition to seeing taxes creep up over the decades we are seeing more activity from agencies that currently receive tax money starting to exercise options to increase their amounts.
These are some of the tax issues we are following right now:
- Newman Regional Health asked for 3.5 mills and received 2 mills from the Lyon County Commission. As a county-owned hospital they have been entitled to tax money but they never had to use it in their 90 years of service, until now.
- In June 2010 the Emporia School Board allowed the Emporia Recreation Center to increase their funding to a maximum of 8 mills of which right now they are using 6.5 mills. The Recreation Commission is talking about a new baseball and softball complex for $6.5 million and if they proceed they will increase their mills by 1.5 so they can afford to do the project.
- USD 253 is applying for the continuation of a 1/2 mill for Adult Basic Education.
- Lyon County Extension is asking for taxing authority which will shift some tax money they already receive from Lyon County Commission and increase taxes by $8,600.
In addition to those items there are some discussions that could possibly add new burdens.
- At the state, there are discussions of lifting the LOB tax cap for education. Right now the tax cap is 30 percent of the general fund and the removal would allow for a community’s school district to make up money that is cut at the state level through local taxes.
- There have been discussions for a starting a sales tax to fund fairgrounds improvements.
- There are discussions whether we should be doing some work to provide tax dollars to ESU to keep them competitive.
At what point does our community ask elected officials to have a vision with regards to our taxes. At what point do we as a community look at our 52 taxing entities and hold a community conversation about in today’s economic climate who should receive money, how much money should an entity receive, and who should not be receiving money anymore.
Our world and community have changed dramatically since Emporia’s boom years. In the internet age we have lost businesses and population and we need to be careful of how we spend our money.
The way we adapt and evolve with regards to how we use our tax money will depend on how successful our community will be in helping our citizens and community prosper.
As people are encouraged to study the Lyon County Extension merger and the costs of it, we encourage everyone to study other tax increases that may be headed our way.
Take time to study the whole picture.
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Chris
Powerful! Thx.
January 25, 2012 at 4:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Mr. Walker, Sir,
Very well said.
And the " Big Picture " is Taxes and the taxpayer and where the taxpayer money is being spent !
Which is what I have been saying for years.
January 25, 2012 at 4:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
goodoleboy (anonymous) says...
Great article, thank you Chris!
January 25, 2012 at 7:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Yes Chris,
Another good point.
If people sign the extension issue petition it will give us all time to weigh all of our options.
A lot of budget and taxing issues will be discussed before the August vote. We should hear from state, county, city, recreation and school boards early discussions on their upcoming budgets and we all may be affected greatly by what is happening at the state level.
If this site had a thumbs up, you would have received one from me.
January 26, 2012 at 8:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Well done, Chris! This informative article puts the entire issue under a microscope, and I hope all read carefully your words to understand that taxation is our number one concern. We want to understand the big picture. Thanks so much for this article.
January 26, 2012 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bloomsbury (SC DIXON) says...
This is a great article...you have done the community a service. Thanks.
January 26, 2012 at 12:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Something to consider:
Property Tax Summary for Year:
2010
County:
Lyon
Total Property Tax:
$33,846,340.40
% Change since 1997:
90.7 %
July 1 Population:
33,690
% Change since 1997:
-1.2 %
Average Mill Rate:
143.73
% Change since 1997:
29.2 %
Residential Assessed Value:
$115,366,772.00
% Change since 1997:
73.3 %
And next year is going higher.
January 27, 2012 at 4:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Please note that the mill for Emporia is higher than the county average @161.???
January 27, 2012 at 4:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )