Small Town News

County mill increase makes up for years of cutting too close

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Wabaunsee County Commissioners cut several mills out of a proposed budget hike, but still took the mill levy total up approximately 4.9 mills to make up for other years when they held the line too tightly.

The budget cutting session began with a proposed increase of 61.475, up about 9.5 mills from 2010's 52 mills.

In discussion with commissioners last week, Auditor Randy Gassman was asked to add on another one-half mill increase to begin a courthouse maintenance fund.

Gassman also noted at that time that Road and Bridge is the largest county budget and the largest source of increase this year.

He and commissioners then spent the meeting this Monday morning systematically going through the budget and discussing possibilities for decreases.

Gassman said the county may have unexpected relief in employee benefits due to a lack of increase at the rate projected for the last couple of budget years. As he ran numbers, he said it appeared about two mills could be shaved from the employee benefits category.

He also cited other areas that seemed to be over-budgeted, and he suggested those could add up to about half a mill.

Commission Chairman Ervan Stuewe indicated he would like to see the county be able to get back down to last year's level, but he said it is not a doable hope.

"I think we realistically this year can't hold the line," Stuewe said, adding that the county has cut too close for too many years, and that this may be the year those previous cuts catch up with the budget.

Stuewe said it appeared no county officials had made drastic increases and he asked where the increase was coming from.

"If you go department by department they're pretty close or even lower," Gassman said.

Gassman said the pinch is coming

from the lack of carryover funding, decreases in interest due to lower rates and lower sales tax revenues.

Gassman said in 2008 income from interest totaled $93,000 and in 2008 it was down to $25,000.

"We lost a mill that year alone in interest," Stuewe noted.

Gassman also asked about commissioners' intentions for employee compensation changes.

Stuewe said the commission had decided it wants to do a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase and a 1.5 percent optional merit-based raise.

Gassman then suggested that in the past few years the county has used sales tax money generated by a half-cent sales tax for road and bridge projects and maintenance to keep the department's mill levy increase to a minimum. He suggested this could be done again.

Stuewe said it sounded reasonable to designate the sales tax toward supplementing the budget as long as the funds were used according to the ballot question.

Gassman said in 2009 the tax generated $191,000, and revenues are down in 2010. However, the fund does have a cushion, and commissioners ended up moving $200,000 from it to supplement the road and bridge budget.

"I'm a road and bridge advocate," Commissioner Jim Suber said. "I wish we could do twice as much (in the road and bridge budget)."

He said it was unfortunate that was the area that had to be cut.

Gassman said with the change in the road and bridge budget the number was at 57.25, for a total increase of about 4.9 mills. He said minor adjustments may still be needed, and those would be finalized Monday afternoon.

Commissioners asked him to try to bring in the total under a five-mill increase.

Discussion then moved to the Neighborhood Revitalization Act, which offers a rebate on property taxes for increased valuation on an incrementally decreasing scale over the course of five years.

Commissioner Rodney Allen said he believes the NRA plan needs to be amended to include business construction and rehabilitation of properties, but not new properties.

Stuewe said when commissioners considered amending the policy

previously they were told by the economic development committee there would be better awareness and promotion, but they haven't seen any thus far.

Gassman said the NRA is costing the county about $90,000 a year at this stage.

"I don't think it's beneficial to us in its present state," Allen said. "Except for the business and the rehabilitation."

Commissioners wrapped up the budget discussion with the knowledge this is the only cutting session they will do because the entire process is running behind schedule.

"Basically what you're telling me today is final," Gassman said. "It really is a pretty tight budget."

Allen said commissioners have tried to keep it tight through the past several years, but it just got too tight.

"We tried to do the right thing and then our sales tax went down and our interest went down," Allen said.

Commissioners also heard a report from County Clerk Jennifer Savage on the Flint Hills Regional Transit meeting.

Savage said she would like to see commissioners get involved and attend the meetings. She said she is afraid Wabaunsee County may end up not being represented well as plans begin to form for the region.

She said she feels Wabaunsee County and its transportation goals are not compatible with other, more urban, counties in the region. She said she asked whether the county could pull out of the region and join Lyon County and was told "no" and that the region is set by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Commissioners asked whether they could be their own entity, but indicated funding concerns if the funding were to all be distributed regionally.

"We sure don't need to take on another project and finance it ourselves in light of our budget," Stuewe said.

Savage said Morris County has voiced the same concerns as Wabaunsee County and she suggested it could be beneficial for the two counties to sit down with Lyon County and KDOT to discuss the situation.

She said the current arrangement

has Wabaunsee, Morris, Pottawatomie, Riley, Geary, Dickinson and Clay counties in the same transportation group.

"Morris and Wabaunsee have different needs, I believe, for the service," she said, referring to the differences between the two more rural counties and the other counties clustered around Manhattan.

She elaborated on the different services, and said in Manhattan the concern is getting people to work and around the area, and the system runs based on the schedule. In Wabaunsee County, the concern is getting people to medical and other necessary appointments, and the system runs based on the people.

"We give personal service," Allen said. "They don't."

Commissioners also discussed the meeting of county officials in Northeast Kansas coming up in October. At this point, they plan to solicit a gift basket from each community for grand prizes, talk with Greg Hoots and Marci Penner as potential speakers, ask Puffy's about catering the meal and ask the Lutheran Church about hosting the meal.



Copyright 2010 The Wabaunsee County Signal-Enterprise, Alma, Kansas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 The Wabaunsee County Signal-Enterprise Alma, Kansas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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