Kansas Counties are finding that the Brownback economy isn't working out for them nearly as well as they had hoped. Today in the statehouse, Kansas Lobbyists are arguing against rolling back tax give aways and promoting more spending cuts.
In Ellis County, Kansas those give aways and the lack of new revenue generated has helped lead to a county struggling to take care of common services - like mowing their surrounding roads.
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On what promises to be a difficult meeting, the Ellis County Commission and county department heads will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Administrative Center to discuss cutting $1 million to $2 million from the budget for 2016 due to the drop in oil and gas tax revenue.
Several solutions to cut that much money will be presented, including an increase in sales tax, use of reserves, closing the Victoria and/or Ellis EMS operations, cutting subsidies to outside organizations and reduced ditch mowing.
Each tractor used costs more than $100,000 to mow the ditches. Not mowing will reduce the need for employees, and the mowers could be sold.
Also up for discussion would be to close the Victoria and Ellis EMS operations. Normally, they are staffed 24/7 with one ambulance each in Ellis and Victoria and two in Hays.
The Ellis and Victoria operations combined cost half of the operating budget.
The county will meet today to discuss terminating basic services or severely reducing them.
The county, which has been hit with a significant loss of revenue from Oil & Gas tax has also found themselves battling more roadwork and growing needs with less help from the state which doesn't have the money to give.
Counties like Hays are also facing additional projected shortfall thanks to changes within the Kansas taxes and fees due to counties.
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A bill that will gradually repeal mortgage registration fees, saving homebuyers money but costing Sedgwick County millions in revenue, has been signed by the governor.
HB 2643, passed in the final hours of the legislative session, bundled several tax policies, including a gradual phase-out of the fees paid to register a mortgage with a county.
“I think on the whole it puts us in a better position to grow as a state. Overall, it’s a good bill,” said Gov. Sam Brownback at a campaign event Thursday. He said he had signed the bill Wednesday.
Now, even before the bulk of this these reductions hit counties, smaller counties are feeling the pinch of a lack of growth combined with the lack of any backstop from the statehouse.
The county will also look at cutting donations to outside services, such as Mental Health services.