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Quarter-cent sales tax starts today
Published 10/1/2009 in Local News
By STEPHANIE FARLEY
Garden City and Finney County residents started seeing a higher sales tax rate today as retailers and the state began collecting the quarter-cent sales tax approved by voters in April to help the county with maintenance of existing buildings, roads and other infrastructure.
According to Melinda Hitz, finance director for the city of Garden City, the new tax rate within city limits for Garden City will be 7.45 percent — 5.3 percent for the state, 1 percent each for the city and county and .15 percent for HorseThief Reservoir. The county's new tax rate is 6.45 percent and includes the 5.3 percent for the state, 1 percent for the county and .15 for HorseThief Reservoir, but not the city's 1-percent sales tax.
Holcomb residents' sales tax is 6.95 percent — .5 percent for the city of Holcomb, 5.3 percent for the state, 1 percent for the county and .15 for HorseThief Reservoir.
Voters approved in April allowing the county to increase its sales tax by a quarter-cent to help fund maintenance of existing county buildings, roads and other infrastructure, specifically those listed in the County Existing Building and Road Maintenance Program.
The quarter-cent had been planned to take effect July 1. However, the sales tax now is coming on three months later after the county was notified by the Kansas Department of Revenue that because of state statute, the sales tax couldn't take effect July 1 because of timing requirements the state operates under.
While collection is starting later than expected, County Administrator Pete Olson doesn't anticipate the county will be affected by the delay in sales tax revenue.
The quarter-cent sales tax revenue will be available in 2010 and is budgeted for use in the county's 2010 budget.
The additional sales tax is scheduled to sunset in 2015.
The cities of Garden City and Holcomb also are collecting revenue from the new quarter-cent sales tax.
Hitz estimates the city of Garden City will receive $700,000 to $800,000 in revenue from the additional quarter-cent. The county has budgeted for about $800,000 in revenue from the additional sales tax.
Garden City Commissioners held the city's 2010 mill levy even with 2009's levy of 37.977 mills. Hitz said the anticipated additional sales tax revenue played a part in the city maintaining the mill levy for 2010. The city also was able to restore some of the money set aside for street maintenance in the 2010 budget with help from the additional quarter-cent.
The city will start collecting revenue from the quarter-cent sales tax in December — there's a two-month lag between when the sales tax is collected and revenue is reported to the city.
Hitz also said the sales tax revenue is providing the city with revenue for future projects that would either be all city funded and/or grant matches.
County commissioners adopted the Existing Building and Road Maintenance Program to prioritize building and road maintenance and repair projects needed to be completed in the next six or so years.
Annual cost of the program is about $2.2 million, with the county currently budgeting between $1.4 million and $1.5 million. The estimated $800,000 in revenue the county could receive annually from the sales tax will provide the additional funding needed to fill the funding gap in the plan.
Olson said voters approving the additional sales tax enables the county to do some of the needed maintenance and repairs. He also said that in presenting the sales tax question in April to voters, county commissioners recognized the need not to continue deferring county maintenance.
On the Web:
Finney County: www.finneycounty.org
City of Garden City: www.garden-city.org
Did you favor the sales tax? How do you think it will affect you? Talk about it at SWKTalk.com.
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