Allen Dinkel, City Manager
In the next few weeks, the topic of the 2025 City budget will begin to hit “Center Stage”. Even though the process is not completed until late August or early September, the process begins now. We all understand that the budget is a very important as it determines a “pathway” of what the City will do over the next year, but also has an effect on all of us in how much we pay in property taxes.
The budget is a balancing act of having enough funds to pay for the “Wants and Needs”, yet at the same time we do have to consider how to “Pay For It”. This could well be the last City budget I will work on. Of the 35 previous budgets I have worked with, one thing has never changed. In whichever community, everyone felt their taxes are too high. Of course, I hear it all the time and I doubt if that will ever change.
If you have property within the City limits of Junction City, you pay property taxes to the City, Geary County, USD #475, and a little to the State of Kansas. For the 2024 budget, which is funded by the 2023 property taxes, about 32.5% of you tax dollar is paid to the City. If you go back 10 or ever 15 years, that percentage has stayed somewhat the same. In fact, for the 2009 budget, the City percentage of your property taxes was about 34.5% and 10 years ago it was about 32%. Yes, the total mill levy you pay now is about 12 mills more than 15 years ago, but the City mill levy is really unchanged. That 12 mill increase goes to the other agencies and not the City.
Now yes, the value of the properties has increased over the years with the largest portion of that increase being the last couple of years after staying flat for quite some time. Yes, if the mill levy stays the same and value goes up there are more taxes. Can’t argue that. However, we all do want the value of our homes to increase. When I first came here 9 years ago, some realtors told me our values were to low here as it cost more to build a house than what it was appraised at. That has changed.
The City still spends way to much of your property taxes on General Obligation Debt. This year it is about 18%, but way better than in 2014 when about 61% of the taxes went to debt service. In about 3 years that will drop even more.
Yes in 2010, the residents of Junction City voted for a 1% sales tax for debt service for a 10-year period. In 2019, voters again chose to keep that sales tax which “Sunsets” on December 31, 2020. We don’t know what the next few years hold, but I can see that tax ending sooner. That will be a City Commission decision in a few years. Now yes, when that sales tax goes away it will be gone, however I have no idea if a future Governing Body may choose to ask voters to approve a sales tax for other purposes at that time. No doubt, if this sales tax did not exist, there would be more pressure on property taxes. Also, all local sales taxes are approved by the voters. The Governing Body just puts it on the ballot.
The tough part about this debt is that it was accumulated more than 15 years ago. Those decisions were not made by the present City staff or Governing Body, but still has to be dealt with. Those debt payments don’t pay to repair streets or for any other use. It is just used for that obligation that was created and must be addressed.
Naturally we all want the City to do more but do it for less. Over the past few years, the City has needed to increase salaries to attract and keep employees. That will not change. Luckily, we have been able to stabilize health insurance costs over the past few years and have not had to increase those costs.
Staff is now working on the budget and in June this discussion will move to the Governing Body with the goal of having the budget completed by July 2. It does come down to making choices. That is where there will be some disagreement, as what one person sees as a need, others will see as a waste of funds. The trick is to find that “Balance”.