By Kelsie Jennings
KU Statehouse Wire Service
TOPEKA — The city of Wichita has proposed a bill that would help Kansas cities establish arts and culture districts by giving them a property tax credit for 10 years.
Proponents of the bill said the promotion of arts and culture will have economic benefits and encourage young people to stay in the state.
In House Bill 2368 the amount of the tax credit would be a percentage of the assessed tax value of the property. The maximum percentage would be 80 percent for the first five years, 70 percent for the sixth year, 60 percent for the seventh year and so forth through 10 years. However, percentages would be up to each city to decide.
John D’Angelo, director of the Division of Arts and Cultural Services in Wichita, spoke of the vibrant art district in the city. He said the art districts have drawn in other businesses to those areas because of the locations’ popularity, and artists tend to take their art to affordable areas. He also said the city of Wichita has invested in developments near its art districts, so it would like to protect those investments by protecting the art districts.
“The intent is to give artists tax relief or, in the case of Topeka, to give the property owners some tax relief as a way for them to continue to invest in that development,” D’Angelo said. “What we find is they just reinvest. What they’re going to do is take that money and use it again.”
D’Angelo said Wichita officials do not know exactly how much tax revenue the arts districts generates, but said the non-profit sector employs about 2,000 people.
The bill’s fiscal note says that passage of HB 2368 would potentially result in less tax revenue for the Educational Building Fund and the State Institutions Building Fund. Also, the bill would decrease the amount of property tax revenues school districts receive through the state’s uniform mill levy.
A couple Kansas artists spoke in support of the bill, as well as some members of NOTO Arts District of North Topeka. NOTO has art galleries and studios, tattoo artists, boutiques, as well as restaurants and bars.
Mikki Burcher, a member of NOTO Anonymous, said there aren’t just economic benefits of increasing business revenue but arts districts also play a vital role in keeping young people in Kansas by giving them reasons to stay.
“These cultural centers are the types of things that people my age, the millennials, crave. This is where we want to be. This is where we want to learn,” Burcher said. “These are the areas that we go to have fun, to congregate, to learn, to talk to each other. They’re critical to attracting young professionals to our state.”
Burcher said she doesn’t think legislation like this was really pushed before because these art districts typically grow over time on their own and people are just now realizing how valuable they are to communities. She said even though some of the art districts have been successful, they’re having a hard time growing past the initial success.
“Now that they’re past their infancy and they’ve had some measure of success, they’re struggling with sustainability and that’s why this is important at this point and time,” Burcher said. “We need to make sure that that successful district stays there.”
Rep. Steve Brunk (R-Wichita), chairman of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, said if the bill is passed, each city, along with its county and school district jurisdictions, would have to agree before it could happen in their community.
Brunk said the committee will discuss the bill at a later date, but didn’t have a specific time.
Kelsie Jennings is a University of Kansas senior from Olathe majoring in journalism.