By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Ellis County commissioners agreed at their meeting Monday night they are interested in pursuing a countywide sales tax to help make up shortfalls in the county’s budget.
However, the commissioners disagreed about what form that tax should take.
The county is facing a budget gap of about $467,000 for 2020 with escalating deficits during the next four years. County Administration Phillip Smith-Hanes said several variables still need to be calculated into the budget, including potential increases in health care expenses, changes in the assessed valuation, and the final allocations to outside agencies.
The county has already discussed decreasing the percentage it pays for employee health insurance and funding for outside agencies.
Commissioner Dustin Roths said he favored a quarter-cent sales tax that would be dedicated to EMS. The tax is estimated to generate about $1.6 million in revenue.
The EMS budget is about $3 million, and it brings in about $ 1 million in revenue annually.
Commissioner Butch Schlyer said he preferred a half-cent sales that would be divided between the county and its cities. This would bring in an estimated $1.4 million to the county, but a large share of the money would go to the City of Hays per state statute.
The county sent letters to the four cities to determine if they would support a half-cent countywide sales tax. Ellis, Victoria and Schoenchen said they would be in favor of the tax, but wanted their share of the tax. The City of Hays did not respond.
“It is my contention that we are going to struggle to pass a sales tax in the county for roads without having the City of Hays on board with it,” Roths said. “I think for good reason we haven’t gotten a letter from the City of Hays. It is because they don’t need the money, and it’s not something they want to go out and sell to try to save us.”
Roths said the high-level paramedic EMS service is something that is not provided anywhere in northwest Kansas. He said it makes Ellis County attractive to retirees and is an economic driver.
“While I would love to help out the City of Ellis, the City of Schoenchen, the City of Victoria and I think because we already do help them as county with some of the throughways and their roads, I think the best course for us would be a quarter-cent sales tax dedicated to our high-level EMS service,” he said.
Schlyer said he favors the half-cent tax that would go into the general fund.
“I feel like if we hamstring ourselves by getting a dedicated sales tax just to EMS that is exactly what we are doing. It is dedicated to EMS,” he said. “If we have the half-cent sales tax, it will be better received by the cities in Ellis County and any money they generate — that is money they don’t have to levy against their property owners for projects they need to do too.”
Commission Chairman Dean Haselhorst said he thought both EMS and the Road and Bridge departments need funding.
“I don’t know how many roads we have in disarray in the county right now, but there is a bunch,” he said.
He also said he did not support cutting EMS service.
Roths said, “I do want it to be something that people will pass. Otherwise we do have to lower our standards at EMS. We do have to lower our standards at the sheriff’s office or we have to raise property taxes. We definitely can’t give raises at that point. We can’t do a lot of things that are in mind.”
Roths said he would allow a half-cent sales tax to go on the ballot, but he would not sell it.
“I would not be one who thinks a half cent is necessary, and that is because of the City of Hays,” he said. “They are doing fine financially, and they are the largest shareholder in a half-cent sales tax. They get over half of the money. …
“As a conservative politician who is not here to try to raise taxes, what is the minimum that we can raise them to cover our stuff and not lower our standards and who actually needs money in Ellis County to continue running a good, successful government entity? Who needs it to govern properly?”
The commissioners have not discussed whether or when the tax might sunset.
All three commissioners said they hoped to bring a sales tax issue to voters before the end of the year.
“My thought process is that we get that on the ballot in 2019,” Roths said. “My biggest fear of not having it on the ballot this year is that we go scorched earth on a couple of our departments. We lose some of our great employees, and we do it not knowing if a sales tax will pass in 2020. Then we struggle to rehire.”
Haselhorst, however, had some reservations about the timeline, saying he was unsure if there would be enough time to educate the public on a sales tax issue by the November election. He said the commission needs to vote on the sales tax at its next meeting in order to allow the maximum amount of time to promote the sales tax to voters.
Haselhorst said although the commissioners had three different positions as of Monday, they need to unify to move forward with a public vote.
“We are going to have to come together as one,” he said, “If we are going to go out and tell the public how we feel, we can’t have three different opinions. You have to be unified or don’t do it at all.”
In other business
The county has some excess funds from the last countywide sales tax, which were designated for county building projects. The commission is still working on an elevator project in the courthouse, a gym for the public safety staff and hopes to make some roof repairs with those remaining funds.
The City of Hays is due some of the remaining funds under state statute. The commissioners directed the staff to send a check to the city for half of what it is due until the remaining building projects can be completed.
Smith-Hanes also told the commission it plans to apply for a federal BUILD Grant to help fund improvements on the Northwest Corridor.