By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The 2020 budget for the city of Hays includes a projected increase in sales tax revenues, the primary source of funding for the city’s general fund.
Following Thursday night’s public hearing for the budget, City Manager Toby Dougherty reviewed some of the highlights with city commissioners.
“The most notable item in the General Fund is that we are budgeting a sales tax (revenue) increase over the 2019 budget of 2.9%. Been a lot of flat years in sales tax (revenue) and we’ve seen a positive trend as of late, so this is a little bit helpful for us,” Dougherty said.
Within Levy Funds, Dougherty pointed out a reallocation of 0.5 mills to the Hays Regional Airport.
“The airport has subsisted on a 1 mill levy for a lot of years and we are outgrowing that 1 mill with the capital and operational requirements we have.”
The total mill levy for Hays in 2020 is 25.000, the same as it’s been the past 13 of 14 years.
Commissioner Ron Mellick pointed out the mill levy is “actually 18 for the city and 7 pass-through for the library.
“Once again, city staff as well as department heads and all of our workers, it takes all of us pulling together in order for us to be able to to that for 13 of the last 14 years,” Mellick said.
The Hays mill levy is the seventh lowest in Kansas and the lowest levy outside of Johnson County.
Street maintenance projects have a budget of $1.3 million next year.
“I think extending the life of our streets and keeping up on that infrastructure, like with our sewer cleaning, that’s got to be saving us money in the long run,” said Eber Phelps, commissioner.
In 2004 when the city sales tax was voted in, one of the promises was that more money would be spent on street maintenance, recalled Dougherty.
“Beginning in 2006 we went from having very little money – maybe $100,00 a year – to having over a million dollars a year to spend on street maintenance. …Our problem was where do we start because every street needed help. Now as you drive around, our streets are in pretty good condition. There’s always maintenance that needs to be done but it’s not overwhelming. We’re ahead of the curve right now.”
Next year’s budget includes $100,00 for creation of a new stormwater master plan. “The last master plan was completed in the ’90s and we have fulfilled the master plan. We’ve done all the notable things that we were going to do. It’s time to put a new master plan in place, one that marries up dollars with risk.”
A new multi-use path on the east side of Hays will be funded in Special Parks. Phase one will be a 1.25 mile path between the Hays Recreation Commission and the 22nd Street access to the HaysMed walking trail.
Projects in the 2020 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) include the first year of the North Vine Street Corridor Improvements and a second, redundant waterline crossing under Interstate 70 to the north side of Hays.
Four million dollars is designated in the CIP for design engineering of the R-9 Ranch long-term water supply project “assuming we start moving through the (state) water transfer process in 2021,” Dougherty said.
Lighting will be upgraded for runway 4-22 at the airport and runway 16-34 will be repainted.
The Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) budget will reflect a shift from print/billboard to electronic/social media marketing. CVB will also hire an analytics consultant to help quantify the return on investment for various types of travelers and visitors.
In the fleet replacement schedule for several vehicles and pieces of large equipment, two police vehicles will be purchased and the fire department will replace its 1998 rescue pumper.
The city’s approved 2020 budget must be submitted by the director of finance to the Ellis County Clerk by Aug. 23.