Hays Post
As state lawmakers prepare to head back to Topeka, there is no doubt the upcoming session is going to be full of difficult issues.
110th District Rep. Ken Rahjes, R-Agra, told the Ellis County Commission Tuesday that this upcoming session, which starts Monday, is not going to be an easy one.
Rahjes said when it comes to fixing the budget shortfall, “everything is on the table,” and that all entities must work together.
On Tuesday, the Kansas Department of Revenue said tax collections in December exceeded previous estimates by about $6 million at nearly $531 million. The new figures have the state’s budget shortfall for the current fiscal year at about $342 million.
“It took us a while to get there. It’s going to take us a while to get back,” Rahjes said. “As long as we all work together from a state, county, municipality partnership, we’ll get through this.”
But he also warned that, with the election of a new governor just two years away, politics might play a role.
“I hope we don’t get so mired in politics that we do nothing for two years because, honestly, you and I both know we can’t do nothing,” he said.
Rahjes, who is a member of the House Taxation Committee, said he expects to see a change in the structure of income taxes.
“I don’t like the word ‘repeal,’ ” Rahjes said. “I think what you’ll see is some sort of revision of the state tax plan.”
Rahjes said he considers himself “a conservative” but “one that wants to conserve the assets that we’re give and the resources that we’re given and be conservative with them, instead of simply continuing to spend and raise taxes and spend.”
One of the priorities of the upcoming session for Rahjes will be to maintain or decrease counties’ reliance on property taxes. He said it is important that they do not make changes in Topeka that have a negative effect on county budgets.
Among the changes is a tax lid on city and county governments signed into law in 2016. The law says local governments, starting with their 2017 budgets, must limit their spending increases to a modified consumer price index calculated by the state.
Rahjes said he is unsure if there will be a change to the tax cap, but said it has been discussed.
Ellis County Commissioner Barb Wasinger said she is concerned about the continued tax cuts at the state level that come “on the back of counties.”
“We had a lot of money taken out of our tax because the state eliminated taxes that they weren’t getting that we were,” Wasinger said. “But it was a feel-good for everyone else.”
Rahjes said he has already been in contact with 109th District Rep. and Appropriation Committee Chairman Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, and 108th Rep. Steven Johnson, R-Assaria, who was selected chairman of the Taxation Committee. He said they are working toward future fixes.
“Governing by crisis is not fun, and it’s not really the Kansas way,” Rahjes said.
The Kansas Supreme Court is also expected to rule on school funding in the coming months, and the decision could force lawmakers to come up with close to $800 million.
Rahjes said a number of the incoming representatives ran on “fully funding education,” and he said he believes their goal is to replace any cut to education funding that has occurred over the last few years.
“I’m all for education, but we need to take a realistic look at where we move forward,” he said.
A recent idea brought by a group of Kansas citizens proposed raising the gas tax to 11 cents a gallon and reducing the sales tax on food.
Rahjes said he would be in favor of lowering the sales tax on food and called it a “great idea” but said “probably not now.”
He also questioned how the two moves – raising the gas tax and lowering sales tax on food – would boost the economy.
Wasinger also said she hopes lawmakers can look at the Kansas Department of Corrections.
“What I see is they’re fixing short-term budget problems and not thinking long-term,” Wasinger said “We’re putting juveniles in jail instead of dealing with them.”
Commissioners Dean Haselhorst and Marcy McClelland both urged Rahjes to consider the cuts they have been making for Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas and other mental health programs.
Rahjes is the third state legislator to visit the county commission in recent weeks leading up to the annual session.
In other business, the commission appointed Janet Schmidt the Trustee of the Catharine Township. Schimdt is the third person appointed by the commission. The commission had a discussion on the problem of getting people to serve in township positions.
The commission also approved a grant application for Health Services Director Kerry McCue. McCue is applying for a grant to purchase new cardiac monitors.
The commission also met in two separate executive sessions. The first was for preliminary discussion for the purchase of real property. The second was for attorney-client privilege. No action was taken after either session.