No city commission meeting tonight; 2018 budget public hearing next week

City commissioners review changes in the 2018 draft budget July 27 with Asst. City Manager Jacob Wood (at left).

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Hays city commissioners were able to come to a consensus last week regarding the city’s 2018 budget and don’t need to meet tonight for what would have been a final opportunity to tweak the draft version.

There was continued discussion July 27 about city funding to outside agencies, specifically to the Fort Hays State University scholarship fund and the Downtown Hays Development Corporation.

Citing concerns with accountability, the commission had earlier agreed to a 50 percent cut in allocations to the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development , considerably more than the 10 percent cut recommended in the draft budget by City Manager Toby Dougherty.

Dougherty had also recommended a 10 percent reduction, or $10,000, for FHSU.

The cuts were recommended, in part, to help fund a four percent pay increase for all city employees in 2018. They did not receive a pay hike in 2017. Department heads were also asked to tighten their budgets to help finance the pay increases. Operating expenditures are projected to be $155,000 lower than in 2017, despite budgeting for the raises.

Both Mayor Shaun Musil and Commissioner Sandy Jacobs said cutting dollars for FHSU “sends the wrong message.” Musil also noted recent on-campus freshman enrollment was the largest ever. “We would definitely make that money back (in sales taxes), probably in week one,” he suggested.

Commissioner Lance Jones, who was absent for two prior meetings because of military training, said “what’s in the (draft) budget is perfectly fine with me.”

“I listened to the audio from those meetings and I thought Commissioner (James) Meier made some very good points about our departments and our department heads making the necessary cuts. I think it sends a bad message to our employees and department heads to say you’re doing your part to make cuts, but the outside agencies are not making those cuts.”

Without a consensus and Commissioner Henry Schwaller absent, the 10 percent allocation cut to Fort Hays State University remains in place. The city funding for FHSU in 2018 will be $90,000.

The commission will meet again in regular session Aug. 10 and conduct a public hearing for the 2018 budget.

The mill levy remains at 25.000, as it has for about 12 years, according to Dougherty. Sales tax revenues are projected to remain flat in 2018. Hays is the only city in Kansas to use sales taxes to finance a its General Fund.