Decision Time for Clay County Taxes …

The Clay County Commission meets this afternoon to decide what to do with its property tax rate. One option on the table is to do nothing. The Kansas City Star has the update.

Here’s a quick recap: Several years ago Clay County decided to rely on sales taxes only (very cool); some cities and road districts sued, claiming the county still had to fund certain transportation projects through property taxes; a judge agreed with the road districts and ordered Clay County to fund them (all my writing on this has assumed that the judge made a correct and appropriate decision). Now, the Clay County Commission is trying to decide if it should: a) attempt to continue funding the road and bridge improvements, as ordered, through a higher sales tax to be approved by voters; b) set a property tax low enough to cover only the ordered road funding; or, c) set a higher property tax and end the experiment of relying only on sales taxes. There, I think I summed that up pretty well! From the Star:

"An outside auditor is recommending the county set aside as much as $6.1 million from its 2008 general operating budget to pay money it will owe for road and bridge maintenance, Barton said."

I think that "a" and "b" are both fair and reasonable options. But if the citizens of Clay County wish to continue their sales tax plan, as it appears they do, than "a" is the best option. However, if the commission decides to go with "a," and then the people of Clay County reject a higher sales tax at the balllot to pay for the road and bridge funding, then Clay County could be in serious financial straits.

While I think the voters of Clay County can be trusted to make a financially responsible decision, especially since many people from outside the county would help them fund road improvements via a higher sales tax, the possibility of a rejection and the resulting serious financial situation must be at least considered. It will be very interesting to see what Clay County decides.

As I said before, I think the county commision should be commended for trying very hard to respect the will of the citizens and keep the local tax rates as low as possible, while still meeting all its fiduciary responsibilities. I look forward to its final decision…