Lobbyists from cities and counties are flooding the state Capitol, putting pressure on legislators not to grant Kansans property tax relief.
They tell legislators that limits on valuations or tax increases will result in service cuts, as if every penny spent is necessary. However, Kansas Policy Institute research shows that the state’s 35 largest counties and 25 largest cities had more than $5 billion in cash reserves at the end of 2022.
So, while some city councils and county commissioners are literally taxing people out of their homes, they are also increasing their bank balances.
Johnson and Sedgwick counties are hoarding nearly $3 billion in cash, while many others have significant reserves. Douglas County has $386 million, Saline County has $214 million, and Finney, Reno, Riley, and Wyandotte counties each have more than $100 million, just between the county government and some cities.
KPI researchers had to sift through thousands of pages of budget documents to find the information because the state does not compile totals for all budgets collected. The Kansas Department of Education handles this for school districts, so we know they have nearly $3 billion in cash reserves.
The total for the nearly 4,000 local taxing authorities could easily exceed $10 billion.
Every entity requires some level of cash reserves, with some of the funds legally obligated to pay off debt.
Nonetheless, a mountain of data shows that most cities, counties, school districts, and other taxing authorities could reduce tax burdens by depleting reserves and making better use of Kansans’ tax dollars.
For example, dozens of school districts routinely have less than 12% of the upcoming year’s operating costs in reserve, while others have more than 25%. More than $500 million would be available if each district maintained a 12% operating reserve.
A KPI study of 2022 county spending discovered that some counties spend two to three times more per capita than others with similar populations. Kansas is also significantly over-governed. Only North Dakota and South Dakota have fewer residents per general-purpose government (city, county, and township), while Wyoming has the most local government employees per capita.
There is no excuse for property taxes to have increased 2.4 times the combined rate of inflation and population since 1997, and the situation will only worsen unless legislators cap valuation increases and limit overall tax increases without voter approval.
Dave Trabert is the CEO of the Kansas Policy Institute, a non-profit research and education organization dedicated to promoting economic and educational freedom while also protecting constitutional rights.
