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Hearing on Topeka Metro levy fails to advance; transcript records inconsistent vote tally
Summary
The council held a public hearing on whether Topeka Metro Transit Authority should exceed its revenue-neutral rate (3.999 mils) and impose a 4.2-mil rate. A motion to approve the higher TMTA rate failed, but the transcript records an inconsistent tally; staff said exceeding the rate would yield roughly $300,000 for Metro.
The Topeka City Council opened a public hearing Aug. 26 to consider whether the Topeka Metro Transit Authority should be allowed to adopt a property tax rate that exceeds its revenue-neutral rate of 3.999 mils and instead levy 4.20 mils.
Josh MacInarney, the city’s budget and finance division director, briefed the governing body on the levy process and figures, saying the difference between the TMTA’s current 4.20 rate and its revenue-neutral rate of 3.999 amounts to approximately $300,000. He explained the hearing is the first step and that the final mill levy will be set when budgets are adopted in September.
Several members of the public spoke against raising property taxes on behalf of Metro and the city. Earl McIntosh (recorded in the transcript as a speaker opposing increases) said homeowners were “at the end of their rope” and urged a one-year moratorium on tax increases; James King said he could not afford more taxes on a fixed income.
After public comment, a motion to allow TMTA to exceed the revenue-neutral rate was made and taken by voice vote. The meeting transcript states, "The motion failed. We have 5 yes," followed shortly by a line that lists four council members as voting no; the transcript’s recording of individual votes on that voice vote is inconsistent. The council closed the TMTA public hearing without advancing the requested rate.
Why it matters: the incremental mill increase for Metro was put by staff at roughly $300,000. Allowing the authority to keep a higher mill levy would increase property tax bills paid to the Metro authority by property owners in the taxing area; denying it keeps revenue at the revenue-neutral level.
Bob Nugent, general manager of the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority, was present at the meeting to answer questions but did not make a budget presentation during the hearing. Josh MacInarney reiterated the procedural point that the hearing does not adopt the final mill levy for Metro; the final decision on final levies occurs during the city and Metro budget adoption process.
The transcript does not provide a consistent roll-call record for the TMTA motion; the council clerk closed the hearing after the voice vote and recorded that the public hearing was closed.
For further details and the final levy outcomes, council members and residents were directed to the upcoming budget hearings and the formal budget-adoption votes scheduled on the council calendar.
