Howell urges tax‑lid vote, proposes sales‑tax approach to lower property levy and protect culture and rec

Commissioner Jim Howell told residents at a Feb. 1 town hall that Sedgwick County’s fiscal position — including a AAA bond rating and a roughly $550 million budget — creates both opportunity and constraint as commissioners weigh property‑tax changes, new revenue options and discretionary spending.

Howell said the county’s AAA rating has reduced borrowing costs for capital projects and that the county faces an annual budget built largely on property tax and sales tax revenues. He described the county’s $550 million budget and highlighted that public safety is its largest function: he cited public‑safety spending at about $209 million and general government at about $167 million.

Sales tax and property tax interaction: Howell explained that Sedgwick County collects a 1% sales tax that generated roughly $140 million last year; by statutory distribution the county retained about $40 million and shared the remainder with other jurisdictions. He said that retained sales‑tax revenue offsets property taxes — by his estimate about 5.5 mills of property‑tax relief — and that the county must follow statutory distribution formulas.

Protecting culture and recreation while lowering the mill levy: Howell proposed a combined strategy to protect discretionary cultural and recreational institutions (the zoo, Exploration Place, Lake Afton and similar entities) while lowering property taxes. He suggested creating a dedicated sales‑tax increment — an additional eighth of a percent — earmarked solely for culture and recreation. Howell estimated such a tax would raise about $17.5 million annually and could be paired with a property‑tax reduction of similar value, producing net property‑tax relief while maintaining funding for cultural institutions.

"If people want that, they should vote for it," Howell said, arguing the package must be presented to voters as a net property‑tax relief plus protection for culture and rec. He also said he would not advocate for a stand‑alone sales‑tax increase that did not include a corresponding property‑tax reduction because of public resistance to new taxes.

Tax lid and voter control: Howell described a tax‑lid concept that would calculate a reasonable growth cap for local spending and require a public vote to exceed that cap. He said the approach would put growth decisions before voters and that he would favor a tax‑lid without the public‑safety exemption he said had undermined past measures in other jurisdictions.

WSU funding and possible levying changes: Howell told the audience the county currently levies 1.5 mills to support Wichita State University (what the county pays on behalf of Wichita) and cited a fiscal amount near $11.6 million. He said the commission could choose to transfer the obligation back to the City of Wichita, which would reduce county levies but would likely be politically contentious.

Broadcasting and transparency note: Residents asked about public access to commission meetings after the county stopped live broadcasts on PBS Kansas (KPTS). Howell said the contract cost for that broadcast was roughly $80,000–$100,000 a year and that legal negotiations with PBS Kansas over contract language have not been resolved; meetings remain available on YouTube and other streams but he acknowledged viewers who lack internet access are affected.

Ending: Howell asked residents to participate in the budget retreat and upcoming public meetings and said the commission will continue to debate how to balance property‑tax relief, dedicated sales tax proposals and statutory obligations such as the WSU support levy.