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Commission reviews Lincoln School RHID as staff outline county RHID growth and long‑term tax effects
Summary
Commissioners discussed a proposed RHID for the Lincoln School and broader county RHID activity; staff reported tracked assessed valuation subject to RHID rebates rose from about $1.2M in 2022 to $3.5M for tax year 2026 and said systems to project when abatements end are being developed.
Commissioner Nathan Leiker asked the commission to review an RHID (Rural Housing Incentive District) for the Lincoln School site, noting the location is in an established area and may not require large road or utility upgrades. Leiker said the RHID may accelerate private investment in building and renovating structures and asked whether the county should be willing to use vertical‑infrastructure RHID options.
Other commissioners and staff discussed the program’s history and fiscal tradeoffs. One commissioner recounted that RHIDs existed in Kansas since 1998 and became more active locally after restrictions were loosened around 2020. The Ellis County appraiser said staff is updating software to better track RHIDs, TIFs, and exemptions and expects within 12 months to project when abatements will end for budgeting purposes.
Staff provided historical assessed‑valuation figures subject to RHID rebates: roughly $1.2 million (2022), $1.6 million (2023), $1.85 million (2024), $1.9 million (2025), and about $3.5 million used for tax year 2026 projections. Staff cautioned that those numbers represent assessed valuation subject to rebate calculations, not direct tax dollars lost; last year countywide RHID rebates redistributed about $70,000. Commissioners weighed the tradeoff between short‑term revenue abatements and long‑term development and asked staff to present tracking data in the future.
