Would you pay more sales tax to lower Sedgwick County property taxes?

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Some Sedgwick County commissioners think a sales tax hike could be one way to offset rising property taxes.

The discussion came up during the Wednesday morning Board of County Commissioners meeting after the county appraiser cleared up some confusion about a graphic he showed the commissioners two weeks ago.

Mistake on 2024 property valuation summary

At the meeting two weeks ago, Appraiser Mark Clark told commissioners that 60% of residential parcels in Sedgwick County increased in value, and the typical change in value was 8%.

On Wednesday, he said the correct “typical change” was 10%.

“We just wanted you to know that that was an honest human mistake and that it was not intentional in any way to mislead,” Clark said.

Correct 2024 Valuation Summary

StatusTypical changeResidential Parcels39% – No change in value*60% – Increase in valueUp 10%1% – Decrease in valueDown 4%Commercial Parcels26% – No change in value*67% – Increase in valueUp 10%7% – Decrease in valueDown 13%Agricultural Parcels20% – No change in value*16% – Increase in valueUp 4%64% – Decrease in valueDown 18%Source: Sedgwick County Appraiser

Getting your valuation

Property owners are finding out this week if their valuation went up. The appraiser’s office mailed notices on Friday to any property owner who saw a change in value or classification.

The annual appraisals help determine how much property owners will pay in property taxes. Higher valuations typically lead to higher taxes.

“If anyone believes that their value on their value notice does not reflect fair market value or they just want to understand how their value was determined, the only thing they have to do is turn that value notice over and fill it out,” Clark said. “Get it back into our office 30 days from the date that’s on the front of that valuation notice.”

There will be an informal meeting over the phone for the property owner to say why the valuation should be different. The appraiser will mail a decision on the appeal by May 20.

“A property valuation can only be appealed once per year,” said Clark. “If the owner does not agree with the decision from the informal meeting, the case can be taken even further. We want you to be satisfied.”

Complaints about higher valuations

When people do not get the answer they want, they often call Sedgwick County commissioners to complain.

“When these notices come out, we get, I’ll just say, the commissioners get hammered pretty well, and that’s OK,” Commissioner Jim Howell said. “I can handle that, no problem. I like to answer questions and explain things.”

He said the county appraiser essentially works for the Kansas Department of Revenue under the Property Valuation Division and follows state regulations.

Commissioner David Dennis said he took a call from a 79-year-old Sedgwick County resident on Tuesday.

“He has a son that needs a heart transplant. He is doing everything he can do to stay in his home, but he doesn’t believe he’s going to be able to stay in his home because he got his property tax valuation. And with his reevaluation, it went up a lot.”

Dennis said his own property valuation has gone up 43.7% in just four years.

Increase sales tax to reduce property taxes?

Howell and Dennis said the commission was able to reduce property taxes last year by slightly reducing the mill levy. But they said any more cuts could hurt essential county services, like EMS, 911, the fire department, and the sheriff’s office. They are looking for other ways to get homeowners some property tax relief.

“I’m not the only one facing a 43.7% increase on the property values,” Dennis said. “What’s the solution? Well, we’ve already seen what a small sales tax can do to reduce the mill levy across the board.”

He said some people will think adding a sales tax is regressive.

“I’ll guarantee that people that can’t afford to pay the property tax will say that that’s more dangerous to them than a regressive sales tax,” Dennis said.

He thinks a one-cent sales tax hike would raise about $140 million.

“If we took it and ask the public, ‘Would you support a one-cent sales tax if 100% of that went to reducing your property tax across the board?’ I think it would pass,” he said.

“I want to say, ‘Amen!’ to Commissioner Dennis. He’s spot on,” Howell said. “When I ask people, ‘How much money did you spend on sales tax last year?’ – Honestly, nobody knows. But I guarantee everybody knows what they’re paying on property taxes because when you write that check, you grit your teeth, and you’re a bit angry when you do that, so you know what government costs.”

Not this year

But Howell says the county has reached its sales tax cap, with a permanent one-cent sales tax adopted in 1985. He says it saves residents six mills on their property taxes.

“We would have to go to the Legislature and ask for permission to put this question on the ballot,” Howell said. “Of course, it’s late in the session. So I don’t know if we’re going to get there this year.”

He said he has several other ideas for lowering property taxes but likes the sales tax idea.

“I support the will of the people,” Howell said. “If you believe this is a way to get our property taxes down, then we need to have that conversation and get this in front of the people. At the end of the day, we are a community that is struggling so hard.”

Commissioner Sarrah Lopez said the Kansas Legislature is partly to blame for how tight the county budget is.

“A lot of that has to do with the state no longer funding mandated things that they were funding before, at least not to the extent that they were or need to be,” she said.

Lopez said she is open to conversations about a sales tax to shift the burden from property taxes.

“But I just want to make sure that as we’re having those discussions, we’re also looking at what we need to do to bring the state along because we really are in the position we are because of what’s happening in Topeka,” she said.

The county commission did not take action on the issue at Wednesday’s meeting.