By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
For the second straight year, property valuations have
increased in Barton County. The City of Great Bend collected approximately $9.3
million more in valuations from fiscal year 2022 to 2023. Early figures show
Great Bend to collect an additional $16,167,868 in valuations in the proposed
2024 budget. With increased revenue in property valuations, the Great Bend City
Council was in favor of dropping their mill levy from 51.692 in 2023 to 45.202
in 2024.
The Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) is the tax rate, expressed in mills, needed to collect
the same dollar amount of property tax as the last taxing year using this year’s
assessed valuation. Despite lowering their tax rate, City Clerk Shawna Schafer
said the city plans to hold a public hearing of exceeding the RNR just in case
valuations change once finalized this fall.
"Because if final valuations go down in November, we'll receive less revenue than what's in the budget," said Schafer. "If valuations go down, what we have levied in the budget is what we'll get."
The 2024 estimated valuation will garner $128,753,482 for Great Bend. The city has $112,585,614 calculated for the assessed valuation in 2023. Each mill
is expected to have a value of $128,753 in 2024, meaning Great Bend will
collect more than $5.8 million in ad valorem tax, or property taxes in the proposed
budget.
Councilmember Alan Moeder was in favor of the city looking into raising taxes
in the future to build up reserves with rising operational costs.
"As a business man, I've seen things skyrocket the last four years," said Moeder. "This is my fourth budget session, and we have not raised taxes in those four years. We all know the cost of doing business is skyrocketing. I don't want to raise taxes but I don't want to get the city in a bind down the road if we don't have any money. If we need a little bit more money because things cost more, that's what we need to do."
Great Bend’s 2024 revenue summary estimates a total revenue of $25 million and
expenditures at nearly $32 million. Inflation, wage increases and a 10% health
insurance increase are contributing factors for the rise in expenditures.
Listen below to the entire Great Bend City Council budget session from July 10, 2023.