By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Given a Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) of 9.25 mills to collect the same amount of tax dollars as the year before, the Great Bend Recreation Commission Board voted 3-0 Tuesday to exceed the RNR and set their mill levy at 9.75 for the 2024-2025 budget. The budget will collect approximately $2 million in property taxes.
With the Rec’s mill levy divided into two funds, the general fund and employee benefit fund, Executive Director Chris Umphres said there is a change to this year’s distribution.
"We're dropping the general fund from 8 mills to 7.75," said Umphres. "We're moving that .25 down to the employee benefit fund to round that up to 2 mills. We talked to the auditors and they thought that was the best way of doing that instead of putting a line item in the general fund."
In July, Umphres noted the extra employee benefit revenue would be used to cover the Rec's additional staff member.
This year, the Great Bend Rec had just under 74,000 participants in their activities and classes, including 321 participants in swimming lessons this summer.
The Rec has a cash carryover of $1.9 million going into their general fund in the 2024-2025 budget and is expecting a total revenue of $4.45 million with income also coming from taxes, fees, charges and interest on idle funds.
The top expense for the upcoming budget is personnel, with just over $1 million budgeted in salaries, not including employee benefits and insurance.
"Expenditures with personnel makes up 43% of the budget," said Umphres. "Contractual services is 16%. Commodities are at 11%. Contingency at 4% and capital outlay at 26%. That's our breakdown."
Great Bend Rec’s total 2024-2025 budget plans for nearly $5.28 million.
Listen below to the Great Bend Recreation Commission RNR and budget hearings from Aug. 20, 2024.