Overland Park City Council hikes property taxes 4.1 mills

OVERLAND PARK — The city council voted unanimously Monday evening to raise property taxes by 4.1 mills to fund the 2012 city budget.

This vote followed a public hearing on Aug. 1 when over 20 citizens addressed the council with their concerns about the tax increase needed for the 2012 City of Overland Park budget.

At the hearing roughly half spoke in favor of the tax increase and half spoke against.

Owners of a $250,000 house in Overland Park will see an increase of about $118 in their tax bills later this year.

All 12 member of the city council gave their views as to why the tax increase was necessary.  See video below.

Selected comments from members of the council:

• Terry Goodman:  “We’re not talking about funding ridiculous projects often times associated with federal and state spending.  Rather, we’re talking about adequate funding for police, fire, street construction and maintenance, snow removal, etc.  All of which are services integral to maintaining property values  and the quality of life we’ve come to expect in Overland Park.”
• Paul Lyons:  “What I heard more than anything else from people when I knocked on those doors was that they were worried about the quality of life in Overland Park and that they lived in Overland Park because of the quality of life.”

Additional transcriptions from video will be added as soon as possible

All 12 members of Overland Park City Council speak in favor of property tax increase

Approximate time locations (minutes:seconds) in video of speeches by various council members:

0:00 Terry Goodman

2:34 Paul Lyons

4:28 Donna Owens

6:52 David White

10:04 Dave Janson

10:51 Terry Happer Scheier

11:33 Fred Spears

13:34 Curt Skoog

13:55 JIm Hix

15:51 Richard Collins

17:03 John Skubal

17:34 Dan Stock

Mayor Carl Gerlach gives his comments about tax increase and holds council vote
Selected comments from Mayor Gerlach:

• “This is my 16th time and 13 times I’ve voted to lower the mill levy.”
• “I had two major concerns going into this budget:  one was deferred maintenance …  the other issue that really concerned me …  investment now or it’s a huge investment in the future …”

This story will be updated as soon as possible with an additional video of several attending the council meeting who opposed the tax increase.

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Related

• Overland Park 2012 Budget Public Hearing, Kansas Watchdog, Aug. 2, 2011.
• $472,000 in Bonuses in 2009 for City Workers in Overland Park, Kansas Watchdog, March 19, 2010.

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Contact: Earl F Glynn, earl@kansaswatchdog.org, KansasWatchdog.org

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