Discrepancy won't mean higher taxes
By KALEY CONNER
When Ellis County residents receive their tax statements, the mill levy listed for the city of Hays will be higher than the actual amount of money the city will collect.
At the conclusion of the 2010 budget process, the city submitted a mill levy of 24.974 to the county clerk's office, said Kim Rupp, director of finance for the city of Hays. The tax statements will show a levy of 25.048.
The inflated mill levy figure, however, will not mean residents have to pay more taxes, Rupp said.
"The levy's going to look different, but the budget will be the same," he said. "We're not taking any more dollars."
Tax statements are expected to be mailed to residents as early as this weekend, Ellis County Treasurer Mickey Billinger said.
It's typical for the levy figured by the city and county to differ slightly, but it's unusual that the county's figure would be higher than the mill levy submitted by the city, Rupp said.
The discrepancy is due to the valuation of a Neighborhood Revitalization District being removed from the city's assessment, which has been the county's practice since the district was established in the 2002 tax year, County Clerk Alberta Klaus said.
That district consists of several businesses and residences in downtown Hays. This budget year marked the highest valuation the district has seen so far, totaling more than $1 million.
Thus, when the valuation was removed for that district -- which enables property owners to receive tax rebates for improving the property -- it increased the city's mill levy.
It remains unclear whether those funds should be removed. Both city and county officials are seeking clarification from the state.
"Those are not spendable tax dollars, because those tax dollars are used to pay back that amount of money," Klaus said. "Whatever we generated from that has to be used to pay back that refund. My thinking was we take it out. Other people think you leave it in."
Rupp expressed concern that those monies should have been left in the city's valuation.
"They should stay in our total valuation, because they are part of the city of Hays," he said.
The city commission then opted to pay off some of the city's bond debt early, which lessened the amount of money levied for bonds and interest payments. This helped bring the mill levy down to slightly less than 25 mills, reducing the originally proposed figure by 0.065 of a mill.
After the budget is published for public hearing, the commission is able to lower expenditures but cannot raise them. Rupp said the updated information was included in the budget city staff submitted to the county for certification.
A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of assessed valuation. The total assessed value for the city of Hays was about $180 million, meaning one mill equals about $180,000.