RAYOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE
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| BY GREG WALTERS |
Increase Explained . . .
It has
been less than three weeks since the Raytown Board of Aldermen voted to start
the process to bring a property tax increase to the voters next August. In that
short span of time there has been a flood of misinformation about the tax
proposal. This article will explain exactly what you will be voting on and how much
it will cost you if voters approve the increase.
IS
RAYTOWN A LOW TAX CITY?
The
following chart shows the current property tax levy and its impact on taxpayers
in Raytown in comparison to surrounding communities. As the chart clearly
shows, Raytown has the highest over-all property tax of all the city's shown.
 |
| RATES BASED ON A HOME VALUED AT $120,000....DOUBLE CLICK ON CHART ENLARGE |
FIRE DISTRICT + CITY PROPERTY TAX = $332.00
the reasons are many. Raytown does not operate its own Fire Department. Raytown is the only city listed that does not operate its own Fire Department. Combine the two taxes together (City and Fire District) and you find Raytown is third highest, just $1.50 under Lee's Summit for the same home valued at $120,000. Add the Raytown School District Property tax and Raytown is catapulted ahead of ALL in the amount of property tax its citizens pay.
the reasons are many. Raytown does not operate its own Fire Department. Raytown is the only city listed that does not operate its own Fire Department. Combine the two taxes together (City and Fire District) and you find Raytown is third highest, just $1.50 under Lee's Summit for the same home valued at $120,000. Add the Raytown School District Property tax and Raytown is catapulted ahead of ALL in the amount of property tax its citizens pay.
ARE WE VOTING ON PERSONAL OR PROPERTY TAX?
(THE CORRECT ANSWER IS "BOTH")
(THE CORRECT ANSWER IS "BOTH")
There has been a ton of
misinformation on this topic. So to make sure we had the right answer, we checked
with Administration at City Hall. The proposed property tax levy is for both
the Real Estate and Personal Property. If passed the rate would increase from approximately 50 cents per one hundred dollars evaluation to $1.00 per hundred dollars
evaluation*. You are voting on one levy increase that effects both Real Estate and Personal Property.
The
real estate property tax is on the value of your home.
The
personal property tax is on the value personal possessions, such as cars,
boats, trailers, etc. Both tax levy rates will be increased if the voters approve the question in August, 2018.
*An effort to increase the property tax levy to $1.30 per hundred
dollars valuation has a plurality of votes, but did not reach the benchmark of
six votes for approval.
HOW THEY VOTED:
PROPERTY TAX LEVY: Increase the Personal and Property Tax Levy from from 50 cents to $1.30 per hundred dollars valuation.
VOTING
YES: Karen Black, Jason Greene, Mark Moore, Steve
Meyers
VOTING
NO: Jim Aziere, Ryan Myers, Bonnaye Mims, Frank Hunt, Bill Vanbuskirk
MOTION FAILED. Four (yes) Five (no)
ABSENT: One Ward 5 Alderman seat is currently vacant
PROPERTY TAX LEVY: Increase the Personal and Property Tax Levy from from 50 cents to $1.00 per hundred dollars valuation.
VOTING
YES: Frank Hunt, Karen Black, Jason Greene, Mark Moore, Bill VanBuskirk, Steve
Meyers
VOTING
NO: Jim Aziere, Ryan Myers, Bonnaye Mims
MOTION PASSED. Six (yes) Three (no)
ABSENT:
One Ward 5 Alderman seat is currently vacant
 |
| RATES BASED ON A HOME VALUED AT $120,000....DOUBLE CLICK ON CHART ENLARGE |
HOW
MUCH WILL IT COST IF THE TAX PASSES?
The chart
shown above is what your property tax will cost on a home valued at $120,000 in
2018. The last column includes an additional 30% property tax increase the
Board or Aldermen considered but did not act on. This chart DOES NOT take into consideration
the possibility of the Raytown Fire District or Raytown Parks bringing tax increases of their own. Both the Fire District and
the Parks and Recreation have held discussions regarding an increase in taxes.
Next
Week . . . A look at the proposed gasoline tax.
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1
Comments
Not much has changed. And if you think giving them more will change the ways people have been managing your money for years and years without any thought to the consequences of their actions, you are very, very wrong.
I’m voting for the taxes.
Yes=nicer streets and better city services.
Raytown 8.35% Lee's Summit 7.85% Grain Valley 8.1% Parkville 7.1%
Everything you have said, and your issues with the PD will not pave the City streets. You just don’t like taxes, you hate the PD and you have an ax to grind. No, there is not enough money to run the City. Everything has been cut. The City is running on fumes, and each budgetary year is only going to get tougher. None of the anti tax folks have an answer. Just talk of vague things. Drop in the bucket problems are made to appear that they will solve our problems. Not parking a police car at hyvee an Walmart is not going to pave my street.
I don't have a problem with off duty officers using Police cars for Walmart, Hyvee and Sutherlands only. I like seeing Police cars at these stores when I shop, the extra security and Police presences is a good thing. You'll never convince me that this is a reason to vote NO on a necessary tax for City infrastructure improvements. Bottom line, I don't want gravel roads, and I don't want slurry seal either.
HOW can I remotely consider a tax increase when I see no evidence whatsoever that the extra money will handled any more responsibly than it has in the last few years? REPLACE these people, THEN come back to us with an increase request.
This morning, for instance. One of our esteemed "leaders" implored his readers to stop trashing Raytown. "...kind and descent people..."
"Decent". "DECENT!" We're not falling anywhere, our heritage is immaterial, and if you had elected to hyphenate, we aren't going anywhere near a skunk.
We're definitely NOT making light of someone's spelling ability nor their ability to proofread, as much as it might appear that we are. (We plead the 5th there as well.) And their sentiment is wonderful.
However. Instead of the exhaustive, continuous platitudes, let's spend that time getting an actionable PLAN out there for us to review so that we will have enough confidence in the City to pass a sorely-needed tax increase. We see little to no work product, no discernable attempt to sustain this city.
We don't need an emcee. We need someone to lead and get down to business. We need RESULTS. And we need this in triplicate and then some from your counterpart, please.
If we don't see anything being put out there, there is no basis to assume that our money will be handled any more competently than it has been in the past.
We need the sincere, the college educated and the business owners to get out there and get into office, work with the city manager, and get this city under control.
Unfortunately, this tax will be easy to fight. All the skinflints will be hollering:
"Don't let them DOUBLE our taxes".
I just hope enough voters will educate themselves to get the truth.
As strong as you feel about this. This won’t pay to pave your street.
Something wrong with a little cheerleading ?
Hmmmm the Board of Aldermen for the most part are well educated folks unless they lied about their bios.
Oh and your worried about what you described as a misspelling of one letter that was used?
Maybe if people like you were not so nitpicking we would have more people run for office that are well healed and educated. Oh wait, they're probably too intelligent to get involved with people like you.
7:58 pm
Ditto Ditto Ditto Love your post!
Why would anyone want to run for public office if they excoriated over a misspelled word? Geez!
People--quit complaining and DO SOMETHING! If you can run the PD better, then run for City Marshall. If I'm correct you have a year to get your POST certification after the election. You do not need to be a police officer to run.
I have a college degree, lived here all my life, and I am NOT leaving.
By that kind of logic, we should give free use of police vehicles to funeral homes when they escort funerals to the grave yard. We could say it increases the number of patrol cars on the street! Want to put police cars at Walmart and HyVee. Fine, do it. But Walmart and HyVee should pay for it.
Speaking of HyVee. Next time you enter the shopping area off of Gregory Boulevard, take note of the nicely paved entrance to the shopping area. You should be proud. You paid for it. HyVee gets a one-half cent CID (community improvement district) tax on every dollar you spend in their store.
Walmart gets even more.
Ask yourself. Why are we giving them this service for free? EVERYTHING they have brought to Raytown has come with a hefty price tag that we pay every time we spend money in their stores. At HyVee it takes it comes in the form of hefty property tax abatements (yes, HyVee gets them -- you do not) and the CID Tax.
At Walmart the price tag is even higher. The TIF has around 15 years left in millions of dollars of debt to be paid off. Walmart gets a percentage of every dollar spent in its store to pay off that debt. It taps into the sales tax, the public safety tax, the transportation tax. Property Tax abatements are in full force at Walmart as well.
You want more in taxes from homeowners in Raytown? How about start by cutting back on the freebies given to corporate giants who operate in Raytown?
This is not a plan to save the City, this is smoke and mirrors to put people off from voting for a tax increase.
All the Walmart haters should wake up and smell the coffee. It could get a lot worse.
No one is being "excoriated" over a misspelled word, and we believe that that writer CLARIFIED this. Read for content. "Geez!"
If that guy is gonna be a cheerleader and an emcee and kick out a proclamation or two a week, that's great! Booyah! But is that IT? His understanding of the dilemma that faces Raytown appeared to be rudimentary, at best, when he entered office and there it appears to sit. He needs to mix in a few ideas and concepts as to how the city is going to get out of this mess now and again.
The council's decision to place the a tax increase on the ballot in August shouldn't be the beginning of his attempt to get his ideas out there with his constituents.
The city's problems have been well-documented for MONTHS!
Platitudes are great and all, but we need someone in office that can lay a plan out there for us. In his own words. He should have from the beginning. This basic expectation is part and parcel of why we chose to elect each candidate.
Sounds like you have a hard on for the guy
He doesn’t even get a vote for Pete’s sake
So how about YOU and other negatives put forth some solutions too. It will take us all to fix this
12:13 pm
Are you going to run for mayor or alderman or city marshall?
I bet you won't. It's easier to hide behind your keyboard.
Create General Obligation bonds? Really? Bonds are what got us in this mess in the first place! We’re paying through the nose for the TIF bonds. If the city takes out GO bonds, we’d not only have to pay back the bonds, but pay off the interest as well. How are we going to do that? There isn’t enough money to pay for the TIF bonds. Where are we going to get the money to pay off GO’s?
"I remember when all of this started the mayor said he would be coming with solutions.
"What is being offered is not a solution. "
Exactly. Thank you, Feb 1 7:40 AM.
It is easy to look at this tax increase, freak out and go... OMG it's doubling!! But let's look at this further.
Take me for example, I looked up online my property tax for my house and cars, and the tax with everything included is going to cost me $100.00 per year more. That's what double means for me. Now let's break down this number with some basic math.
That $100.00 is just $8.30 per month for me.
Would you be willing to pay $8.30 more per month to fix every street, broken sidewalk and end slurry seal in Raytown? I WOULD! It's either that or gravel roads.
Would you be willing to pay $8.30 more per month to get some, not all of our police officers back? I WOULD! I am paying way more than this per month in all the security enhancements to my house.
How about an extra code enforcer to help get our neighborhoods looking great? I WOULD!
Here's the bottom line. You get what you pay for. The economics of this City are just not there people. So $8.30 more per month is a real bargain to set things right. I am voting YES.
VOTE NO if you want the City to decay further.
Curse the board
Curse the mayor
Curse those that represent you
Where are your solutions to pass forward to your representatives?
How about the Storm Sewer/Park Tax fiasco. The voters were promised storm sewers would get a split of the money collected. It split (at least in the real world) usually means 50/50. Not with the Park Board /Storm Sewer Split. It is more like 80% went to parks. 20% went to Storm Sewers. In fact, the first five years of the tax 100% went to parks. Those folks with flooded basements due to poor runoff on public streets were left hanging onto mops and buckets!
But the biggest one is the promise of more police if the Public Safety Sales Tax was passed. Voters approved the tax. But the politicians at City Hall did not keep the promises.
Why should be trust them this time when the DOUBLE THE PROPERTY TAX?
By the way, those that are saying the city property tax has not been raised in 40 years are crossing their fingers behind their back when they say. They know that property tax is tied to inflation. The city receives a heck of a lot more money from the property tax than it did 40 years ago.
Thoughtful response. I wish all who had a different opinion on the tax would be as intelligent as you. And btw, I support the tax. I have lived in Raytown for 5 years, so I have not been around for these unkept promises. I am viewing this tax as something that protects my investment as a homeowner.
"Why should be trust them this time when the DOUBLE THE PROPERTY TAX?"
Such an easy attack to make.
But a previous poster has sentiments that are more like mine... Actual cost is quite low.
Don't buy the false narrative that the increase to the tax on your home and cars will be small if the property tax is doubled.
Pull out the elderly card and scare the seniors. Real nice bit of fear mongering. Wrong assumptions too. You know when you really pay your debt to society? When you are dead. Being a senior is not an excuse. The tax is going to cost me $100.00 per year. Anybody can go online and figure out what the increase means on a yearly basis. I am absolutely felling the truth about my tax burden on this. It’s $8.30 cents per month.
Everyones situation is different. Think about these things.
Most people buy a house via a mortgage if they have good credit. Included in the mortgage payment which includes principal and interest is a thing called escrow, which broken down is usually 1/12th of both hazard insurance and real property taxes. When said note is satisfied (paid in full) then all of a sudden there are 2 things that still have to be paid, which is taxes and insurance, but no more principal or interest payment, which means that you have a little, or a lot of extra money per month that can be used towards other things, or saved.
Around here it is rare to see anyone lay out 100k for a house outright, although it is possible to do.....
Quite a few do not have real good credit ratings and probably cannot qualify to purchase houses so they are probably forced to have to rent houses or apartments at a much higher monthly cost. They probably are not responsible for paying taxes on the real property because it is not their own, it is the landlords. Some retirement communities are probably set up the same way.
Then, if you can afford to have a car, or some other type of personal property, obviously you are taxed on those things yearly.
All this hype about 'fixed incomes' and 'struggling' is BS. Who forced you into the situation?
Bottom line is Raytown has not increased its portion of the Real and Personal Property Tax rate in over 40+ years, so now is the time. We have gravel roads now, failing infrastructure, dwindling city personnel
including Police, and loan shops, tattoo parlors, pawn shops, booze joints, thrift stores, tobacco stores, the list goes on and on. This place is looking like we are located off of Independence Avenue over in Northeast KC or South KC or better yet, Prospect and 75th in KCMO.
So disgusted with things I am ready to get out of Raytown.
Conservative ideas are not working.
7:50 am
"All this hype about 'fixed incomes' and 'struggling' is BS. Who forced you into the situation?"
Wow. Someone on here has a lot of compassion. NOT!!!!!
Have you heard of medical bills? And also their house may be paid off but what if they need to put a $7,000.00 roof on the house? Unexpected things come up all the time. I just had a $600.00 car repair bill!
Try to put yourself in their shoes at 85 instead of yours at 45.
12:16 pm
You or your spouse can get a part time job to cover bills. Old folks wouldn't be able to get hired or be healthy enough to work. I'm talking about really old folks--not somebody 65.
Enjoy your youth.. and I hope we all have saved enough money for retirement.
1:13 PM
I know that some aldermen post on here. I hope they ask Tom Cole to look into these EMS claims from you and the others. Something needs to be done about EMS.
See last week's blog--on 1/28 at 9:59 Samantha from EMS posted. Please see her recommendations on how to file a complaint.
Thank you for speaking out.
Some seniors do complain but a lot of them do have cause. Until you walk in their shoes you do not know.
Owning a home has some strings attached. I wish we could all stay in our homes until the end but unfortunately reality gets in the way. Property taxes are just a part of the overall facts of life we all, young and old, have to allow for.
Qualifying for Medicaid will get many of us out of our homes way before property taxes do.
BTW... wife and I are in our 70s and not at all well to do. I do not agree with the position that "older folks have paid their dues". We are walking in the shoes you mention.
Not saying I will vote yes yet. I want to see where the BOA says the money will be allocated. I am strongly in favor of leaving PD funding exactly where it is now. Extra money should go to fix our infrastructure.
Grumpy Old Man
Please read the article in the star on Sat. seem like they are also in a situation where they are short of the revenue they would like. But they have been spending like a drunken sailor.
No I for one would not consider it a real good idea to from the frying pan into the fire.