An unexplained lag in sales tax collections and the prospect of losing commercial property tax revenues in a court battle had Overland Park officials on edge as they set the public hearing for the 2020 budget.
City Manager Bill Ebel told council members Monday that more bad news on either issue would likely mean spending cuts, even though the latest property valuation estimates are higher than anticipated.
Ebel’s comments came in a committee meeting before the council set Aug. 5 as the public hearing date for a 2020 budget that is largely unchanged from the one he recommended in June. The $304.8 million budget estimates that the tax rate will remain flat at 13.566 mills. The rates won’t become final until this fall, after appeals are finished.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)