Riley County commissioners on Thursday expressed concerns about how Manhattan’s potential housing incentive programs could affect county property tax income. The city’s proposal to use an estimated $8 million in sales-tax revenue to provide incentives for increasing workforce housing would decrease the county’s property tax collection for a set number of years — such as 7, 14 or 25 years — though the county would not be responsible for paying for any of the incentives. County commissioner John Ford said during an intergovernmental meeting the majority of the county’s budget comes from property taxes, and it can’t use sales taxes to bolster that budget. Additionally, a 41% property tax abatement already affects the county’s revenue from that source. City commissioners Peter Oppelt and Karen McCulloh argued that using incentives to develop more housing in Manhattan would generate a good deal of money for the county in the long term. “It’s some (lost) property tax for a period of time, but the rewards will be a much more vibrant workforce, much more availability for housing for people so we don’t have periods with long commutes, and I just think (it’s) a more positive environment for Manhattan and Riley County,” McCulloh said. Deputy city manager Jason Hilgers added that the county loses money by not having enough housing in Manhattan, thus requiring some people who work in town to commute from Pottawatomie County, where they pay their property taxes. Furthermore, he said dollars from vehicle taxes “rival property taxes.”
Source: themercury.com
