Voters in Sedgwick County could be asked next year to support a new sales tax that would fund arts, culture and recreation programming. The Sedgwick County Zoo, Exploration Place science museum, the Kansas African American Museum and the county parks department are all set to take cuts in next year’s proposed county budget. Funding those programs through a sales tax instead would allow the county to lower its property tax levy by between two and a half and three mills, likely starting in 2026 or 2027. Commissioners want to present voters with a ballot question about a sales tax no later than fall 2025. Establishing an eighth of a cent sales tax for cultural arts and rec funding would generate around $18 million in revenue based on current sales tax data — roughly the same amount the county now spends annually on quality of life programming. “I would like to say we would never fund those things ever again through property taxes,” Commissioner Jim Howell said at a staff meeting earlier this week. “They would be forever funded through sales tax.” The county tax proposal comes as the state is reducing and then eliminating by Jan. 1 its sales tax on food bought at grocery stores. Meanwhile, a major tax cut compromise reached between Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican legislators in June did little to provide property tax relief, but lawmakers have vowed to take the issue up again next year. A county sales tax ballot proposal would likely have an ending date, giving voters an option in five years to renew the funding mechanism or revert back to using property taxes.
Source: Wichita Eagle
