UG passes budget with deep cuts

KANSAS CITY, Kansas - The Unified Government Commission has balanced it’s 2011 budget Thursday night.

The $253.9-million budget relies largely on spending cuts to make ends meet.

The budget includes a 4.5% increase in the Unified Government tax rate, but the actual amount of property tax dollars residents will pay to the Unified Government is less than they paid in 2009.

That’s because property values have dropped 14% over the past two years because of the troubled housing market.

Balancing the budget required a second year of drastic spending cuts.

Spending on Unified Government programs and services has been slashed $7.1-million, the workforce has been trimmed 18%, with 384 fewer employees on the payroll. Most employees are living with a 4.6% pay cut due to 15 mandatory furlough days.

All Unified Government departments were cut 10% in 2010 and are cut an additional 20% in 2011.

Outside agencies and community organizations which receive tax support also have funding reduced or eliminated.

While the 2011 UG budget adjusts the county tax rate to make up for the sharp drop in property valuations, Wyandotte County still has one of the lowest county property tax rates in Kansas.

Wyandotte County ranks 98th out 105 Kansas counties for the amount of taxes collected from county residents. Only 7 counties out of 105 have a lower county property tax.