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City of Lenexa Core Principles
Home Rule and Local Control
Constitutionally granted home rule authority is essential to effective and responsible local government. Locally elected officials are in the best position to make decisions of community concern and are most accountable for those decisions.
Unfunded Mandates
The imposition of state mandates and programs on local governments without accompanying state funding is contrary to the concept of constitutional home rule. Any function or activity mandated by the State upon local governments should be fully and continuously funded by the State.
Spending and Tax Lids
The imposition of taxing or spending limits on local governments is contrary to the spirit and effectiveness of our system of representative government. The rights of Kansas voters should be preserved to determine tax and spending policy at the local level.
Homeland Security
Local government public safety personnel are the first to respond to acts of terrorism and are often at the forefront of preventing acts of terrorism. Available funds should be used and distributed in a manner that provides local governments maximum resources and flexibility to prevent and combat terrorism.
Maintain Financial Stability for County Government Services
Many critical city government services are financed by the federal and state governments and subsequently provided by local governments. As a key provider, Lenexa seeks assurance that the federal and state portions of appropriations will continue at levels adequate to meet the needs of the recipients. The City opposes reductions in funding resulting from actual reductions, as well as, cuts in “real dollars” which result from a lack of inflationary adjustments.
Tax Base Exemptions
Lenexa opposes any further exemptions to the ad valorem property tax base or the state/local sales tax base. The City supports a thorough and comprehensive review of all exemptions and repeal of those exemptions that would not merit a state appropriation. Exemptions only shift the burden of financing vital services to an increasingly narrow tax base. Additionally, Lenexa does not support changes in State taxation policy that would significantly reduce available funding for key programs; put the City at a competitive sales tax disadvantage with Missouri; or impose a sales tax on professional services.
Action Agenda
KANSAS PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM (KPERS)
Position: Support achieving an adequately funded public employees retirement system.
Lenexa supports adequately funding the Kansas Public Employee’s Retirement System within a reasonable period of time. This is a fiduciary responsibility all participating employers have to their employees who have contributed to the plan throughout their careers. The system should accumulate sufficient assets during the members’ working lifetimes to pay all promised benefits over the members’ retirement. In order to achieve this, Lenexa supports increasing the annual cap on employer contributions for all KPERS employers from the current 0.6 percent to 1.0 percent. The City support the separation of local units of government from the state and school retirement system so each employer group can address its obligations regarding its employees more directly and quickly.
STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM
Position: Support continued funding of the Comprehensive Transportation program known as T-WORKS.
Lenexa supports ongoing funding of the Comprehensive Transportation Plan known as T-WORKS and opposes any reallocation of funds earmarked for T-WORKS. The City encourages KDOT to give economic development that yields additional tax revenue the highest consideration in developing the statewide program priorities.
FAIRNESS IN COURT OF TAX APPEAL PROCEDURES
Position: Support legislation to provide a more reasonable balance regarding the commercial appraisal process.
A number of large commercial establishments have systematically taken advantage of the appraisal process by appealing valuations utilizing novel theories of valuation that consider speculative, future values based upon such things as anticipated future use. Shortly after construction, communities are seeing property valuations adjusted downward to a figure substantially less than the cost of facility construction. This practice is resulting in significant erosion of property values by the Court of Tax Appeals. The City of Lenexa supports a change in State law that will ensure that property appraisals are based upon actual values versus an abstract valuation based upon a future use.
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ACT (CID)
Position: Support HB 2379, which amends to the Community Improvement District (CID) Act to correct inconsistencies and clarify procedural requirements.
The City supports the passage of HB 2379 or similar legislation which amends the CID Act. The need for these amendments was identified through utilization of this new economic development tool by cities and counties since its enactment in 2009. The amendments provide clarification on matters such as the treatment of exempt property, the combination of sales tax and special assessments, and the ability to utilize CID revenues to finance acquisition of land outside the district for publicly-owned infrastructure located outside the district, but which serves the district. Enactment of these amendments will enable cities and counties to use CIDs to benefit their communities more effectively.
MUNICIPAL BUDGET CALENDAR
Position: Support extending the timetable by which local governments are required to submit their annual budget.
The City supports legislation that would extend the statutory timetable for municipal budget preparation, publication, hearing, adoption, and certification by at least 30 days so more accurate revenue information is available. The City recognizes delaying budget certification can impact other levels of government and would support requiring local governments to submit their maximum property tax levy in August but delay the full budget certification until later in the year.
ABANDONED PROPERTY
Position: Support amendment of state law to include commercial property in the definition of abandoned property.
The statutory definition of “abandoned property,” found in the Unsafe or Dangerous Structures and Abandoned Property Act, is limited to residential real estate. As a result, the city’s option for dealing with the negative community impacts of abandoned commercial property is extremely limited. Lenexa supports amendment of these statutes to include commercial property in the definition of abandoned property.
TAX FORECLOSURE STATUTE
Position: Support amendments to state law restricting the ability of mortgage lenders to bid at tax auction.
As a result of amendments in 2003 to state law, mortgage lenders are authorized to bid at tax auction and acquire their secured property for less than the amount of taxes, interest and costs, and are even allowed to transfer the property back to the original debtor, thus circumventing the tax collection process. The City supports one of two options: (1) an amendment to prohibit mortgage holders from bidding at auction which would be consistent with the law prior to the 2003 amendments; or alternatively, (2) an amendment to permit the mortgage holder to bid at auction but requiring a minimum bid in the amount of the taxes, interest, and costs owed, so that no taxing jurisdiction loses tax revenue as a result of their participation in the bidding process.
STANDING POSITIONS:
ANNEXATION – Support existing annexation statutes.
BI-STATE – Oppose any expansion of the current bi-state legislation, K.S.A.12-2536 et seq., or the passage of new legislation creating a similar bi-state regional initiative.
BIASED BASED POLICING – Oppose changes in existing racial profiling legislation that would negatively impact the relationship between the police and the community they serve.
COUNTY SALES TAX – Support sales tax uniformity while maintaining the current basic statutory distribution formula, K.S.A 12-192, (a), of all county sales tax initiatives.
EMINENT DOMAIN – Support responsible use of eminent domain for all public purposes, including for economic development purposes.
KANSAS OPEN RECORDS ACT AND KANSAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT (KORA/KOMA) – Support existing KORA/KOMA statutes which strike a fair balance between open and efficient government.
LOCAL AD VALOREM TAX REDUCTION (LAVTR) – Support legislation reinstating the Local Ad Valorem Tax Reduction (LAVTR) program and fully funding the LAVTR proceeds that were associated with both the Machinery and Equipment Slider and the Gaming Legislation.
PUBLIC EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS ACT (PEERA)/COLLECTIVE BARGAINING – Support the City’s home rule authority to manage employer/employee relations.
RED-LIGHT CAMERAS – Support legislation allowing cities to place cameras at signalized intersections in order to promote traffic safety and reduce accidents by enforcing red-light running laws.
STATE EDUCATION FUNDING – Support funding of public education to ensure that Kansas students will be able to compete in today’s global economy.
STATUTORY NOTICE REQUIREMENTS – Support amendment to official publication statutes allowing municipalities to utilize the Internet for all legally required publications.
WATER PLANNING – Support the development of a statewide strategy for water quality and quantity planning and sustainability.