Emporia City Commissioners will take a short pause to allow for information gathering before setting the city’s revenue-neutral rate for the 2025 fiscal year.
During their regular study session on Tuesday, commissioners reviewed options for setting the RNR not to exceed limit with four options presented by City Treasurer Janet Harouff. Of the four options, commissioners mainly focused on options two and three.
As it stands, option two would keep the city’s mill levy flat at 44.604 mills but would see city property taxes for a $100,000 home increase by $22.27 per year. Meanwhile, option three would bring a one-mill increase and see the city end 2025 with a reserve balance just under its 15 percent minimum.
Option three would also see city property taxes for a $100,000 home increase by $33.78 per year.
Commissioner Jamie Sauder says he favored approving option two, however, he did have some concerns.
Commissioner Susan Brinkman requested additional information from city staff before making any decisions.
Commissioners will revisit the item and approve an option during its July 17 meeting.
Before their study meeting, commissioners convened their regular action session where they approved establishing a public hearing date of August 7 to designate the Gazette Collective development in downtown Emporia as a reinvestment housing incentive district (RHID). According to Emporia Director of Special Projects Tayler Wash, the collective has been eligible for RHID status since 2016.
Separately, commissioners approved the purchase of a new John Deere tractor from Prairieland Partners John Deere for the Emporia Parks Department and accepted a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation for apron improvements to the Emporia Municipal Airport.
The grant is two grants in one totaling $906,000 with $114,000 being allocated for design and $792,000 being allocated for construction. The city’s cost for the project would come out to $94,000 total — $6,000 for design and $88,000 for construction.
