Emporia City Commission hopeful Monica Duncan says she’s running for office because she’s not a politician and because she’s trying to get the city “back on track.”
As part of KVOE’s Candidate Spotlight series airing the past two weeks, Duncan says she ran after unsuccessfully trying to get some of her friends to run. Like other City Commission candidates, Duncan believes property taxes are too high locally. She says residents need city leaders who will “work with others,” including Lyon County, USD 253 Emporia and the Emporia Recreation Commission — entities who haven’t moved towards being in a joint property tax reduction task force after being asked by city commissioners. If the city has to look at ways to cut property taxes without input from external partners, Duncan says Building Trades permits could be a revenue offset as part of a “top-down” expense review.
A possible solution could be a new half-percent sales tax as an offset to property taxes, although a new sales tax could also be used for other projects and city commissioners haven’t decided whether they will put that option before residents.
Duncan also served on the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and Joint Board of Zoning Appeals, giving her insight into housing matters. She says there are a lot of infill opportunities through existing incentives.
With the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas operating without a permanent president for nearly 20 months, undergoing a notable reconfiguration with new voting members earlier this year and with ongoing discussions about its future direction, Duncan says “she’s fine either way” if the RDA continues its current emphasis on mid- to large-scale manufacturing or branches out.
Residents wanting more information on City Commission candidate viewpoints on different topics can go to the KVOE.com Voter Information Guide courtesy of Community National Bank. The full interviews are linked in that page and also part of our separate Candidate Spotlight page.
