Key Points
- Only 29% of wage earners in Wyandotte County live there, causing a significant outflow of wages.
- Wyandotte County faces a potential negative fund balance due to projected expenses exceeding revenue.
- Mayor Garner highlights massive debt, high property taxes, and the need for BPU relief.
KCK Mayor and Wyandotte County CEO Tyrone Garner gave his State of the Unified Government Address and said Wyandotte County is “not at its best.”
“The economic, budgetary health outlook for the UG is not good,” says Garner. “The harsh truth from the data is that Wyandotte County in this defining moment is nowhere near where we need to be to sustain a vibrant community, a resurgent economy, and a fiscally responsible municipal government.”
Garner identified the UG’s biggest challenges as massive debt and government shortfalls paired with the need for lower property taxes and BPU relief.
During the speech, Mayor Garner reiterated that the UG has an overreliance on debt with a current debt liability of more than $1.1 billion.
“Forty-four percent of the overall UG budget is allocated to pay down accumulated debt,” Garner said. “Conservative estimates from our public works department indicate that Wyandotte County may need another billion dollars worth of infrastructure investments in the years to come.”
Potential Negative Balance
Garner said the UG potentially could have a negative fund balance in 2026-2028 due to projected expenses outpacing projected revenue.
This year’s budget is $420M, and next year’s is a historic high of $467M.
Wyandotte County Administrator David Johnston spoke after Garner and said that the county is limited in how it can raise money. The county can only generate revenue from sales taxes, property taxes, fees like the BPU Pilot fee, and grants when they are available.
Wyandotte County already has one of the highest property tax levies in Kansas and the KC metro area.
“Citizens expect property tax relief and BPU tax relief; that’s not going away and will always be on our minds as we proceed in the future,” said Johnston.
However, Johnston noted, any reduction in those revenue sources means less money going into the general revenue fund. He stressed that the county needs to take a long-term approach and needs to “take a hard look and set priorities.” Both Garner and Johnston peppered their speeches with phrases like the need to ‘tighten the belt’ and ‘not kick the can down the road.’
“I want to be frank. We are at a critical crossroads in Wyandotte County,” said Garner while addressing the county commissioners specifically. “A crossroad that offers an opportunity to get away from business as usual and to make the clear and necessary choice to work collaboratively to reimagine and improve Wyandotte County together.”
BPU Relief
Garner said he’s working with the county administrator and the BPU general manager to separate the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) fee from the BPU bill, making the BPU bill strictly for water and utility charges.
Currently, failure to pay your BPU bill in full – including the unrelated PILOT fee, can result in having your utilities cut off.
“No one should have to get [their utilities] cut off for not paying their PILOT tax,” said Garner. “You should only get cut off for not paying your utilities.”
Reversing Income Outflow
Garner noted that while Wyandotte County has the third highest wages in Kansas, only 29% of those wage earners live in the County. This means 71% of the wages earned in the county go elsewhere.
The result from this outward flow of wages is a loss of income in all revenue areas the Unified Government depends on heavily – sales tax, property tax, and utility revenue.
Reversing this trend is imperative to the fiscal growth and stability in the county. Improving the availability of quality and affordable housing stock in the UG will have the greatest positive impact on this troubling stat and also help drive down UG rates for property taxes and BPU rates.
Quindaro Ruins
Both Garner and Johnston stressed that now is the time to reinvest in revitalizing the Quindaro Ruins site.
“We all recognize that the political stars are aligned today,” says Johnston. “For a short window, we have the federal government, state government, the UG, and the owners of the ruins thinking the same way.”
Johnston said the ruins site represents a “gateway to freedom” for many Americans and a story should be one we want to tell.
“The Quindaro Ruins is ready to be taken out of ruin,” said Garner. “[We need] to make the site the national jewel it has always deserved to be.”
The ruins are set to receive $1 million in funding from a State of Kansas settlement with Ongoal and Cerner.
WyCo by the Numbers
- 169k people live in WyCo
- 61% of WyCo is Black, Brown, and Asian.
- Top Industries: Healthcare, Transportation, Warehousing, Manufacturing, Retail
- Top Employers: KU Health, KCK Public Schools, General Motors, the UG
- Top Taxpayers: Legends outlets $6.5M, Hollywood Casino/Kansas Speedway $4.2M, Magellan Pipe Line $3.7M, GM $3.6M, BNSF Railroad $3.3M
- Violent Crime is down 25% year to year
- Homicide is down 38% year to year
- Unemployment is 4.3%, Black unemployment is double
- Poverty rate is 17%, which is 25% higher than the national average
- Per capita income is $24k, compared to $64k in the state of Kansas
Really understanding BPU’s PILOT
Why is the PILOT charged by Wyandotte County’s Board of Public Utilities so high? We take a transparent look at the PILOT, what it is used for, how it compares to similar charges at other utilities, and once and for all, who can really change or do something about it. Online at communityvoiceks.com search bpus-plot
