Department heads give Holton commission budget lists for 2023

Leaders of Holton’s various departments met with the Holton City Commission yesterday to present their budget requests for 2023, with most department heads saying that proposed budget increases are symptomatic of fuel and other prices going up.

During the meeting — held a day later than usual due to the Independence Day on Monday — commissioners noted that budget information presented would be given to Olathe accountant Mike Peroo, who will present an overall budget proposal to the commission at its Monday, Aug. 1 meeting.

Commissioners also agreed to set a combination public hearing on the budget, as well as for its plan to exceed the city’s proposed “revenue neutral rate” for the 2023 budget, for Monday, Aug. 15.

Holton City Manager Kerwin McKee said the Jackson County Clerk’s office had advised the city that its revenue neutral rate — based on a recently-enacted state law requiring governing entities to levy a property tax rate in mills that would generate the same property tax revenue in dollars as levied during the previous tax year using the current tax year’s total assessed valuation — would be 55.797 mills for 2023.

That amount, McKee said, would be the equivalent of 59.117 mills in the 2022 budget, but with inflation and supply chain issues affecting all city departments, “maintaining the same amount of revenue will be impossible.” Cities looking to exceed their assigned revenue neutral rate are required to hold a public hearing before doing so, per state law, and Holton will be no exception, he added.

“Last year, we were able to stay revenue-neutral,” McKee said. “This year, it’s my understanding that nobody will be able to do that.”

Budget proposals were heard from Electrical Distribution Superintendent Scott Frederickson, Electrical Production Superintendent Ira Harrison, Water and Wastewater Superintendent Dennis Ashcraft, Police Chief Steve Frederick, Street Superintendent Greg Tanking and Parks and Recreation Director Mike Reichle. McKee handled the city administration budget and the fire department proposal in the absence of fire chief Scott Baum.

While many of the department heads reiterated that costs were rising in their respective departments due to inflation — particularly in the area of fuel costs — some of them also noted the need for upcoming major purchases in their department.

Commissioner Tim Morris also asked department heads to report on how many empty positions they had in their respective departments, and responses were one or two in some departments while other department heads, including Ashcraft, Frederick and Tanking, each said they were working with a “full crew.”

For more information on this story, please log in to your holtonrecorder.net account and select July 6, 2022 under “E-Editions.”