KAC: Jackson County has state's 35th-highest mill levy
At 73.839 mills, Jackson County had the 35th highest mill levy in the state in 2015 out of 105 counties, according to a demographic and taxation report recently released by the Kansas Association of Counties.
The annual report breaks down and highlights population, population density, assessed valuation, mill levies and property taxes of all the 105 counties in the state.
Last year, Smith County, which had a population of 3,769, had the highest mill rate in the state with 131.503 mills. Johnson County, which had a population of 574,272 (the highest in the state), had the lowest mill levy rate with 19.582 mills.
Counties surrounding Jackson County varied in their mill rates set for 2015. Atchison levied 55.060 mills, Brown levied 36.923 mills, Jefferson levied 73.247 mills, Nemaha levied 49.658 mills and Pottawatomie levied 26.409 mills.
In 2015, only one county (Johnson) used a mill levy rate under 25 mills, and 13 counties had rates that were more than 100 mills.
A levy rate is dependent not just on the level of service provided by a county, but also on the assessed valuation within a county, according to the report.
Jackson County’s total assessed tangible valuation in 2015 was $103,898,161, which was the 53 highest among all of Kansas’ 105 counties.
Per capita, the county’s valuation was $7,674, which was ranked the 97 lowest in the state. In 2014, the county’s assessed valuation was $99,241,720.
In 2015, the total of all real and personal property taxes in Jackson County totaled $99,331,861, with 56.2 percent collected through residential property taxes, it was reported.
Jackson County’s real and personal property taxes for 2015 included:
Real Property
* Residential - $55,921,251.
* Agricultural - $17,719,008.
* Vacant lots - $183,068.
* Not-for-profit - $36,198.
* Commercial/industrial - $7,752,796.
* Agricultural improvement - $2,596,245.
* All other - $3,087.
Personal Property
* Residential mobile homes - $135,707.
* Mineral leasehold - $29,628.
* Motor vehicles - $601,633.
* Commercial/industrial machinery/equipment - $1,058,918.
* Boat/marine/trailer - $930.
* All other - $212,374.
* Penalty - $90,141.
In addition, total public utility taxes last year included $12,990,877.
According to the report, statewide, residential property makes up the largest source of assessed valuation at 48 percent, followed by commercial/industrial property at 23 percent and public utilities at 12 percent.
In the report summary, it said that one of the key reasons why the property tax burden on homeowners has increased recently is the fact that the share of total assessed valuation coming from residential property has been increasing.
As the state has granted more and more property tax exemptions over time, the percentage of total assessed valuation has shifted more and more to homeowners, it was reported.
While all counties are operated differently, the annual report from KAC does provide some good, general information, it was reported.
