County Administrator Dennis Hays presented a $250 million budget for fiscal 2010 to commissioners of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City that incorporates a 3.6% cut in spending but does not include an increase in the property tax rate.
However, he did propose increases in trash collection fees.
The combined government will halt all capital expenditures, except those funded by grants or federal stimulus funds, through fiscal 2010.
Hays told commissioners that the cuts were required after the Kansas Legislature reduced the state’s expected payments to the combined government by $6.4 million over the next two years.
Property tax revenue in fiscal 2010 is expected to be down by $5.5 million due to a 7.7% decline in valuations, and sales tax collections are down by $2 million in fiscal 2009 from fiscal 2008, Hays said in the budget message.
The total revenue decline in fiscal 2009 was $15.4 million, he said.
Salaries will be frozen, and most employees will be required to take 17 days of unpaid leave before December 2010. Hays said the furloughs will cut expenses by $3.4 million. Commissioners are scheduled to adopt the budget July 30.
The combined government’s GO bonds have underlying ratings of A2 from Moody’s Investors Service and A-plus from Standard & Poor’s.
