Mayor Joe Reardon last week said the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City should use revenues from a casino to reduce property taxes. The county is in the process of reviewing proposals for a state-approved casino that could bring in as much as $7 million to $10 million in its first year of operation.
Reardon made the proposal in his 2008 state of the unified government address, the third since he was elected mayor and chief executive officer of the combined government in 2005. The casino money could allow a 10% reduction in the county’s property tax rate, he said.
“There are many things that we could do with this new revenue but none is more important to our continued success than lowering our property tax rates,” Reardon said.
The mayor also said sales tax revenues generated in the Village West development — which currently support the sales tax and revenue bonds used to build infrastructure in the area — should be directed to neighborhood needs when the STAR bonds mature in 2013.
“Our citizens want to see reinvestment in sidewalks, curbs, parks, and the physical environment,” Reardon said. “Just as casino gaming revenue should be devoted to property tax relief, new sales tax dollars from Village West should be dedicated to a robust neighborhood infrastructure improvement program.”
