• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Saturday, March 6, 2021
50 °f
Platte
57 ° Mon
59 ° Tue
65 ° Wed
50 ° Thu
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
No Result
View All Result
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
No Result
View All Result

Platte City board votes in favor of tax increase

Valerie Verkamp by Valerie Verkamp
September 2, 2012
in Platte City
3
SHARES
84
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

On a split vote of 4-2, Platte City Board of Aldermen voted to increase its property tax rate by five percent.

The action raises the city’s real estate tax levy from $1.0395 to $1.0886 per $100 of assessed valuation.

RelatedNews

City to hire out work for curbs, base repair

Firework sales could be booming this year

The end of an era

Aldermen Tony Paolillo and Ron Porter voted against the tax hike. Aldermen voting in favor of the tax increase were Debbie Kirkpatrick, Ron Stone, John Higgins, and Brad Fryrear.

Prior to casting his vote Tuesday evening Paolillo said, “In April, voters voted down the levy for the school district at a rate of 63 percent in the City of Platte City. Just remember that when we vote on this tonight that these people elect us and they are who we actually work for.”

The finance committee consisting of Stone and Higgins supported the property tax increase and recommended the board adopt the $0.0491 increase.

“Tony’s point is well taken,” said Higgins. “Nobody at the table here wants an increase on this type of thing, but at the same time I think the public wants to maintain what we have tried to establish here throughout the years.”

The finance committee along with D.J. Gehrt, city administrator, argued that it would be a mistake to postpone the tax rate increase for another two years.

“This is definitively not something a city administrator wants to do in their first year even if it’s a small tax increase,” said Gehrt. This is part of a larger budget issue (and) trying to make sure that the city structurally comes to a soft landing in its budget.”

Gehrt said the 2013 fiscal year budget reflects a freezing of staff salaries, as well as a limited use of fund balance reserves. Additionally, the city will continue with not having a personal property tax.

Gehrt said the tax increase will enable the city to obtain $708,000 in property tax revenue during the next fiscal year, which will put $26,020 in additional revenue in the cities’ hands. City officials plan to use one percent of the increased revenue to offset the decrease of assessed valuations, but majority of the increased revenue will go to debt services in an effort to decrease the cities’ general fund debt at a faster rate.

“We have been using approximately a quarter of a million dollars a year in capital improvement funds to support our general fund debt payments. This year, by doing small things including increasing the levy by $26,000 we are going to reduce that transfer from general funds from the capital improvement fund from $256,000 in the last year to $50,000 this year and that allows us to keep moving forward with street programs and storm water programs.

“So were not asking for a small property tax increase in isolation. We’re asking more as a series of steps that tries to make a soft landing without a huge impact,” said Gehrt. “By making all of these small little changes, none of them are major; we’re able to change the budget from having a structural deficit where in the past couple of years the increase in revenue was less than the increase in expenditures.”

The approved property tax rate will cost Platte City residents with a home valued at $100,000 an additional $9.33 per year. A home valued at $200,000 will see a hike of about $18.90 per year.

According to the ordinance, the $1.0886 property tax rate is divided with $0.5244/hundred dollars for the general tax levy and $0.5642/hundred dollars for the debt service levy.

Tags: platte cityplatte countytaxes
Valerie Verkamp

Valerie Verkamp

Valerie decided she wanted to be a newspaper reporter when she was 28 years old and she successfully convinced the editor of the Platte County Landmark to give it 30 days. It was a unique period of her life when she exuded confidence while fearing she missed her calling after stints as a waitress, bank teller, hotelier, and educator.

Over nearly a decade she has written countless stories on local government, education, lawsuits, community news, crime, and the prison system.

Valerie hails from Park University with a BA in Elementary Education and a post-baccalaureate degree in paralegal studies from Penn Valley Community College. She has received honorable mention for Best Government News Story and joined her Landmark colleagues as recipient of the General Excellence Award in the Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Missouri Press Association.

Related Posts

Platte Landing boat ramp described as ‘dangerous’

Platte Landing boat ramp described as ‘dangerous’

by Ivan Foley
March 4, 2021
0

In January of 2017 it is alleged Toni Anderson, age 20, a college student from Wichita who had been living and working in Kansas City, was driving her car when she got disoriented and ended up in the Platte Landing...

Joe Vanover

County commissioner wants to be associate circuit judge

by Ivan Foley
March 4, 2021
0

When Ann Hansbrough was recently appointed to fill the circuit judge post vacated by the retiring James Van Amburg, it created a vacancy in Hansbrough's former spot of associate circuit judge. The process to name the new associate circuit judge...

Government transparency

Lack of transparency at the health department

by Landmark Digital Staff
March 4, 2021
0

EDITOR: Something shady went down at the Platte County Health Department and it deserves to be investigated. Local dentist and board of trustees member, Teresa Hills, sold her dental practice and left Platte County on Jan. 1, 2021 requiring that...

Petticoat Junction

Commissioners, judgeships and Petticoat Junction

by Ivan Foley
March 4, 2021
0

Eight folks have applied to become associate circuit judge in Platte County. The chosen one will fill the spot vacated when Judge Ann Hansbrough was recently named to circuit judge, leaving her associate judgeship to be filled by a process...

Next Post

Parkville still rewriting adult business law

Popular News

  • Platte Landing boat ramp described as ‘dangerous’

    Platte Landing boat ramp described as ‘dangerous’

    91 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Why the urgency for R-3 bond issue?

    30 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 8
  • Judge tells city to produce documents

    23 shares
    Share 9 Tweet 6
  • County commissioner wants to be associate circuit judge

    15 shares
    Share 6 Tweet 4
  • City ‘finds’ 2,300 records, gives them to Jason Maki

    17 shares
    Share 7 Tweet 4
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Call us at 816-858-0363

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Subscribe Online
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist