By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBUS, Kan. — The Cherokee County commissioners in September said they were pleased with the 2010 budget that kept the same property tax rate as this year. The good news didn’t last long.
When County Clerk Crystal Gatewood certified the county’s tax rate with the state last week, the 2010 rate was set at 53.201 mills, higher than this year’s rate of 52.869 mills.
The commissioners on Monday said that because the county’s property valuation decreased, the tax rate that had been set in September would not cover expenses in the approved budget. They said the tax rate had to be raised to meet expenses.
Under the new rate, the owner of a house in the county with a $100,000 market value would pay property taxes of $611.81 to support the county budget. That’s an increase of $3.82 from this year, when the homeowner is paying $607.99.
Cherokee County’s property valuation dropped nearly 2 percent this year, from $136 million last year to $133.4 million.
The commissioners are reviewing health insurance plans, and they said that effort and other possible cuts may allow the county to reduce the property tax rate in the near future.
“We’ve got a good shot at bringing her back down,” Commissioner Pat Collins said Monday.
Ivan Crossland Jr., chairman of a committee that made recommendations on the budget to the commission, said he is giving the commissioners the benefit of the doubt, for now. He said he thinks the commissioners are working hard to reduce costs. He said changes in the employee health insurance package could save the county millions of dollars over time.
Crossland said: “They still have a lot of work to do in the tough decision category.”
Around the horn
Among Columbus, Baxter Springs and Galena — the county’s most populous towns — Columbus has the highest combined county, city, school district and state property tax rate.
The combined property tax rate in Columbus is set at 152.701 mills, up from 149.728 this year. The city and school district both increased their tax rates. The owner of a house in Columbus with a $100,000 market value will pay total property taxes next year of $1,710.06, up from $1,675.87 this year.
The combined county, city, school district and state property tax rate in Baxter Springs is 135.936 mills, up from 131.919 mills. The owner of a $100,000 house in Baxter Springs would pay total property taxes of $1,517.26 next year, an increase from $1,471.07 this year.
In Galena, the combined property tax rate is 145.808 mills, down from 155.026 mills. The property tax bill for the owner of a house in Galena with a $100,000 market value will be $106.01 less next year than it was this year. Next year’s tax bill will be $1,630.79; the homeowner paid $1,736.80 this year.
Local News
Cherokee County tax rate rises because of declining valuation; Galena battling the trend
- Local News
-
-
Electric bill to drop $6 a month in Joplin
The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved a request filed by The Empire District Electric Company, based in Joplin, to lower the fuel adjustment charge (FAC) on the bills of its electric customers.
-
Mo. Legislature officially ends its 2012 session
Missouri's annual legislative session has officially come to a close.
-
Strong to severe storms forecast for Joplin region
Storms developing across the central and southern plains this afternoon are expected to migrate into the Joplin region this evening.
-
Economic-development strategies posed for Joplin region
More than 30 people shared ideas Wednesday on ways to promote economic development in the seven counties that are participating in the Joplin Regional Prosperity Initiative.
-
Kansas primary filing deadline near
Kansas candidates have until noon Friday for file for county offices in the Aug. 7 primary.
-
Date set to reintroduce rare beetle in Missouri
An endangered species of beetle will be reintroduced in southwest Missouri on June 5.
-
Senators: Missouri River flooding unifying moment
Two U.S. senators who symbolize disagreements between upstream and downstream states over management of the Missouri River say last year’s historic flooding was a unifying moment.
-
First-ever electricity for parts of India
The solar power company SunEdison is launching a program to get electricity for the first time to more than two dozen villages in India.
-
Couple 'scoop out' ice cream business from the past
When 3-year-old Brynlee Rabel tried coconut ice cream for the first time Tuesday, it was love at first taste. “She got the vanilla, but when she tasted my coconut ice cream she had to have it,” said Kayleigh Daugherty, a Joplin resident who wanted Brynlee to share the same experience she had as a little girl when she visited Anderson’s Ice Cream.
-
Missouri National Guard releases records involving soldiers who looted from Wal-Mart
The Missouri National Guard has released records confirming that four soldiers were disciplined for taking merchandise from the ruins of a Wal-Mart store in Joplin one day after the tornado that devastated the city a year ago.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Electric bill to drop $6 a month in Joplin
