Voters in Great Bend approved three retail sales tax additions Tuesday. A sales tax was also approved in Ellinwood. Collection of the new taxes will commence on April 1, 2022.
The Barton County Clerk’s Office reported unofficial totals around 10 p.m. Tuesday. The final official tally will come Monday after the votes are canvassed.
The City of Great Bend sought a total 0.45% retail sales tax increase, divided into three propositions. This raises the city sale tax to 1.2%. Added to the state sales tax of 6.5% and the Barton County sales tax of 1.0%, the total after April 1, 2022 will be 8.7%.
• Proposition 1 (Yes: 1,067 - No: 884) will impose a permanent 0.15% city-wide sales tax “to pay the costs of quality of life purposes, improvements, and initiatives throughout the city, including the payment of financing costs related thereto, and to provide property tax relief.”
This broadly worded proposition covers improvements to parks and other recreational facilities, as well as maintenance.
• Proposition 2 (Yes: 1,382 - No: 573) imposes a 0.10% city-wide sales tax for 20 years, “to finance the costs of police station improvements,” including plans for a new building to house the Great Bend Police Department and the Municipal Court. A $5.8 million, 25,000-square-foot facility at 12th and Baker – on land that is now a city parking lot – has been proposed.
• Proposition 3 (Yes: 1,365 - No: 604) will impose a permanent 0.20% city-wide sales tax “for the purposes of financing the operations of the city’s police and fire departments.” This includes the funding of pension plans for first responders. At present, all city employees’ retirement plans are with Mission Square Retirement, a non-profit independent financial services corporation providing retirement plans to the public sector. The city is not a member of the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System, which offers Kansas Police and Fire, a program specifically for firefighters and police officers. Although first responders have asked the city to join KPF, the city council has yet to determine exactly how it will improve the system.
Great Bend Police Chief Steve Haulmark was pleased with the results across the board.
“They all tie in together,” he said. “I’m new to this city but I’m encouraged by the things I’m seeing and the progress we’re going to make going forward.”
Haulmark said the added tax dollars are for a worthwhile cause and he’s looking forward to seeing how this can help make the police and fire departments even better, particularly when it comes to recruiting and retaining quality employees.
“I would like to say thank you to our community for their support and recognition on behalf of our police and fire department,” he said.
Ellinwood’s new sales tax
Ellinwood residents approved a 0.5% retailers’ sale tax (Yes: 237 - No: 77) that will also go into effect April 1, 2022. This raises the total city sales tax to 1%. Added to the 6.5% Kansas sales tax and the 1.0% county sales tax, the total after April 1, 2022, will be 8.5%.
The money generated by this tax will be used for “construction, maintenance and repair of general infrastructure and for such other governmental purposed as may be in the best interest of the City of Ellinwood.”
