Sedgwick County Rejects Proposal to Use Sales Tax Money for Attractions in Close Vote | Home

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) – In a narrow 3-2 vote, the Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners rejected a proposal that would shift some sales tax dollars to fund quality of life features such as the zoo, museums and parks.

The three board members who voted against it say it’s just a matter of semantics and would provide no relief to taxpayers.

Commissioner David Dennis, one of the three who voted no, said it would also have an impact on the budget process.

“It’s a hell of a job we have. We listen to every single department, we listen to every single one of these organizations that we give money to that are non-core, and then we make decisions,” he said.

Commissioner Pete Meitzner also voted no, but said he would be willing to revisit the matter at a later date. The other no vote came from Commissioner Sarah Lopez.

The two who voted for the proposal are Chairman Ryan Baty and Commissioner Jim Howell.

Howell says that would put all property tax dollars toward core government functions like the fire department, sheriff’s office and 911. He says that’s not the case now, pointing out that $2.5 million went to Exploration Place two years ago. He says the county can’t say it’s being conservative in how it spends its property taxes when millions of dollars go to quality of life departments.

Chairman Baty agrees that he wants property taxes to be used for core functions.

“I feel strongly that property tax values ​​should be focused on core functions and sales tax values ​​should be focused on things that we believe are not core functions. That doesn’t mean we don’t value them, it doesn’t mean we don’t support them,” he said.

If the proposal passes, half of the county’s 1% sales tax revenue would go to the Sedgwick County Zoo, Exploration Place, parks and other locations. That’s around $18 million. Now the money goes into the general fund.