FORT SCOTT — The Fort Scott City Commission voted 3-2 at its Sept. 1 meeting to eliminate all $38,977 in demolition funding from the city's proposed 2027 budget, lowering the proposed property tax levy by about half a mill.
Commissioner Matthew Wells made the motion, and Commissioner Tracy Dancer and Mayor Kathryn Salsbury joined him in voting for the cut. Commissioners Tim Van Hoecke and Julie Buchta voted against it.
The vote sparked confusion over whether the cut also affected wages for an additional codes position, a question that emerged during the discussion leading up to the vote.
Ben Hart, a municipal adviser with Baker Tilly, presented two versions of the budget notice. Dancer asked whether both exceeded the revenue-neutral rate, and Hart said they did.
“I know a few of the commissioners stated that they wanted to make sure not raise taxes on people this year,” Wells said. “Both of these presented before us do in fact raise taxes.”
Wells moved to eliminate the demolition budget and reduce the levy by the same amount.
“We would still be raising taxes, but it would be a far less amount,” Wells said.
Wells said the city had spent $15,321 on demolition so far this year and less than $12,000 in each previous year. Hart said the cut would reduce the levy by about half a mill.
“I'm saying by one year we halt and don't raise taxes as much on our citizens,” Wells said.
Dancer said residents were already feeling the effects of the economy.
“We all feel the impact of the economy and the idea that we're going to continue raising taxes for some pretty heavily taxed people already doesn't set well,” he said.
Van Hoecke pointed to rising costs, including increases in the Consumer Price Index, fuel and asphalt, and warned that reducing the levy for 2027 could contribute to a larger increase the following year.
“What I'm afraid of happening is if we do this this year, next year you're going to see a significant increase to it,” he said.
Hart emphasized that commissioners were setting a public hearing, not adopting the final budget.
“Just understand that this is going to involve people, not things,” Hart said.
Dancer then seconded Wells' motion, saying it was the only option before him that would reduce the proposed levy. The motion passed 3-2.
After the vote, Van Hoecke asked how the city would respond if an unsafe property threatened neighboring property or created hazards for firefighters and other first responders.
“We'll have to move something around if we have to do that,” Salsbury said.
Dancer said commissioners could reconvene to determine where the money would come from.
“We'll have to come reconvene and we'll have to talk about, hey, where the money comes from,” he said.
Van Hoecke then referenced plans for additional codes staffing.
“Well, we just added additional codes body, so find stuff for him to do,” Van Hoecke said.
“Not now,” City Manager Brad Matkin said.
Salsbury said she believed codes staff could perform work other than demolition.
“You just — that's his wages right there,” Matkin said.
“That was the demo budget. I was not told that was the codes officer's budget,” Salsbury said.
“We'll make it work,” Matkin said.
The issue resurfaced during a lengthy discussion of the city's new Certified Local Government historic preservation program, when Codes Technician Leroy Kruger raised concerns that the budget cut could leave his department without the additional he needed.
“You guys want me to do all this extra stuff, but then you're going to cut my budget to where I can't get more help,” Kruger said. “That's kind of counterproductive.”
Salsbury said she had understood the cut to apply only to demolition. Wells said he had asked before the meeting what the $38,977 represented and had been told it was only the demolition budget and had nothing to do with salary.
“Had that been presented that way, it would've been a completely different discussion and we would've looked at it completely different,” Wells said.
Matkin said Hart had warned that cuts would affect “people.” Salsbury and Dancer said the warning came after the vote, although the meeting video shows Hart made the comment before Wells' motion was seconded.
Matkin returned to the issue near the end of the meeting after speaking with Hart during a break. He said Hart told him personnel would have to be considered only if commissioners reduced the levy by more than the roughly $38,000 removed for demolition.
“So he said if you lower it more than that, then we have to look at people,” Matkin said.
“So I was going to be able to make it work anyway,” he said. “I told Leroy I'd get him another person. I'm getting another person.”
The public hearing on the 2027 budget is scheduled for Sept. 15.
