New Tax Information
Tax and population data is out for the State of Kansas, and the news is not great for the Southeast region (“SEK”). Take a look at the following chart which compares recent statistics of ten SEK counties:
|
2020 |
|||||||
|
SEK CO |
Ave. Levy |
Assessed Valuation |
RE Tax Collected |
Total Indebtedness |
State Sales & Use Tax |
Pop. |
Pop. Change Fr: 2010 |
|
Allen |
165.46 |
$146,805,344 |
$24,290,135 |
$75,368,802 |
$13,591,758 |
12,526 |
-6.3% |
|
Andersn |
157.31 |
$102,604,431 |
$16,140,605 |
$56,970,915 |
$6,753,171 |
7,836 |
-3.3% |
|
Bourbon |
177.71 |
$110,449,986 |
$19,628,242 |
$74,703,182 |
$12,359,701 |
14,360 |
-5.4% |
|
Chrokee |
126.63 |
$183,227,294 |
$23,201,518 |
$89,831,807 |
$13,122,232 |
19,362 |
-10.4% |
|
Crawfrd |
140.53 |
$283,005,938 |
$39,771,012 |
$103,816,059 |
$39,673,559 |
38,242 |
-0.4% |
|
Labette |
182.10 |
$140,643,679 |
$25,611,206 |
$77,859,089 |
$17,756,922 |
20,184 |
-6.6% |
|
Linn |
114.72 |
$276,085,698 |
$31,672,158 |
$55,630,275 |
$7,384,659 |
9,591 |
-0.7% |
|
Montgy |
168.61 |
$319,796,651 |
$53,919,647 |
$178,713,713 |
$32,637,872 |
31,486 |
-11.2% |
|
Neosho |
184.67 |
$131,908,705 |
$24,359,925 |
$131,369,383 |
$18,528,447 |
15,904 |
-3.7% |
|
Woodsn |
170.58 |
$39,443,799 |
$6,728,368 |
$1,703,681 |
$1,860,797 |
3,183 |
-5.9% |
|
Average |
158.832 |
$173,397,153 |
$26,532,282 |
$84,596,691 |
$16,366,912 |
17,267 |
-5.4% |
The bad news is that SEK loses about 83 people a year, about 8 of which move out of Bourbon County. The good news is that Bourbon County had the highest average levy a few years ago, and now is down to 3rd out of the 10 counties; our levy has been lowered slightly in recent years, while surrounding counties have continued to increase theirs. Additionally, our countywide debt is lower than the average SEK county.
Notice that two of the three counties with the lowest average levies experienced the lowest percentage of population loss. The exception is Cherokee County, which is experiencing other cultural issues; additionally, their levy is low because their assessed valuation is relatively high.
The two challenges ahead for Bourbon County are to raise our total assessed valuation by attracting new construction, and continuing to lower the mill levy until we are not in the upper half of this list. We cannot think about competing with the rest of Kansas and Western Missouri for economic development if we do not compare well with our neighbors in SEK. These two objectives will be the focus of Bourbon County REDI in the coming years.
Possibly ‘Sleeping Pods’ are a start, that may be an easy way to attract new construction, “cultural issues” aside, whatever that is vaguely supposed to be in reference to is left to the readers imagination.
So, is it the case that Bourbon County isn’t also embattled with ‘socio-economic’ issues and strong dependence on support payments to sustain life?
Honestly, no disrespect, these issues concerning ‘rural’ America are very complex and there is no ignoring the ‘divide’ in this country/county/city . On every level there is disagreement, discord, discontent, hate and anger, so the list goes on.
Thank you for your research and commentary.
I moved to BB from CK seven years ago, so I am quite familiar with the culture there. Believe me, you can take any discord you can measure in BB and multiple times three in the county South of Crawford. The population loss there speaks for itself. I never expressed an opinion on the sleeping pods, so I don’t know how that relates. I try to keep my opinions related to facts and data that are on the topic of economic development.