Residents of Montgomery County continue to voice their frustration over increases in property taxes.

 

 At this week's Montgomery County Commission meeting, citizens packed the commission room to once again make their voices heard over the county budget and increases in taxes. During the public comment section of the budget and revenue neutral hearing, residents asked for clarification on what revenue neutral actually meant. County Administrator Jonathan Booe gave an explanation of the term. State Senator Virgil Peck was also attending the meeting as a county resident and he also gave an explanation of revenue neutral, which means that a taxing jurisdiction budgets the exact same amount of property tax revenue in dollars for the upcoming budget year as they did for the current year.

 

County Appraiser Melody Kikkert explained that property taxes may still go up because Kansas is a market-value state. That means property values are a reflection of property sales in any given neighborhood.

 

Many residents expressed their frustration with the recent tax notifications sent out by Montgomery County. One resident said she was selling her business and moving out of the area because of high taxes. Another stated that people were being taxed out of their homes. A third taxpayer said that, while the county was going to remain revenue neutral, nearly all of the county's school districts and th Independence City Commission had all voted to exceed that rate.

 

The public hearing lasted nearly an hour and ended with the city commission voting unanimously to approve the 2025 budget and remain revenue neutral.