vote out Ford County sales tax and ...

[K C Muffin]

Well, I understand you're unhappy with those numbers, Redhead, but most of what you posted (to be fair, not all) are not INTENDED to pay their way. Take parks, for example. You don't charge admission, so why would you expect to break even on the expense? The athletic fields, probably should have broken closer to even than they did, but there again, if the admission charge for the games totally supported the operation, nobody'd come, so you'd be back at zero. The golf course? Yeah, probably should have pulled at least its own weight. Looks like a budget gone wild.

[too_nice67]

WAY TO GO REDHEAD!!! I knew there was a reason I like redheads!!!

That is one thing that alot of people don't realize...the money to run all of those facilities has to come from somewhere. The items on that list ARE NOT there to make the city and county money, they are there to improve the quality of life in Ford County. Face it folks, they will probably never make money, but just think of life without those facilities. No golf course, no rec center, no pool, no parks etc. Why the hell would anybody want to come to Dodge City and spend money (sales tax) if there is none of that. You know how high the crime rate is now, imagine how much it will skyrocket if the kids didn't have something to do like go to the pool or the parks and such.
Ford County people need to quit b*tching about a half a penny and look toward the future and how you want Dodge City and Ford County to be. Be aggressive ...your neighbors to the west are.

[Tee]

Originally Posted by too_nice67

Ford County people need to quit b*tching about a half a penny and look toward the future and how you want Dodge City and Ford County to be. Be aggressive ...your neighbors to the west are.

Sales Tax 2007
Garden City 7.45%
Dodge city 7.45%

Vehicle Property Tax Mill Levy 2007
Garden City .107684
Dodge City .160303

Mill Levy Real Property 2005
Garden City 108.753
Dodge City 137.204


So Garden, with the same sales tax as ours, 40% lower vehicle property tax, and 30% lower personal property tax....has done it with much less of a burden on the taxpayers...hmmm How do you explain that? Less tax abatements, better management, frugal spending?

It's obvious by our current ranking in taxes that we need to give our local government less of our money to spend, whether it's for necessities or funzies- they need to learn to do with less just like I do when I get a pay-cut.

We are already among the highest in the entire state for vehicle and property tax...you'd like us to set the state record in sales tax as well?

You say our neighbors to the west are agressive...one thing they are aggressive about is saving the taxpayers money, that is obvious!


sources:
http://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/03-05tableivavglevies.pdf
http://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/pvd2007mvlevy.pdf

[too_nice67]

Yes that is obvious. They do save taxpayers money but alot of that is because more people go to Garden City and spend money therefore the sales tax (that is the same as DC) takes care of alot of the things that property taxes take care of in Dodge. They are aggressive in bringing new business and people to Garden City. They look at what they can do for the business to bring the business to town. If you bring in more business and people then maybe the other taxes go down or at least don't increase. Why not pass the expense of all Ford County's facilities on to people that are coming to town to spend money like tourists and such and you gotta have things like new businesses, great parks, recreational facilities and things like that to bring the people to town.
I'll be honest with you, I'm not really for the special events center. Yeah it would be great to have and I'll support it if it happens, but we can't even fill the civic center and utilize it to all it's potential. Maybe down the road we will need the SEC, but lets figure out some things first.

[BroncoFan]

Originally Posted by too_nice67

Yes that is obvious. They do save taxpayers money but alot of that is because more people go to Garden City and spend money therefore the sales tax (that is the same as DC) takes care of alot of the things that property taxes take care of in Dodge. They are aggressive in bringing new business and people to Garden City. They look at what they can do for the business to bring the business to town. If you bring in more business and people then maybe the other taxes go down or at least don't increase. Why not pass the expense of all Ford County's facilities on to people that are coming to town to spend money like tourists and such and you gotta have things like new businesses, great parks, recreational facilities and things like that to bring the people to town.
I'll be honest with you, I'm not really for the special events center. Yeah it would be great to have and I'll support it if it happens, but we can't even fill the civic center and utilize it to all it's potential. Maybe down the road we will need the SEC, but lets figure out some things first.

You hit the nail on the head. We have to have something to bring people to Dodge to spend that out of town money. This will happen, hopefully, with a casino, big name concerts, expos, etc. Obviously, the new has worn off of boot hill. We need that something extra to boost tourism. We also need to be careful about preventing new business from setting up shop in Dodge. That is what Garden has over us. They welcome in new businesses with open arms, while Dodge squabbles too long and lets them go.

[lurker]

Finney County has a wealth of gas and oil production that's taxed.

Ford County has a wealth of commissioners who want to spend like we also have that tax revenue.... but we simply don't have it.

Mega Retailers such as Homely Despot prefer to land in Garden City because it's considered to be an "outpost" town that has a better draw towards the west than Dodge will ever have.

[The Drifter]

Originally Posted by Redhead 18

Sheridan Center, Operation, $595,796.40 Revenue, $260,441.53 Loss, $335,354.87

Swimming Pool, Operation, $128,273.66 Revenue, $32,872.81 Loss, $95,400.85

Parks, Operation, $616,799.64 Revenue, $9,227.50 Loss, $607,572.14

Zoo, Operation, $93,882.79 No Revenue, Loss, $93,882.79

Civic Center, Operation, $336,012.94 Revenue, $116,146.63 Loss, $219,886.31

Golf Course, Operation, $329,312.10 Revenue, $171,791.57 Loss, $157,520.53

Athletic Fields, Operation, $405,986.90 Revenue, $101,663.97 Loss, $304,322.93

Shut them all down. Why should the good people of Dodge have any leisure activities. Come on. How are the parks supposed to earn money...anyone can go. How is the zoo supposed to earn money...it's free. How's the Athletic Fields operation supposed to earn money...they do a service. These programs are for the betterment of the city. Gives the kids something to do on the weekends and the adults too.

It's amazing what people complain about. People want the city to look nice, but they also want to cut spending on the programs that make it look nice.

[Tee]

Of course we are going to have ventures for the benefit of the "whole community" that lose money. But we have to face reality- we aren't Garden, and we aren't Hutchinson. Our town is vastly different and we need to realize that. And above all, we must live within our means.

As the person tasked with the job of balancing finances of my home, I am charged with the duty of making rational, responsible, spending decisions that comply with my income. Many of these are sacrifices more than they are decisions. If there is one thing I have learned over the years it's "live within your means". I steer away from instant gratification that comes from buying something now (whether or not I can afford it) and paying later. This philosophy has served me well.

From my perspective as a taxpayer, it appears as though our city/county heads do not subscribe to that same philosophy. We seem to have a "spend now, pay later" plan. And there doesn't seem to be any restraint or end in sight, no matter how out of whack our mill levy or real estate valuations get in comparison to surrounding towns.

Many small towns have no 40 million dollar events center, no pool, no golf course, and no race track, yet the townfolk survive. Yeah, I would like all those things, but not at the expense of going broke. Sometimes I feel like I am in that movie...oh, what's the name of it?.... "Field of Dreams" (build it..and they will come)

Why do we need to pay for a golf course, a fun center and a race track anyway? These should be private ventures or nothing. If the town is not big enough to support it as a private entity then they shouldn't be in this town. Period!

We've gotten irresponsible and plain spoiled, balancing our money with our wants.

[Detector]

In my opinion this all underlines the need for a casino. I'm not saying a casino is the silver bullet, but I do believe it could be.

[lurker]

The only reason Topeka voted for casinos is because Topeka will walk away with the majority of the profits.

Do you think Topeka would have legislated the option for a Dodge City owned casino?