ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
The first constituent to come forward to the podium to voice their concerns about Seward County’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget and a hike of more than 13 mills at Monday’s public hearing was resident Dave Box, who initially asked if the funds being collected by the county to pay back Conestoga Energy were only for the years 2018 to 2020 or if additional funds were being saved to pay for what company officials feel was a wrongful appraisal of a facility.
Commission Chairman Scott Carr said when he, Presephoni Fuller and Tammy Sutherland-Abbott came on board the commission in 2024, they decided to start setting aside $500,000 a year for the case.
“Our first year, the budget was already set,” Carr said. “We’ve set aside $1 million already. With the new budget, we’re going to put in an additional $1.5 million. It’ll cover those first three years, maybe a little more. We know there’s also fees involved, but we’re not for sure what those are.”
Carr said the money for the payback is currently in the county’s general fund, and he said previous commissioners did not set money aside money to pay for Conestoga’s appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals, with the case now being heard in district court in Sedgwick County.
“There is that state statute where that money’s supposed to be set aside,” he said. “That was not done at all. That’s why we’re in the issue we’re having now.”
“We’ve been talking to the treasurer to make sure if we have any BOTA rulings, that it does get set aside,” he said.
Box said collected funds are required to be placed into a restricted account according to KSA 75-6110.
“There’s no problem with that,” he said. “It’s just they cannot be commingled the other way once it’s done. Is there a problem with moving those funds over?”
Sutherland-Abbott said this is one of the commission’s goals, and they are waiting for it to happen.
Administrator April Warden said she was aware the county was not following the statute requiring money to be set aside, and she said many other Kansas counties are following suit.
“There wasn’t a single county in which their treasurer was following that statute,” she said. “I know we’ve mentioned it to our county treasurer. There is an opinion she is checking on, and it will require additional legal counsel, as there is some question as to whether or not that’s real estate or personal property. I honestly do not have enough information to be able to answer that. I’ve looking into it since it was brought to my attention.”
Carr said many plants are looking to see what happens with the Conestoga case. Box agreed, saying precedence will likely be set when a decision is made.
“The point has previously been made that it would be surprising if this wasn’t appealed one way or the other,” he said. “Either way, the precedent it is going to set is going to affect so many other counties that potentially will face the same issue.”
Warden said people are watching the case closely because of the precedence it will set.
“It all started with the cement plant. Seward County’s been slammed,” she said. “We had DCP National Helium. We now have Arkalon Ethanol, and we do have another plant here in Seward County that is protesting, as well as we are starting to see grain elevators that are protesting as well. There are a number of counties that have reached out to us and are waiting to see what this outcome is going to be because there’s that general fear out there.”
Warden said Conestoga leaders protested because of exemptions that have been given to them by the state.
“There’s a breakdown between valuing property at what a fair market value should be and what machinery and equipment should be exempt now,” she said. “This is an ongoing issue that can affect us. We have learned now we’ve got to deal with this differently starting with the stature you have brought to our attention tonight. The commissioners are aware of that. They’ve gone to the county treasurer. We’re trying to reach out to the other taxpayers to educate them on that as well. It’s just a very unfortunate circumstance we’ve found ourselves in, and the taxpayers who are protesting this feel it’s just doing business.”
Box said the appeal features a lot of argument over how equipment is classified.
“It appeared to me to be a pretty complex case,” he said. “It’s going to perhaps require expert witnesses. It’s appeared to be pretty involved.”
Warden likewise said the case could have effects locally, as homeowners are now considering protesting their taxes by saying items they owned can be moved, even a house itself.
“We’re dealing with the consequences of that as well,” she said. “How many people will come in and protest that, I don’t know. It’s not fun to be in the spotlight and for everybody to be looking at how yours is going to turn out.”
Warden said the number published in the public hearing notice in the Leader & Times for the mill levy increase for FY 2026, around 29 mills, was actually higher than the amount commissioners voted 3-2 to accept at 13.384 mills.
“That includes the three-year payback for the BOTA ruling,” she said. “We’re not budgeting for worst case scenario.”
Liberal resident Rick Madden said with years still needing to be looked at in the Conestoga case, another increase is possible in future years.
“You’re predicting if everything works like the court normally works, it’s going to be charged in again in three or four years?” he said. “You’re going to jump it again to cover that amount of money.”
Warden said hopes are to have a decision by that point, and county leaders will have a better idea of how to handle the situation.
“If the ruling comes down in October as we’re anticipating, it can be appealed again by either party,” she said. “If that happens, attorneys are telling us it could carry out for another year to two years.”
Madden also asked staff and commissioners about a possible cap the federal government is looking at putting on state and local taxes.
“Have any of you thought about that?” he said. “There’s a cap they’re going to put on it, and if you guys meet that cap, what happens then?”
“I’m guessing services would be cut,” Sutherland-Abbott said.
Fuller said tax increase limits should be capped through revenue growth, and cap legislation is in the works at this time.
“That’s what our legislators are looking at,” she said. “We are one of the highest taxed of 27 states, and the legislature has to come in and put a cap rate on that or else it’ll be going forever. Kansas had surplus. They spent all the surplus. It did not go to the taxpayers, and I’m working through this and avoiding pitfalls like California and Texas. We have to do something. We have to get on the phone, and we have to call. It would be asinine of us to try to predict three years from now what it’s going to be.”
Fuller said she believes commissioners and staff did everything possible to try to lower the amount of the increase to the levy.
Sutherland-Abbott said another downside to the Conestoga case is the constantly accruing interest on the amount of money owed.
“When everybody agrees to a settlement, they could demand full payment at that point,” she said. “That’s why we have to have the money available.”
Some constituents have suggested taking out a loan to help pay back Conestoga, but Fuller said this is only a temporary fix that could make the situation even worse.
“As we continue to think about this and work through it and our path forward to do something better, I think we’re on the right track,” she said.
Madden too said the case heavily affects recruitment of new business to the community.
“It can’t be a good outlook for someone coming to this county getting slapped like that,” he said. “I don’t know what the answer is, but you’re saying they’re looking at it, and you’re telling them this is going to happen again. In about another three or four years, we’re going to end up in the same boat.”
Fuller said an estimated $40 million was given away in 2024 in Kansas because of abatements, grandfathered businesses and similar situations.
“In order for our tax rate to go down, we’re going to have to increase our tax base, which means we’re going to have to get some bigger businesses here,” she said. “Mom and pops are the backbone of America. We know that, but our data centers, our larger employers, 100-plus employees would help us with our taxes. There are some people who seem not so happy about some things that have been talked about, but it would help us. We need more people at the table in order for us to balance this out.”
Commissioner Steve Helm voted against the increase, and he said a better clarification of the definition of personal property and real estate needs to be made.
“That’s what we need so we don’t wind up in these case of a difference of professional opinion,” he said. “Where we’re at right now is basically a difference of professional opinion. We need a better definition. It needs to be more black and white, not gray, and we wouldn’t be in this issue.”
On this, Fuller said she completely agreed with Helm.
“As a licensed real estate agent, when I’m selling property, there’s property disclosure, and the property owner has to tell me what’s going to stay and what’s not going to stay going forward,” Fuller said. “I’m hoping whether I’m on this commission or not on this commission, we define what that is in layman’s terms and black and white so no other company can come back and protest while it’s attached. We need to be very clear before we start signing on the dotted line.”
