L&T staff report
Two complaints have been filed with the Board of Tax Appeals following Seward County’s recent passage of a 13-plus mill increase which exceeded Revenue Neutral Rate.
L&T Publisher Earl Watt filed a similar complaint to the one he filed with the Seward County Clerk’s office.
“After discussing how the process was handled by Seward County, I discussed the issue with Senator Caryn Tyson, who was the chief architect of the Revenue Neutral law,” Watt said. “She advised a complaint should be filed with BOTA who determines whether or not there were violations of the process.”
The complaint contends that the notice provided by Seward County with the RNR notice stated a limit on non-court related costs to be 4.868 mills and the county actually applied 11 mills instead.
David Box also filed a complaint with BOTA, citing breaches of multiple state statutes including KSA 79-2929, KSA 78-2988, KSA 75-6110, KSA 79-2930(c) and KSA 79-2005.
“These deficiencies, taken together, may constitute several material violations of Kansas law that impairs taxpayers’ statutory rights to clear and accurate notice prior to the adoption of tax levies,” the complaint contends.
Petitions against mill levy increases are not allowed in most cases, and BOTA is the only statewide board that can offer relief to the complainants.
