GUEST COLUMN, Dave Trabert, Kansas Policy Institute
The Kansas Legislature’s failure to deliver property tax relief this year after promising voters it was its “#1 priority” has saddled taxpayers with another year of increased property valuations and local government coffers overflowing with revenue.
Our annual compensation survey of state and local government employees shows why cities, counties, and school districts fight property tax reform. The table below includes some of the largest pay increases awarded in 2024 to select local government employees in Johnson County, based on Open Records requests.
County Manager Penny Postoak got an 8 percent pay increase and was paid $376,000. Deputy County Manager Julie Karins’ pay also increased nearly 8 percent, to $278,000 and Assistant County Manager Joseph Conner received a 20 percent pay increase to $268,000.
Some of the largest pay increases in Overland Park exceed 20 percent, including Assistant City Manager Katharine Gunja, whose 22 percent pay increase raised her compensation to about $216,000.
A complete list of county and city employees is posted at KansasOpenGov.org. Overtime listings are also available for both categories. Some employee compensation may include payouts of unused sick leave and vacation pay.
Oversized employee pay increases are partially made possible by hefty property tax increases on Johnson Countians.
Overland Park City Council members have perhaps the worst track record, having increased property tax revenue by almost 500 percent since 1997; with inflation at 85 percent and a 46 percent population increase, elected officials imposed tax increases that are nearly four times greater than inflation plus population.
Other large increases among Johnson County cities include Leawood (342 percent, 2.9 times inflation plus population), Lenexa (283 percent, 2.1 times), Merriam (286 percent, 3.9 times), and Olathe (456 percent, 2.8 times).
