A citywide neighborhood revitalization plan which provides property tax relief if a taxpayer increases the value of his home, business or other property has benefited 82 properties in Iolas city limits since 2013.
That means more than $175,000 in taxes have been rebated by the city since the revitalization plan was expanded to include all of the city in 2013.
With that in mind, Iola City Council members voted, 5-0, Monday to renew the revitalization plan for an additional three years.
Under the plan, those who increase the appraised value of their properties by at least $5,000 through either new construction or rehabilitation are eligible for a 100 percent rebate on the higher tax payments for the first six years. The higher tax fee is then reinstituted at 20-percent increments over years six through 10.
The theory is after the rebates expire, the city will receive more in property taxes than it would have without the improvements, Mayor Jon Wells noted.
Were not going to lose money, Wells said. After you give a couple of years of rebates, the city starts making more money.
Once adopted by the city, the next step is to approach Allen County, Allen Community College and USD 257 to ask them to sign off on the interlocal agreement, ensuring a full rebate on the higher property tax levy.
Council members Nancy Ford, Chase Martin and Danny Mathew were absent from Mondays meeting.
COUNCIL members agreed to chip in $1,000 to a veterans Honor Flight program based in Coffey County.
Coffey Countys 18th such Honor Flight, in which military veterans are taken for a two-day stay in Washington, D.C., to tour monuments and do other sightseeing, will be in November.
Don Meats, with the Neosho Masonic Lodge No. 27 in Le Roy, is one of the chief fundraisers for the program, which costs anywhere from $19,000 to $31,000, depending on if the veterans are allowed free airfare.
While based in Coffey County, the Honor Flight includes other veterans from across the region. Twenty-three veterans from Allen County have been included.
City Administrator Sid Fleming said the $1,000 will be included as a line item in future budgets, provided the Council wants to continue supporting the program. (They do.)
Typically, we have savings we see throughout the year which will allow for the contribution.
IOLAS contract for services with the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility, which takes in wayward dogs and cats, was renewed.
The last agreement was approved in 2015 and had not been officially renewed since its expiration, Fleming said.
