“We’re losing people in Kansas,” said Mary Kay Heard. “In Allen County, for sure.” Attributing this to high property taxes, Mary Kay and her husband David were acknowledged during Gov. Laura Kelly’s State of the State speech Wednesday night. While speaking about property taxes and property values skyrocketing, Kelly said that elderly Kansans worry that they’ll be priced out of their homes. “That’s exactly what’s happening in Iola, Kan.,” she said. “Mary Kay and David Heard have lived there for nearly their entire lives, running the Western Auto Store and raising their three kids.”
The Heards have lived in Iola for around 80 years and have witnessed its shifting landscape in that time. Taking over operations of Western Auto Store from Mary Kay’s parents, they successfully ran the business until they retired in 2009. “The store was in business for 65 years,” Mary Kay said. The pair faced their share of challenges over the years as small business owners. “It’s a challenge to compete against big box stores and online stores,” she said. “That is very hard, particularly for ‘mom and pop’ stores. It’s important to be loyal to your local businesses.”
In her address Wednesday, Gov. Kelly said the Heards have remained committed members of the community since their retirement by supporting small businesses and the local hospital. “But, despite their work, they’ve watched as Iola’s population has slowly declined, in part because their neighbors and friends are being overwhelmed by property taxes.” Mary Kay agrees. “I think if they can lower property taxes, it will help keep people in rural communities,” she said.
Kelly’s solution to the property tax dilemma? Raise the exemption for residential property taxes from $42,000 to $100,000. “It would provide folks like Mary Kay and David relief every year — and for 370,000 Kansas families, it would wipe out all or almost all of their state property tax bill,” the governor noted.
Kelly spoke about helping Kansas’ elderly multiple times throughout her speech, emphasizing that “we need to provide relief for our retirees.” She added that seniors shouldn’t have to worry about how they’ll afford essential medications or whether they can put food on the table.
“It’s no doubt that raising the tax exemption would be a benefit to all of us,” Mary Kay said. “Our presence at the speech wasn’t for recognition. We were there to represent the seniors who would benefit by a property tax reduction.”
In addition to raising the property tax exemption, Gov. Kelly stated that her comprehensive plan would make life more affordable for senior citizens; create a back-to-school sales tax holiday; increase the standard tax deduction; and help parents pay for child care.
Mary Kay said the experience at the Capitol was impressive. “We’ve never been to anything like that,” she said. “There was a lot of pomp and circumstance. I’m sure there always is, but we’ve just never seen it. We were treated royally — it was fun.”
The Heards also attended the Governor’s reception and sat with Beth Toland, wife of Lt. Governor David Toland, and their son, William, during the State of the State speech. “It was an honor to be there and to represent those who would benefit from these tax changes,” said Mary Kay.
