HUMBOLDT — Blame it on prosperity. Though Humboldt’s mill levy will remain the same, the tax rate will increase slightly.
That’s because property values in much of southeast Kansas have increased, based on comparable sales, hiking the amount of what each mill — the amount levied — will raise.
Each mill today raises approximately $13,984 compared to $13,119 from a year ago; an increase of $865 per mill. By keeping the levy level at 93.639 mills, city coffers will see an increase of about $81,602.
Because this amount exceeds last year’s intake, city officials were required by state law to notify residents of their intent to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate, which they did in a letter to city households earlier this summer. A hearing to approve the 2025 budget is at 6 p.m. Sept. 9 at city hall.
The city’s current budget is about $7 million, including a $2.2 million carryover from last year, said Cole Herder, city administrator.
“That includes the general fund, debt service, and all the utility funds, including gas, water and sewer,” he said.
The budget allows for the city to end 2024 “with about 4½ months of carryover on hand,” Herder said.
Even with that rainy day fund, Herder said big projects ahead will require increased utility rates.
“We’re falling behind on sewer and will probably need to address rates after the first of the year,” he said. “We’re also going to have to look at water rates” in preparation for the replacement of water lines scheduled to begin in 2026.
“We’re going to have to start planning to pay for that now,” by incrementally increasing rates 20-30 percent, Herder said. Eventually, “our water rates are going to nearly double.”
Currently, the city is paying for engineering plans for the $13 million project through a loan from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The project will include new water distribution lines, repairs to water towers and treatment processes.
In the long term, replacing the cast iron and galvanized pipes that contain traces of lead with poly-pipes will not only be safer but also more efficient. Due to the dry summer, water lines are breaking, Herder said.
“We’ve had a lot of water leaks just these past couple of weeks.”
“When it’s really dry or really cold, the ground shifts. These pipes are so fragile that they can’t take shifts in the ground. The new poly-pipes are more flexible and will be able to handle the changes better,” Herder said. With fewer problems of that nature, “we’ll be able to reduce our labor and maintenance costs.”
