By TONY GUERRERO
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission considered several possible solutions to help offset property taxes during a work session on Monday.
The discussion included the 2030 sales tax sunset and a potential transient guest tax. County Administrator Darin Myers outlined several tax-based revenue sources that support county operations.
Myers presented sales tax renewal options that could be placed on the 2029 ballot to help offset property taxes.
Myers said increasing the health services sales tax from a quarter-cent to a half-cent could generate an additional $2.3 million in revenue to support multiple services.
These include High Plains Mental Health, Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas, the county health department, EMS and jail doctors.
Similarly, the general-purpose sales tax could be raised to a half-cent, generating about $950,000 in additional revenue. Myers also discussed a hybrid approach that would double the health services tax while eliminating the general-purpose tax.
However, Myers said the general-purpose sales tax is shared with Hays, Ellis, Victoria and Schoenchen, meaning any changes would hinge on whether those cities would support its removal.
The plan is to put the sales tax question on the ballot for 2029 so the county knows whether it can budget sales tax revenue for 2031.
Transient guest tax
The commission also discussed a transient guest tax that would largely be paid by hotel and Airbnb guests.
Myers said each 1% of a transient guest tax would generate about $240,000, which could be directed to specific projects and organizations that support tourism and event attraction, such as Grow Hays, the Ellis County Fair and the Ellis County Historical Society.
Myers said this is the most immediate option because it could provide quicker property tax relief. The county can adopt a tax rate of up to 2%, but going higher would require a different process under state statute.
The commission held broader discussions about the 2027 budget and its limited revenue streams, with state-level changes seen as a factor.