By ALIN HETT
Hays Post
WaKeeney voters will decide on Tuesday whether to approve a half-cent sales tax increase that Irene Dirks, mayor of WaKeeney, says could bring roughly $220,000 a year for community-based projects.
Dirks said the estimate of about $220,000 per year is a "low estimate" based on what the city would collect.
The additional tax would apply to all taxable sales within city limits. Dirks estimated at least 25% of the revenue would come from traffic off Interstate 70. Dirks also said the city’s previous additional sales tax supported economic development, but ended four years ago.
Currently, the city's sales tax sits at 8.5%, Dirks said. With the half cent increase, the city's sales tax would increase to 9%. For comparison, the city of Hays currently sits at 9.25% total sales tax.
Dirks said if passed, the proposed tax would not be dedicated to a single project. Instead, the revenue will help pay for multiple community improvements or provide matching funds needed to apply for state and federal grants.
Possible projects she mentioned include a walking route connecting Barclay Street with Main Street, the grade school, the park and the high school to create a full loop.
Dirks said the walking route is one example of a project the tax could help advance. She described it as a wide sidewalk where people could walk or ride bikes, connecting parts of town where people currently have limited places to walk safely.
“Some have sidewalks, we don't,” Dirks said. “People walk in the middle of the street. You can't walk on the edge of the street because our streets have enough hump, so long term, I call it a walking trail. It's basically wide sidewalks where two people could walk, or take a bike or whatever is wanted.”
Dirks said the tax likely would not cover the full cost of a sidewalk project, but could help the city pursue grants.
“We’ve never done engineering on the sidewalk because we never had money to build a sidewalk,” Dirks said. “We know that the tax won’t be enough to support a full sidewalk. However, with a match, anything’s possible.”
She also mentioned improvements at the community pool, the golf course and the speedway.
“We have a golf course and we have a speedway here in town, they're both struggling,” Dirks said. “It's just a fact of life.”
Dirks also said the city needs a funding source that can help with ongoing community needs as well as larger projects. She pointed to the city swimming pool, which she said costs $30,000 to $40,000 more to operate each year than it brings in, and a recent $80,000 replacement of the pool’s fiberglass slide.
If voters approve the increase, Dirks said her goal is that the city will create a board to recommend how the money is spent. The city would first need to pass an ordinance establishing the process, and the board would set criteria for deciding which projects support the community.
Dirks also said she would like the money budgeted for specific uses rather than collected in a general reserve.
The funds would not be available right away. Collection would begin in April 2027, and the money would not be available for spending until budget year 2028, Dirks said. She estimated that five years of collections could return more than $1 million to the community.
“This sales tax increase isn’t something we’re going to see in the sooner years,” Dirks said, “but something that generations from now will be able to enjoy.”