By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The state of Kansas has designated 95 counties as “Rural Opportunity Zones,” which means moving to any of those to live, including Ellis County, comes with significant benefits.
Designated counties offer one or both of the following financial incentives for new full-time residents: student loan repayment assistance and/or 100 percent state income tax credit.
The program was approved by the Kansas Legislature more than a decade ago as a way to help curb the outmigration of residents in locations other than urban areas.
Sheena Thomas is manager of the Rural Opportunity Zones program in the Kansas Office of Rural Prosperity.
During a presentation at a Hays Chamber luncheon, she talked about the program, which was recently entered into by both Hays and Ellis County.
"We now use the ROZ program as more of a workforce recruitment tool since the program started in 2011," Thomas told the audience.
Rural Opportunity Zones are classified in Kansas as counties with a population of less than 40,000.
Persons who have a college degree and outstanding student loans may qualify to have a portion of those loans paid off if they move to a rural community in Kansas.
The Kansas Department of Commerce administers the Rural Opportunity Zones Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program. The program will help qualifying applicants pay up to $15,000 on their student loans over five years when they establish a permanent residence in a designated county.
Each participant must have a local sponsor to receive payments whether it's a county, city, foundation or employer.
"Fifty percent of our users are in health care and education," Thomas said. "I feel that's a big important part of what rural Kansas is needing.
"We only have three foundations currently," she added. "I feel like we should get more foundations involved."
A legislative post-audit report found that based on region, 90 percent of current program participants are going into high-demand occupations. In northwest Kansas, 134 of 141 survey respondents were working in high-demand occupations in this area.
A sponsor's maximum annual financial contribution per participant in the student loan repayment program is $1,500. Funding is equally shared between the state and the local sponsor.
In its 2024 budget, Ellis County allocated $15,000 for the program to recruit up to 10 new residents. Hays city commissioners agreed to earmark $15,000 a year for the next five years, for a total of $75,000 for the program.
The Hays program will be overseen and marketed by Grow Hays, the city's economic development partner.
The second part of the Rural Opportunity Zone program allows a qualifying individual to claim the state income tax credit for up to five consecutive years after they establish their permanent residence in a rural opportunity zone. They must have been living outside of the state for five or more years immediately prior to moving to Kansas.
The qualifying credit amounts are filed with the individual's state taxes.
More information about the Kansas Rural Opportunity Zones program is available online at https://www.kansascommerce.gov/program/taxes-and-financing/rural-opportunity-zones-roz/ .