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Area residents who fall delinquent on their taxes while taking part in the Neighborhood Revitalization program may face the loss of one year of the tax abatement.
The issue was presented to the Pratt County Commissioners at their regular Monday meeting.
Revised guidelines for delinquent taxes in the Revitalization program and the establishment of specific dates when taxes will be considered delinquent will be written and presented to the Commissioners at a future meeting.
Both matters need to be clarified so everyone in the Revitalization program will understand the requirements for paying property taxes.
“We need to be consistent,” said County Appraiser D.J. McMurry.
Under the proposed guidelines, anyone taking part in the revitalization program that has delinquent taxes will lose one year of abatement, said County Counselor Gordon Stull.
If a participant in the revitalization program is delinquent two years in a row they are out of the program, Stull said.
If a person applies for revitalization after they have started a project, they will only be eligible for revitalization for construction after the application. McMurray will make the determination of value in this case.
The Commissioners will consider taking part in the Rural Opportunity Zone Student Repayment program. The program provides on opportunity for a student to apply for up to $15,000 in loans that are paid back over a five-year period.
The Commissioners will determine what amount they will commit to. Pratt Economic Development has pledged $1,500 to the program.
Once an amount has been established a resolution will be passed and sent to the state for participation in the program.
A draft of the county’s commitment to the Repayment program will be presented to Commissioners at the next meeting.
“The funds have to come through the County,” said Jan Scarbrough, Pratt Area Chamber of Commerce executive director who presented the proposal to the commissioners.
Pratt County is eligible for the program because they are one of the 50 Kansas Counties that are designated Rural Opportunity Zones.
The law authorizes ROZ counties to participate in the ROZSRP program to repay students loans up to $3,000 a year for a maximum of five years to students who graduate from an accredited post-secondary institution and move to a ROZ county.
Counties have until Jan. 1, 2012 to opt into the program.
Pratt Area Tourism is submitting an application to bring a traveling Smithsonian exhibit to Pratt. The Kansas Humanities Council is sponsoring the tour that is designed for towns with a population under 20,000, said Scarbrough, who is also the Pratt Area Tourism executive director.
Area residents who fall delinquent on their taxes while taking part in the Neighborhood Revitalization program may face the loss of one year of the tax abatement.
The issue was presented to the Pratt County Commissioners at their regular Monday meeting.
Revised guidelines for delinquent taxes in the Revitalization program and the establishment of specific dates when taxes will be considered delinquent will be written and presented to the Commissioners at a future meeting.
Both matters need to be clarified so everyone in the Revitalization program will understand the requirements for paying property taxes.
“We need to be consistent,” said County Appraiser D.J. McMurry.
Under the proposed guidelines, anyone taking part in the revitalization program that has delinquent taxes will lose one year of abatement, said County Counselor Gordon Stull.
If a participant in the revitalization program is delinquent two years in a row they are out of the program, Stull said.
If a person applies for revitalization after they have started a project, they will only be eligible for revitalization for construction after the application. McMurray will make the determination of value in this case.
The Commissioners will consider taking part in the Rural Opportunity Zone Student Repayment program. The program provides on opportunity for a student to apply for up to $15,000 in loans that are paid back over a five-year period.
The Commissioners will determine what amount they will commit to. Pratt Economic Development has pledged $1,500 to the program.
Once an amount has been established a resolution will be passed and sent to the state for participation in the program.
A draft of the county’s commitment to the Repayment program will be presented to Commissioners at the next meeting.
“The funds have to come through the County,” said Jan Scarbrough, Pratt Area Chamber of Commerce executive director who presented the proposal to the commissioners.
Pratt County is eligible for the program because they are one of the 50 Kansas Counties that are designated Rural Opportunity Zones.
The law authorizes ROZ counties to participate in the ROZSRP program to repay students loans up to $3,000 a year for a maximum of five years to students who graduate from an accredited post-secondary institution and move to a ROZ county.
Counties have until Jan. 1, 2012 to opt into the program.
Pratt Area Tourism is submitting an application to bring a traveling Smithsonian exhibit to Pratt. The Kansas Humanities Council is sponsoring the tour that is designed for towns with a population under 20,000, said Scarbrough, who is also the Pratt Area Tourism executive director.
The Pratt County Commissioners provided a letter of support for the project.
The tour is “The Way We Worked” and Scarbrough was confident Pratt could get the tour especially with the excellent historical museum.
“We thought we have a good shot at it,” Scarbrough said.
In other Commission business:
• The Pratt County E-waste program will continue as a no-fee convenience even though the Kansas Department of Health and Environment grant for the program ran out of money. The County Recycling program will stand the $5,000 annual cost of the program so citizens will not have to pay a fee. E-waste is processed at 10 cents a pound.
• Prices for an addition of two shower units at the Pratt County Veterans Memorial Lake will be researched and presented to the Commissioners at a later date for consideration in next years budget, said Peggy Lee of the Lake Committee.
The showers will be on timers and are expected to give three minutes of water for 50 cents.
• The Commissioners gave verbal approval for the installation of two lights and two outlets in the fish cleaning station at the lake. The additional electric equipment will cost $751. The lights will be in protected with glass globes and the globes will a cage around them to protect the lights. The outlets will have safety covers.
• The Commissioners gave their approval for Fort Hays State University to send an advanced nursing practitioner student to work in the Pratt County Health Department as part of their curriculum requirements. The students have to put in a total of 160 hours at 20 hours per week.
• A proposed change to the County Burn Resolution will close a loophole that applies to farmers. Currently, no maximum or minimum wind speed exists for burning crop residue. Mark McManaman, administrator of emergency and Medical Services for Pratt County, presented an amendment to the Burn Resolution that would limit crop residue burning only between five mph and 15 mph. Action on the resolution is expected at a future Commission meeting.
