Shawnee County approves sales tax agreement for Topeka to consider

Shawnee County has made its initial offer to the City of Topeka regarding how the countywide half-cent sales tax dollars should be spent — and it includes a few changes from the last time the city looked at project prices.

The Shawnee County Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the proposed interlocal agreement, which includes project costs and operating guidelines for the Joint Economic Development Organization for the 15-year extension voters approved in November.

"This is our opening offer," county counselor Rich Eckert said. "City of Topeka, we would appreciate look at it and give us some feedback."

Commissioner Kevin Cook said he would be surprised if the city didn't move around the project list and kick back a different proposal for the county to consider. However, he noted the Topeka Zoo is the first project on the list, which he thought reflected the priorities of the voters.

Both the commission and Topeka governing body have to approve the agreement before the tax can go into effect, Eckert said.

The county’s proposed pricing sheet is nearly identical to one presented to the Topeka City Council in July. The council ultimately couldn’t agree on a cost breakdown and scheduled a special meeting to pass a resolution for the ballot question without assigning prices.

The main change between the two lists is an increase to the amount of money to county bridges. At $2.17 million per year, $32.5 million would go toward county bridges by the time the sales tax is completed. The city previously considered putting $21.6 million toward county bridges.

"Those costs will rest on the people in the city and county," said Commissioner Shelly Buhler. "I think it's best to pay for those costs with the sales tax, and I hope the city keeps that in mind."

Buhler said the funds wouldn't completely pay for the needed improvements at the Carlson Road Bridge, but the commission "would exhaust every resource" to find additional funds. She voted down the ballot question because it didn't include the bridge, which also is referred to as the Willard Bridge.

Also increased from the city's last list are funding to the Expocentre — from $40 million to $45 million — and to the Bikeways Master Plan — from $3.2 million to $3.5 million.

Otherwise, all the project costs are the same — including a total of $10 million to the Topeka Zoo and $5 million per year to economic development.

Commissioner Kevin Cook emphasized the interlocal agreement makes no mention of Go Topeka, the firm currently contracted for economic development. Instead, the interlocal agreement gives JEDO authority to contract with an independent contractor. Also, any contract for economic development services awarded by JEDO would be limited to no more than three years.

Cook also pointed out that the contract would include a requirement for the independent contractor to "respond promptly to inquiries from both voting and non-voting members of the board."

The county was able to allocate more money than previous price lists, Eckert said, because it relies on a new estimate of how much the tax would generate: $256.2 million compared to the previous estimate of $240 million.

The original $240 million model is based on the tax generating a flat $16 million per year, which is what the tax will bring in this year, Eckert said. Even a 1 percent annual inflation would cover the full cost list, he said.

Also, Eckert said, the projects are estimated higher than realistic bids.

"We think we're going to exceed that easily," he said.

In the abundance of caution, Eckert included language in this interlocal that specifies what would happen if the sales tax doesn't bring in enough money.

If there is a budget shortfall, the proposed interlocal agreement requires the city and county to meet and confer about which projects should be cut. If no agreement can be reached, projects would be cancelled in the reverse order of the project list. That means the first items on the chopping block would be S.E. 37th Street from Kansas to Adams, followed by S.W. 37th Street from Scapa Place to Burlingame Road.