WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Voters in the cities of Augusta and Great Bend, as well as Edwards County, will decide on a proposed sales tax during this election cycle.
In Edwards County, voters are deciding whether to pay a higher sales tax for economic development. If approved, a sales tax would fund economic development instead of property taxes.
KSN spoke with the county’s Economic Development Executive Director, Heather Strate. She says, if approved, the point 375 percent tax would be placed on all goods and services in the county, including groceries and gas. This means that on a hundred-dollar purchase, the sales tax would be an extra 38 cents. That money would go to economic development.
“Right now, the only people that are paying for this economic development fund are property owners. So, by switching to sales tax, it’s relieving that burden from those property owners and spreading the burden among those traveling through. So, it’s not just affecting Edwards County citizens. We’re catching the people that are eating at our restaurants, driving through, filling up at the gas station,” said Strate.
Strate adds that Edwards County’s Economic Development needs 75,000 dollars of funding.
If the sales tax doesn’t pass, they’ll still need funds from property taxes, and she’s concerned it could lead to a property tax increase in 2026.
In Great Bend and Augusta, there is no new sales tax. Instead, voters are being asked if they want to keep paying what they’re already paying.
In Augusta, voters will decide whether to extend a one percent sales tax they have already been paying for another ten years to support infrastructure and, primarily, street maintenance.
“The one change that we made with this new version is that we are adding sidewalks. So where the ballot previously said allow us to use this money for street maintenance and upkeep, it now says streets and sidewalks because we’ve had an increase in demand of our community for improving walkability, connecting our neighborhoods,” said Josh Shaw, City Manager of Augusta.
He says the key part of this is enabling city improvement without raising property taxes.
Shaw added, “A lot of people probably don’t realize how important it is to us that the gap the that it would take in property taxes or other sources of revenue to make up the difference is so substantial all that that a lot of folks probably would not even be able to tolerate a conversation about it.”
In Great Bend, people will vote on a half-cent sales tax that’s been in place since 2001. The tax would support several initiatives, including 35 percent for property tax relief, 45 percent for capital improvements and 20 percent for economic development. If not approved, city leaders say they would either need to cut services or increase property taxes.