(a)   The City of Bucklin, in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 12-16,102, as amended, does hereby establish an employee benefits contribution fund for the purpose of paying the Library’s share of employee benefits prescribed by subsection (b).

(b)   The cost of employee benefits authorized for payment from the fund created by subsection (a) shall include the following: Employer contributions for social security, workers compensation, unemployment insurance, health care costs, employee benefit plans, and employee retirement and pension programs (KPERS).

(Ord. 706; Code 2017)

In accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 12-1,118 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, there is hereby established a municipal capital improvements fund, which shall be used by the city to finance, in whole or in part, any public improvement need set forth in the city’s capital improvement plan.

(Res. 768; Code 2017)

In accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 12-1,117, there is hereby established a municipal equipment reserve fund, which shall be used by the city to finance the acquisition of equipment necessary for the performance of all functions and services of the city.

(Ord. 688; Code 2017)

(a)   The Neighborhood Revitalization Plan for the City of Bucklin, Kansas Dated April 18, 2011 is hereby adopted.

(b)   The Neighborhood Revitalization Area as described in said Plan is hereby approved.

(c)   City staff are hereby authorized and directed to implement said Plan In accordance with the procedures setout therein and to execute on Behalf of the City all necessary documents and to take all actions for the implementation of said Plan.

(Ord. 853; Code 2017)

(a)   The purpose of these provisions is to establish the official policies and procedures of the City of Bucklin, Kansas, for the granting of property tax exemptions for real and tangible personal property used for qualified economic development purposes under Section 13 of Article 11 of the Kansas Constitution.

(b)   Authority and Discretion. The governing body of each county or city, as the case requires, may exempt from ad valorem taxation certain property used for economic development purposes for a maximum of ten years. The City Council is under no obligation to approve any requested exemption and reserves the right to deviate from the policies and criteria contained herein if circumstances exist to warrant such deviation. The City Council may (1) require certain information, (2) condition the granting of an exemption to an agreement for the payment of in lieu charges or taxes under the provisions of K.S.A. 12-147 and 12-148, and (3) require the payment of initial application and annual renewal fees reasonably necessary to cover the costs of administration.

(c)   Preliminary Review. Prior to submitting a formal application for exemption, a business may inquire as to eligibility for tax exemption and the anticipated amount of such tax exemption based upon preliminary employment and/or capital investment figures. In order to obtain a preliminary review, the business shall complete the regular application form, stating at the top of the form that this is a preliminary application, and will submit the pre-application to the City Clerk. The City Council, in conjunction with the County appraiser and City Legal Counsel shall review the information submitted and respond to the business regarding apparent eligibility and the potential amount of eligible tax exemption. The response from the county staff shall in no way represent definite findings or be seen as an expression of intent or obligation of the City Council to favorably consider or approve a formal request for tax exemption. The pre-application form, information, and staff response shall be considered proprietary business information and may be withheld from public disclosure under the Kansas Open Records Act as provided for by K.S.A. 45-221 (20) and (31).

(d)   Formal Application: The city will consider the granting of a tax exemption only upon the submission of a full and complete application and such additional information as may be requested.

(1)   Fees: The filing fee for formal applications shall be $250.00.

(2)   Application Contents:

(A)  Name and address of applicant, contact person, and telephone number.

(B)  Names and addresses of the principal officers and directors of the applicant business.

(C)  Name and address of the owner of the real estate and buildings occupied or to be occupied by the applicant business.

(D)  A general description of the nature of the business of the applicant and the applicant’s history/experience in such business.

(E)   A general description of the proposed project or improvements, including estimated capital investment.

(F)   A site plan of the proposed project or improvements for which exemption is requested.

(G)  If an existing business, the average monthly employment figures for the past 12 months.

(H)  The estimated number of new jobs to be created by job title and projected wages for each position.

(I)    The duration and percentage of tax exemption being requested.

(J)   If an exemption for tangible personal property is being requested, a specific listing and identification of all tangible personal property for which exemption is sought and the location of such property once the business commences operations.

(K)  The application shall be verified by an officer or authorized agent of the business.

(e)   Application Procedures. Each application made for granting of a tax exemption pursuant to this policy shall generally follow the procedures outlined below:

(1)   Completed application and filing fee will be submitted to the City Clerk.

(2)   A notice of the filing will be sent to the applicant and members of the City Council.

(3)   An administrative review committee shall receive and review applications for tax exemptions. The review shall include consideration of the application and such additional information as the committee deems necessary to determine eligibility requirements, the costs and benefits of the proposed exemption and calculate the applicable tax exemption. The administrative review committee shall forward to the City Council its determination and recommendation.

(4)   The administrative review committee shall be composed of the following persons:

(A)  An appointee of the City Council.

(B)  The affected school district superintendent or his/her designee,

(C)  The president of Dodge City Community College or his/her designee,

(D)  The mayor of an affected city or his/her designee; and

(E)   A representative from the affected Township appointed by the City Council. The Ford County Director of Public Works, the County Appraiser and the County Counselor shall serve as resource persons to the administrative review committee.

(5)   Administrative review committee records, including applications for tax exemptions, may be withheld from public disclosure under the Kansas Open Records Act as provided under subsections (20) and (31) and other subsections of K.S.A. 45-221, but shall otherwise be available for public inspection when otherwise required by law.

(6)   The recommendations of the administrative review committee shall not be binding on the City Council and shall be superseded by any final action by the City Council.

(7)   If the City Council decides to consider the application further, it shall schedule a public hearing and publish due notice in the official city newspaper at least one time seven days prior to the hearing. In addition, each taxing unit effected by the proposed exemption will be notified individually in writing of the application and the date, time, and place of the public hearing.

(8)   Official action on the application by the City Council will take place at a public meeting within 30 days following the closing of the public hearing on said application. Prior to the taking of official action on the application, the City Council will review the analysis of the costs and benefits as prepared by City staff, shall receive the comments from the applicant, effected taxing districts, and the general public. Any approval of a request for exemption will be in the form of a City resolution duly adopted by the City Council.

(9)   If the application is approved, a copy of the exemption application and the resolution approving the same will be filed with the City Clerk by the applicant.

(10) The applicant shall be responsible for any and all subsequent filings with the State Board of Tax Appeals or other governing state agency, and for the securing of final tax exemption by the State Board of Tax Appeals. The county will cooperate with the applicant in providing information in any proceedings before the State Board of Tax Appeals concerning such exemption.

(11) In granting a tax exemption, the City Council may impose any terms or conditions, as it deems necessary to fulfill the purpose and intent of this policy.

The complete application process from filing to official action shall generally be completed within 60 days.

(f)   Criteria for Granting Exemption. Each application for property tax exemption shall be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:

(1)   Costs and Benefits Analysis: Prior to the granting of any exemption, the city staff will prepare an analysis of the costs and benefits of each requested exemption, including the effect of the exemption on state revenues.

(2)   Eligible Business: In according with the provisions of Section 13 of Article 11 of the Kansas Constitution, a tax exemption will be considered only for business engaged in the following activities:

(A)  Manufacturing articles of commerce;

(B)  Conducting research and development; or

(C)  Storing goods or commodities, which are sold or traded in interstate commerce.

(3)   Eligible Property: The City Council may exempt from ad valorem taxation all or any portion of the appraised valuation of:

(A)  All buildings, together with the land upon which such buildings are located and all tangible personal property associated therewith used exclusively by an eligible business which commences operations within the City after the effective date of this policy; and

(B)  All buildings or added improvements to buildings constructed or made after the effective date of this policy, together with the land upon which such buildings or added improvements are located, and all tangible personal property associated therewith used exclusively by an eligible business which is necessary to facilitate the expansion of any such existing business, if, as a result of such expansion, new employment is created.

(C)  No exemption shall be granted for tangible personal property unless a factual determine has been made by the City Council that such an exemption is required to retain jobs in the State of Kansas.

(D)  No exemption for real property or tangible personal property shall be granted unless the eligible business has made application to the City for such exemption prior to such business’ occupancy of a new building or improvement to an existing building, or its use of any tangible personal property associated therewith.

(g)   Term and Amount of Exemption.

(1)   Base Exemption: The base exemption shall be for 100% of the real and personal property taxes due for period of not to exceed ten years after the calendar year in which the eligible business commences its operation or the calendar year in which the expansion of an existing business is completed, as the case requires.

(2)   Modification of Base Exemption: The base exemption may be modified by the City council in the consideration of any application and shall receive special consideration for modification when the investment made by the eligible business is less than $500,000 or less than 20 new jobs are to be created by said business. Any modification of the base exemption may be in the form of a reduced percentage of property taxes exempted or a reduction in the number of years granted for the exemption, or both.

(3)   Payment in Lieu of Taxes: It is the intent of this policy to promote expansion of the tax base and ensure that the taxing districts having authority to levy taxes on the property affected will receive, in the future, not less than the amount received prior to granting the exemption.

An eligible business receiving a tax exemption pursuant to this policy shall be required to make a minimum payment in lieu of taxes which equals the amount of property tax which was paid or was payable for the most recent year on the appraised valuation of the real estate, including either buildings together with land or land only, prior to the construction of new buildings or added improvements to buildings on such property or prior acquisition of property by the new business. The purpose of this minimum payment in lieu of tax payment is to assure that City, County, School District, and other taxing jurisdictions effected by the exemption will not receive prior to the exemption. The minimum payment in lieu of taxes shall be payable to the County Treasurer for distribution under the provisions of K.S.A. 12-148 to the general fund of all taxing subdivisions, excluding the State, which levy taxes on property where the business is situated.

In addition to the minimum payment as set forth above, an eligible business may also be required to make such payments in lieu of taxes as my be required to offset partially or in total the increase in cost to a taxing subdivision resulting directly from the new or expanded exempt business.

(4)   Special Assessments: Any tax exemption granted for real property ender this policy shall not effect the liability of such property for any special assessments levied or to be levied in the future against such property.

(h)   Annual Review. The extent and term of any tax exemption granted pursuant to this policy shall be subject to annual review and determination by the City Council to insure that the qualifying criteria of the business for the tax exemption continue to exist and that the terms and conditions established for the exemption, including any payment in lieu of taxes, are being fulfilled in a timely fashion. The annual review shall also include a determination that all ad valorem and personal property taxes on non-exempt property are paid current. The annual review process shall involve the following:

(1)   Fees: The filing fee in the amount of $75.00 for the annual review.

(2)   Information Provided by Recipient: The recipient of any tax exemption will provide an annual report and pay an annual renewal fee for life of the exemption. The annual report will indicate total employment, employment attributed to the exempt project, any change in the majority ownership of the business, any change in the nature of the business, and any other data as may reasonably be requested. The business shall also provide proof of payment of all ad valorem and personal property taxes on nonexempt property owned by the business.

(3)   The county staff shall review the information presented in the renewal request and, if it is found that the business remains in compliance with the criteria for the initial exemption, is in compliance with all terms and conditions of the granting of such initial exemption and all ad valorem and personal property taxes due on non-exempt property owned by the business are paid current, shall so certify and provide to the recipient a certificate indicating that the business remains in full compliance with the original exemption.

(4)   Time for Filing of Renewal Review: The renewal application shall be filed no later than July 1 of each year during which the exemption remains in effect.

(i)    Jurisdiction. It shall be the policy of the city to consider applications for tax exemption only as to property located within the City further, the city shall consult with the county if an application relates to a business located or to be located within three miles of a city.

(j)    Policy, Review and Modification. This policy may be reviewed at any time by the City Council which reserves the right to amend, revoke, of otherwise modify the policy for the best interest of City of Bucklin; provided, however, that any modification or revocation of this policy shall not effect any existing tax exemption previously granted under the terms of this policy.

(Res. 713; Code 2017)

In accordance with the authority granted to municipalities by Article 12, Section 5 of the constitution of the State of Kansas, the governing body of the City of Bucklin herby authorizes the rate of levy for library purposes not to exceed 16.00 mills.

(Ord. 749; Code 2017)