The City Budget

On Tuesday, the City Manager presented his proposed budget for the City of Topeka for 2010. He calls for spending $224.5 million on municipal operations, but the focus of the story in the T C-J is on the mill levy which the City Manager proposes to increase by 1.85 mills. Annually, Topeka's paper of record engages in this silly exercise of viewing the City's budget and the Council's budgeting process as merely an exercise in setting the City's mill levy. It is much more than this.

Currently, the City levies 32.682 mills, or about 23% of the overall mill levy. By comparison, USD 501 (54.74 mills) and Shawnee County (40.117) impact the mill levy for a Topeka resident more than the City. Moreover, the property tax dollars raised by the City's portion of the mill levy are a small part of the funds the City raises annually. For example, the money the City raises from the sales tax dwarfs the property tax revenues. The 2009 Budget (see page 18) includes $11.8 million from property taxes and $28 million from sales taxes. In fact, the City Budget provides for more money from licenses and permits ($12.9 million) than the property tax.

The Topeka Capital-Journal would provide a better service to the public if it concentrated the stories about the municipal budget on how the City Manager proposes to spend the money. After all, the budget sets the City's priorities for the year. What are those priorities and how do they match up with the City Council's? How do they match up with yours?