Garnett City Manager Chris Weiner has weighed in on some of the bills being debated in the Kansas Legislature. He told commissioners he has submitted testimony recently opposing a handful of bills involving local government. One deal with a proposed notification requirement to property owners any time city tax funds increased, and another deal restricts tax increases on properties when their owners routine maintenance. Weiner says the net effect tot he city would be a cost increase of thousands of dollars for postage and staff time in drafting the documents and mailing them. He adds that they already publish budgets annually which illustrate mill levies and overall taxable property valuations. Those publications are made in advance of budget hearings preceding the budgets approval. That hearing is open to the public. He also submitted testimony which opposed a bill which would restrict property annexations to only voluntary ones, and also to a bill which would exempt cable companies from all related franchise fees or pole attachment fees associated with executing cable services within a city.
