CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Tax Base Comparison
Using the most recent county abstracts, staff has prepared the table below comparing Lawrence with the nine other largest cities in the state in terms of percentage of tax base made up residential versus non-residential real property. Non-residential real property includes property classified as agricultural, not for profit, commercial, and other. This breakdown does not include the assessed valuation of state assessed utilities or personal property in these communities. Lawrence falls below the median in terms of non-residential property as a percentage of our tax base.
|
|
% |
% Non- |
|
Municipality |
Residential |
Residential |
|
Unified Government |
45.81% |
54.19% |
|
Lenexa |
47.58% |
52.42% |
|
Topeka |
58.49% |
41.51% |
|
Overland Park |
59.29% |
40.71% |
|
Wichita |
60.79% |
39.21% |
|
Salina |
63.67% |
36.33% |
|
Lawrence |
68.59% |
31.41% |
|
Olathe |
71.03% |
28.97% |
|
Manhattan |
73.11% |
26.89% |
|
Shawnee |
73.37% |
26.63% |
|
|
|
|
|
average |
62.17% |
37.83% |
|
median |
62.23% |
37.77% |
Staff to study RFQ submissions
The following Statements of Qualifications for Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility projects have been received and will be studied by staff:
§ Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility and Pump Station 09 Improvements
o Black & Veatch/Grimm Construction with Burns & McDonnell; Bartlett & West; and P1 Group
§ Conveyance Corridor
o Garney/Bartlett & West
o CAS/PEC with RD Johnson; Wade & Associates; and P1 Group
o Burns & McDonnell as Prime Design/Build Contractor with BG Consultants and GPW & Associates
Solid Waste Supervisor speaks at Waste Expo
Solid Waste Supervisor Craig Pruitt recently spoke at the 2007 Waste Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. Craig’s presentation was “Creating Your Own Training Programs.” Over 12,000 waste professionals attended the conference.
Solid Waste Division tests new tire technology
When sanitation trucks arrive at the landfill they have to back over some of the trash in order to get in position to dump their load. This can easily cause tire damage to any of the trucks, but the roll-off trucks are more susceptible to damage because they make more trips to the landfill to dump their containers. Tires with nails in them are a frequent occurrence. In 2006 Goodyear released an 11R22.5 tire with DuraSeal technology, a gel-like, solvent-free compound built into the inner liner that seals punctures as large as 1/4” in the tread area. As a test we purchased and replaced the eight rear tires on two of our roll-off trucks. Since the tires were installed in April neither truck has had a flat. Our cost for these tires is about $65 more than a comparable Goodyear tire without the sealer. We will continue to monitor these tires for durability and tread wear and may install them on additional trucks if further evidence continues to indicate they need much fewer repairs and the tread life is acceptable.
Sales tax through April 2007
The attached sales tax report represents sales tax revenue through April 2007. An example on ongoing concerns regarding revenue shortfalls in this area for 2007 can be found in the City stales tax year-to-date totals, which are ninety-four percent (94%) of budget year-to-date and also lagging behind the adjusted projections for that revenue source.