Vehicle owners in Barton County may only face the hassle of paying for new or renewed tags once a year, but for Barton County Treasurer Jim Jordan and his team, the financial strain of providing that underfunded state-mandated service is year-round.
“I am genuinely concerned for Barton County taxpayers,” Jordan said. “We, at the county level, shouldn’t have to tap already-tax-burdened residents to cover the tab for something the state should be paying for.”
In other words, he’s not seeking more money for his office. He just wants the State of Kansas to pay its share.
Locally, Jordan is leading the charge, now spanning eight years, to get the Kansas Legislature to reform the state’s antiquated vehicle tag and title system, which he says forces counties to subsidize the service with local property taxes.
“County treasurers across Kansas are mandated to provide vehicle tag and title services,” Jordan said. “But the monies provided by the state to the county for this work do not match the cost of providing that service.”
Jordan, along with other members of the Kansas County Treasurers Association (KCTA), is pushing state lawmakers to modernize the system and adjust fees, which he notes haven’t been changed in decades.
Counties ‘holding the bag’
The result of the outdated system is that counties are “holding the bag,” losing millions of dollars statewide. Jordan estimates that Barton County is currently $60,000 in the red due to the underfunded mandate. He is troubled that local taxpayers are footing the bill for a state-mandated service.
“It’s a problem for County taxpayers to have an underfunded mandated service at the local level,” Jordan stated. “It’s a Kansas Department of Revenue problem — not a property tax problem.”
The state allows counties to keep only 75 cents for each title processed. To help offset the costs, the Legislature authorized counties to charge a filing fee of up to $2.50, which Barton County implemented three years ago. However, even with the added fee, the office is still operating at a loss.
Online renewals add to the deficit
The advent of online and mail-in renewals — while convenient for customers — is a “double-edged sword” for the Treasurer’s Office, increasing costs without providing the funds to cover them.
Jordan loses an estimated $1.25 on each online renewal. Even though there is no line for the customer, the office still incurs labor, materials, and postage costs to process the paperwork and mail the necessary documents. From January through August, the office lost $10,700 on online and mail-in renewals alone.
“Every year, that’s going to grow,” Jordan said of the deficit.
Legislative push for reform
Jordan is not alone in his frustration. Spearheaded by Sedgwick County Treasurer Brandi Baily, treasurers from the “Big Five” counties — Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte — met recently to form a strategy to compel lawmakers to make changes.
The treasurers argue that the KDOR, which controls the system, should allocate monies to support it, rather than pushing the costs onto local jurisdictions.
“Government must modernize and reform,” Jordan said. “Monies should be allocated from the Kansas Department of Revenue to support their system. Simply put, tag offices need to be reformed.”
While the state mandates the service and collects the lion’s share of fees, Jordan stressed, “we do most of the work.”
Jordan also understands why taxpayers would be troubled by this. He urged them to contact their state legislators and ask for changes.
Source: Barton County media
