Here is The Star’s endorsement on whether to fund senior services through taxes | Opinion

Whether you call them the greatest generation, boomers or simply Mom, Dad, Grandma or Pop-Pop, it’s clear that our older adults have done a great deal for us.

We also know that in Jackson County — the only county in the Kansas City area that has no public funding to support those 65 and older — their numbers have increased and so has the need for services to help these residents.

However, The Kansas City Star Editorial Board regrettably cannot endorse Question 1, which would tax property owners to create a fund that would provide $8 million to $10 million a year in services to older adults, such as providing meals and transportation to doctor’s appointments and more.

Certainly, services such as yard and gutter cleanup could provide real value to Jackson County’s most vulnerable residents, but taxing an already heavily taxed population makes no sense at this time.

We’ve seen our population say no to two previous sales taxes to pay for a new Royals stadium and repairs to Arrowhead Stadium, and to raise money to help the homeless and repair infrastructure. Voters wouldn’t tolerate it.

Question 1 would charge property owners 5 cents for every $100 of assessed property value. The Star’s spot check of county records showed that the owner of a house worth $345,000 would likely pay about $33 more in taxes every year. Not a lot, some would say, but homeowners already were frustrated after surprise reassessments that caused taxes to rise.

We believe the county must find other ways to support its older residents.

Is it charity or taxes?

David Stokes, a policy director with the free market 501(c)(3) nonprofit Show-Me Institute, told KCUR that property taxes shouldn’t be the same thing as philanthropy.

“I’m troubled by mandating charity through taxation,” Stokes said. “We all have a responsibility to pay our taxes, and we all have a responsibility to donate to charities in our community. But mandating and mixing the two, I think, is not a great idea.”

But social services groups say help is essential and have written letters of support to legislators asking them to back efforts to funds.

In an interview with the editorial board, Janet Baker, executive director of Kansas City Shepherd Center and a member of the Steering Committee for the Seniors Count Coalition in Jackson County, said charitable donations aren’t sustainable.

“We’re all scrambling for about that 1% of philanthropic funding that does, in fact, go to seniors and that’s not sustainable.”

She’s referring to a coalition of 50 social service programs that includes the Shepherd Center, the Mattie Rhodes Center and others.

John Fierro, president and CEO of Mattie Rhodes Center said philanthropies give in a variety of areas, but lacks in funding for older members of the community.

“When it comes to our ability to raise money for youth services, raise money for specialized areas, such as domestic violence intervention, workforce development, et cetera. There are substantial amounts of dollars by private foundations and government entities for those populations. But when it comes to senior services, there’s not anything.”

Other options to help older adults?

The previous failed tax initiatives were sales taxes, and that’s an interesting idea in this case. Would Jackson Countians free up some money to support its older residents? Perhaps, but that’s a moot point because of decades-old state legislation. It must be a property tax by state statute.

Jackson County previously has found ways to support its older adults through freezing property taxes for people 62 and over, and other counties are looking at this idea. But asking younger homeowners to sort of pick up the slack isn’t fair to those struggling to pay their own taxes.

Like many of you, this editorial board is made up of members who have older family members to help support. Some of us might even vote for this tax, and we believe some of you can afford it. Baker describes it as “the second smallest property tax on anyone’s property tax. The only lower tax is the blind pension fund.”

If you can, consider supporting it. But we can’t say yes to a property tax for all of Jackson County.

This story was originally published October 31, 2024 at 5:06 AM.