Why have Franklin County property taxes outpaced inflation by over 150% since 1997? What about running the Franklin County government has driven the cost to increase from $5,520,513 in 1997 to $17,424,677 now? What has changed between 1997 and now to make it 241% more expensive to run the local government, especially when the population hasn't changed? In just the last 5 years alone county taxes have increased by $3.58 million.

Everyone has experienced the sharp price increases caused by inflation and price gouging. The March Consumer Price Index shows inflation currently at 8.5% over the last 12 months. Inflation is at a 40-year high and wage increases have not kept pace. Fuel prices have risen to historic levels due to the war in Ukraine. This increase in fuel cost is only going to further exacerbate the sharp price increases everyone is experiencing, as every good requires transportation to get to the consumer, whether it be over air, land, or sea. In short, everything is getting more and more expensive and that was before the war in Ukraine started. It's only going to get worse.

Mortgage rates have soared from record lows in the 2s to over 5% in just a short matter of time, starting to cool off an inflated housing market in which offers routinely came in $50,000 or more above asking price. The median sales price for houses sold in the United States was $408,100 as of Q4 2021, an 85% increase in just a decade of time ($221,100 in Q4 2011). I know I can't help but wonder if a repeat of the 2008 housing crisis, which was triggered by a large decline in US home prices after the collapse of a housing bubble, is in order. Especially since the Q1 2007 peak of $257,400 was 77.5% higher than the Q1 1997 price of 145,000 (7.5% less than the current bubble we're in). Interestingly enough, the rate of inflation before the 2008 housing crisis was just shy of 6%. The current rate of inflation is a full 2% higher. If you'd like to see some illustrations of the current bubble we're in, check out wolfstreet.com's The Most Splendid Housing Bubbles in America, March Update. Are we going to see the same kinds of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures leading to another global financial crisis? I would say it is imminent.

Meanwhile, Franklin County property taxes have continued to rise at levels that far exceed the rate of inflation. Property taxes for some citizens have gone up 40+% from 2020 to 2021 and the 2022 assessed valuation has gone up another 20+% from there. House payments are now requiring more in escrow for property taxes than principal towards the mortgage. This is completely absurd and begs the question where the heck is that money going? Are we driving around on gold streets? Everyone is already strapped for cash due to the reasons above, yet the county government is demanding more and more money in property taxes every year? What services are we receiving to justify these outrageous taxes?

This disturbing trend is found not just in Franklin County, but is found in almost all counties throughout the state of Kansas. Kansaspolicy.org makes the following statements regarding property tax in Kansas counties:

So, we know that property tax has risen at an absurd rate despite shrinking populations, but where is the money going? Kansaspolicy.org provides us with some additional insight, Kansas has the 3rd highest number of state and local government workers per capita (48^th out of 50 states), leaving only two states with more state & local government workers per resident. Kansas is also the 3rd lowest number of residents per general purpose government unit. There is one Kansas governmental unit for every 1,400 Kansans. Therefore, should a state with 3 million residents have nearly the most government employees in the country? Should a state with 3 million residents have roughly 2,000 governmental units? The answer is No.

Kansaspolicy.org makes the following statements regarding the bloated state of government in Kansas:

We already know that almost all counties within Kansas have outrageous taxes as well, so I went ahead and compared Franklin County with similar sized counties in other states. According to govsalaries.com, Franklin County had 284 employees in 2020. Census.gov shows the Franklin County population in 2020 was 25,996. This equates to a ratio of 1 county employee per 91.5 citizens. Comparably sized counties in other states all have significantly less employees. Ratios range from 194.5 up to 311.5 citizens per local government employee compared to Franklin County's 91.5. Other comparably sized counties have at least 112 fewer employees than Franklin County. What are we doing in Franklin County to require so many more government employees? What services are we receiving that the citizens in these other counties are not? This obviously factors into the huge difference in the property tax rate when compared to these other counties. Franklin County's average property tax rate of 1.31% is .45% to .79% higher than these other counties. In fact, Tax-Rates.org reports, "Franklin County has one of the highest median property taxes in the United States..."

I personally am tired of hearing the excuse that the high taxes in Franklin County are due to us not having enough businesses to help shoulder the burden. As explained by Kansaspolicy.org, States that take fewer resources from families and businesses tend to see stronger private growth than Kansas. These same low burden states also perform markedly better than states with the highest tax burden.

This reasoning is even further debunked when looking at business data for similar sized counties on census.gov, which shows that counties with significantly lower property tax rates have a comparable amount of businesses, less total employment, and less annual business payroll.  If the high Franklin County taxes are due to not having enough business, then how can these other counties, with similar or even less business, collect significantly less property tax?

Are you angry, but feel like there's nothing you can do? Are you tired of feeling powerless? Are you scared to do any work on your house because you know it's just going to make your already outrageous taxes even higher? Are you feeling desperate? Do you feel like there's no end in sight for these tax increases? Do you feel like the local government is taking advantage of the citizens to put more money in their pockets?  Are you wondering what Franklin County is doing to necessitate so many more employees and so much more in property taxes than similar sized counties in other states? I know I am, and now is the time to take action.  I have outlined 4 steps below to fight back against the county.

Colt Waymire, 1^st District Commissioner, can be contacted at cwaymire@franklincoks.org or by phone at (785) 214-0427. Here is an email template for contacting Colt: Contact Colt

Rod Harris, 2^nd District Commissioner, can be contacted at rharris@franklincoks.org or by phone at (785) 242-5435. Here is an email template for contacting Rod: Contact Rod

Roy Dunn, 3^rd District Commissioner, can be contacted at rdunn@franklincoks.org or by phone at (785) 229-3485. Here is an email template for contacting Roy: Contact Roy

Ianne Dickinson, 4^th District Commissioner Vice, can be contacted at idickinson@franklincoks.org or by phone at (785) 229-9597. Here is an email template for contacting Ianne: Contact Ianne

Donald Stottlemire, 5^th District Commisioner, can be reached at dstottlemire@franklincoks.org or by phone at (785) 229-3485. Here is an email template for contacting Donald: Contact Donald

I would also send a message to the County Administrator | Counselor, Derek Brown, and ask what has changed between 1997 and now to make it 241% more expensive to run the local government, especially when the population hasn't changed, what he is doing to reduce the cost for running the local government, and how he is justifying his salary, which is over 6 times the Franklin County per capita income (average income of each resident). Derek's direct email is one of the few emails that is not openly listed on the Franklin County website, but if I had to guess I'd say it's dbrown@franklincountyks.org since that seems to be the standard format. If that doesn't work, use administration@franklincoks.org. Here is an email template for contacting Derek: Contact Derek

I believe that the steps above will address the problem, but if not, more drastic measures can be taken. In a democracy the people are supposed to hold the power. I am tired of feeling powerless against this outrageous taxation. A county of 25,996 should not be burdened with $44.7 million in annual property tax. It is time to hold the city administration accountable and bring in a new era of prosperity for Franklin County in which the local government isn't profiting off the backs of its citizens for its own benefit.  A county is supposed to serve its citizens, not drown them in taxes. Franklin County, Kansas was established in 1855 and named in honor of the legendary Benjamin Franklin. Ben Franklin once said, In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. In Franklin County the taxes are definitely certain, and one might even say we are being taxed to death. I personally believe that if Ben Franklin were alive today, he would be appalled with the Franklin County government.

I'm very interested to hear how other Franklin County citizens feel about their property taxes using the following survey: