MERRIAM HIGHLIGHTS - WINTER 2011 | SPRING 2012

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MERRIAM HIGHLIGHTS Published for Merriam Residents & Businesses

WINTER 2011 | SPRING 2012

Building the 2012 Budget Merriam’s 2012 operating and capital budget was approved by City Council in July. The City’s mill levy has been set at 27.412 mills, slightly less than last year. City of Merriam property taxes on a home valued at $150,000 will cost the homeowner $473 per year. Priorities and Values – The Governing Body reviews and updates citywide goals as part of the budget process. Here are the goals and objectives that provided direction for the 2012 Budget: 1. Code Enforcement: Reduce the number of repeat code offenders. 2. Community Development: Sustain capital improvement efforts and the street light program. 3. Citizen advocacy: Rebuild the City website and provide for more on-line transactions for City business. Measure citizen satisfaction levels for City services. 4. Economic development: Promote existing developments. Work with local business owners and business associations. Keep abreast of legislative efforts and current events adverse to the City. 5. Administrative focus: Codify city codes and make them available on the City website. Invest in our employees. 6. Sustainability: Consider Alternate Development Scenarios policies proposed by Mid-America Regional Council. Assist

Dear Merriam Citizens,

with implementation of the county’s new solid waste regulations. 7. Improve planning process: Complete the Upper Turkey Creek drainage study. Complete the multi-year study for Shawnee Mission Parkway/Metcalf corridor sustainability plan. Update the City’s comprehensive plan. Budget Challenges and Responses – The challenges we faced with the 2012 Budget were not new. Our largest source of revenue, City and County sales taxes, saw further declines in 2010. Annual collections have dropped over $800,000 since 2008 due to the recession. Property tax values have dropped by $19 million or 11.5% since 2008, including a projected 2.5% for 2011. Expenditures are projected to increase, including higher employee pension and gasoline costs. The City adopted several measures to cope with this economic climate including: suspend funding for certain staff positions; limit employee merit increases; reduce employee training and travel budgets; postpone some capital equipment purchases. Your Tax Dollars at Work – For less than the cost of monthly cable service, our residents receive high-quality City services such as police and fire protection, snow removal, street maintenance, community center classes, a beautiful neighborhood swimming pool and farmers’ market. - See “Budget”, continued on page two...

As we close out 2011, looking back, it has been a very good year for Merriam, and there are some very exciting new plans for 2012. It has been a tough road for many cities in the Kansas City Metro area, with problems associated with the depressed economy. Luckily, the City of Merriam is very fortunate to have a large and diverse mixture of businesses for our small size. This has helped to insulate our city from the recession that has caused so many cities to suffer. Another advantage we have is the fiscally conservative nature of our City Council and the strong support that we receive from our city staff, which has helped to keep our costs down to a reasonable minimum. As a result, in August, the City Council passed the 2012 city budget with no increase in property taxes. Last year, I reported that the city continued to “plod forward with our two major development projects, Merriam Village and Merriam Pointe.” I am happy to report that in the next few months we will see construction of a new state-of-the-art Toyota dealership, being built on the Merriam Pointe site at 67th and I-35. Superior Toyota is moving their operation from their current Merriam location on Shawnee Mission Parkway, and enlarging their operation greatly. We are very excited to be working with them to make their business better. There has also been recent increased interest in the Merriam Village site as well. It is my goal to see that both locations are up and running as soon as possible. Having new businesses bringing in sales taxes will only help to keep our taxes low and our service levels high. In conclusion, I would like to say thanks for all your support. I am proud to be your Mayor and look forward to meeting many of you in the future. Please feel free to contact me at City Hall. I am available one hour before every council meeting (2nd and 4th Mondays, from 6 to 7 PM), or you can call me at 913-523-5357. Let me know if there is anything I can do to make your experience here in Merriam more pleasant.

CITY OF MERRIAM, KANSAS 6200 EBY STREET MERRIAM, KS 66202-2815

Mayor Ken Sissom

www.merriam.org | (913) 322-5500 | CityofMerriam@merriam.org

PRESORT STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 576 SHAWNEE MISSION, KS


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MERRIAM HIGHLIGHTS - WINTER 2011 | SPRING 2012 by City of Merriam, Kansas - Issuu