The Edwardsville City Council voted 4-2 on Sept. 14 to set the city’s 2027 property tax at the revenue neutral rate of 34.346 mills, turning back a push to collect more from a rising housing market. The vote came after a string of residents told the council their county appraisals had jumped by as much as 36 percent in a single year.

By setting the rate at revenue neutral, the council agreed to take in the same amount of property tax as the year before, rejecting the higher rate of 36.425 mills that the city had advertised as its ceiling. Mayor Carolyn Caiharr and Councilmen Camila Adcox, Christy Everhart, Michael Moulin formed the majority. Councilmen Garrett Mellott and Margaret Shriver voted no.

The tax debate

Caiharr led the effort to keep the rate flat. She told the room that a higher appraisal should not force a bigger tax bill on people who are not selling their homes.

“A piece of paper says your house is worth more money. That doesn’t put more money in your bank account,” Caiharr said. She said the trend was hitting older residents hardest. “This is completely unsustainable for people on fixed incomes,” she said.

Mellott argued the other way, warning that years of holding taxes down had come at a cost to the city’s workforce. “We’ve lowered the mill levy for probably the last nine years for the residents of Edwardsville. We’re paying the price for that now by losing staff,” he said. He said employees were leaving for better pay in nearby cities and pointed to a salary study, priced at $9,600, that the council commissioned last month to even out wages and keep veteran workers.

Shriver also opposed the flat rate. In her closing comments she listed residents, staff, equipment, and buildings as her priorities and said the job of setting a budget is not an easy one. She has served on the council for 13 years.

Much of the hour-long discussion turned on what the numbers actually mean. Interim City Manager Doug Gerber explained the core of the state’s revenue neutral law. “If the governing body adopts the revenue neutral rate, we will take in the exact same amount of property tax as the previous year,” he said.

Gerber and City Attorney Josh Ney told the council the city’s mill rate would not go up no matter which option passed, because the council had already capped it. A homeowner’s bill can still climb, they said, if that home’s value rose faster than the citywide average. The total assessed value of taxable property in Edwardsville rose about 9.5 percent for 2027, from roughly $125.9 million to $132.5 million.

Caiharr pushed back on the framing, saying that keeping the mill rate steady while values rise is itself a tax increase, which is why Kansas adopted the revenue neutral law. “That’s where the words matter,” she said. Ney allowed that both sides had a point. “I think everyone’s right in a sense,” he said.

Asked whether the lower rate would still cover salaries and services, Gerber pledged to manage within whatever the council set. “Whatever budget you give us, we will make work. That’s our job,” he said, though he cautioned it would be tight and that some requests might have to wait.

Caiharr closed by tying the budget to the community’s needs. She said the city’s reserves are strong even as it builds a new municipal complex and renovates its fire station. “Our reserves have never been healthier,” she said.

The council later certified the 2027 budget on the revenue neutral basis, again by a 4-2 vote, directing staff to submit it to Wyandotte County by the Oct. 1 deadline with any amendments needed to match the lower rate. The certified budget carries a maximum authority of about $16.1 million across all funds, with a balanced General Fund of roughly $9.5 million.

Residents push back on appraisals

Three of the meeting’s public hearings drew residents frustrated by their valuations. Several said the process felt out of their hands.

Steve Johnson, of High Street, said his value rose 31 percent and that he had attended a formal state appeal earlier that day, his third year appealing. A resident of South 98th Street said his increase was smaller but still painful. “Mine isn’t 31 percent, it’s only 15 percent, but even so, being retired, let me tell you, it hurts,” he said.

Another resident, whose appraisal rose 36 percent, pressed the council for answers. “It’s just outrageous,” he said, adding that the yearly climb had become “unsustainable for us as citizens here.”

The council and staff repeatedly told speakers that appraisals are set by the county, not the city, and that appeals must go through Wyandotte County. Caiharr encouraged residents to keep protesting and to use the citywide 9.5 percent average as evidence if their own homes rose by more. Ney noted that property tax offers little of the personal control that income or sales taxes do, especially for people on fixed incomes.

Consent agenda

The council approved its consent agenda, with Mellott abstaining. The items included the statement of bills paid, totaling roughly $1.4 million, and the minutes of the Aug. 24 meeting.

The council also approved a special event permit for Fastenal’s BK5K Run/Walk, set to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 19. The race, now in its fifth year in Edwardsville, honors company founder Bob Kierlin and supports youth health programs. Police will help at the Blake and 9th street crossings.

Finally, the council backed the mayor’s appointment of Robert Niffen, a Planning Commission member, to the Stormwater Runoff Technical Review Committee. The committee, which hears appeals of the city engineer’s stormwater decisions, requires five Planning Commission members and had been operating with four.

Trains, roads, and complaints

In closing comments, Mellott raised the recurring problem of trains blocking city crossings, a hazard for emergency crews. “I understand there was one for five hours the other day,” he said. Caiharr said Fire Chief Tim Whitham had reviewed the law and found the city cannot regulate the railroad directly, and that she had asked the city attorney to look for options. Both said the issue may require help from state and federal representatives.

Mellott also defended city staff against what he described as unfair criticism posted on social media. Caiharr said she was aware of the comments and was scheduled to meet the resident the next day.

Shriver asked staff to check on a traffic signal on Fourth Street that residents say no longer trips its turn arrow. Residents earlier in the meeting also asked about a planned water line, resurfacing on High Street, and heavy dust on an unmaintained stretch of Sixth Street.