Chanute, Kansas eliminates city property tax levy

CHANUTE, Kan. - Aiming to foster economic growth and attract investment, Chanute, Kansas has announced the elimination of its city property tax levy. The decision was made this week as city commissioners approved the 2024 budget.

Dee Bondan, real estate agent with over a decade of experience in Chanute, is hopeful that the absence of city mill taxes will encourage prospective homeowners to invest in the city. She says she has never seen the housing inventory in the city as low as it's now.

"I hope it will encourage people to build," Bondan stated.

City officials estimate a person owning a $100,000 property will save around $400 annually, starting from the coming year. "It's money that we don't need and the people and our citizens should keep it," said Vice Mayor Tim Fairchild.

However, in a balancing act, the city has also announced a less than 16% increase in electric rates, given that the city owns the electric utility.

Mayor Jacob LaRue shed light on the rationale behind this decision. "Property owners cannot control how much they're taxed on their property. A utility customer can make changes to their own usage."

"The Commission has improved their performance to the point where the utilities provide sufficient funds to operate our general fund activities like police, fire streets, things like that," Vice Mayor Fairchild added.

Mayor LaRue also shared his vision for the future, echoing Dee Bondan's hopes for a surge in investment. "I hope it encourages growth and development in the city. I hope people can see that they can move to our city and not have the great burden of taxes," he remarked.

Officials also say it's not the first time Chanute will be a "tax-free" city when it comes to property taxes -- according to them, back in the 30s the city also used utilities earnings to fund much of the city's spending

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