City of Russell to vote on sales tax for water reserve fund

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A push to secure water for the City of Russell is on the ballot this November.

The City is voting on a three-quarter cent sales tax. It is teaming up with the City of Hays to pipe water in from Edwards County, but doing that will take a lot of money.

The sales tax would bring in an estimated $400,000 each year.

“All taxes are unfavorable in any way you look at it, but the sales tax is more equitable to everyone because not only to the people spending money in Russell but outside. The citizens won’t have it solely as their burden,” Russell Mayor Jim Cross said.

Cross said the water transmission line from the current source, Big Creek, was put in in 1988 and will need to be upgraded and updated soon. He said that would be a roughly $20 million project.

“So, looking into the future, we need to start developing and rebuilding or refurbishing our plants, our lines, and we need to get our water reserve fund back up,” Cross said. “The sales tax, of course, would help us with the revenues that are being generated currently by sales tax here in the City of Russell.”

Cross said the only other way to get money into the water reserve fund is to raise water rates, but that’s not something the City of Russell wants to do.

Early voting begins on Oct. 16. Election Day is Nov. 5.

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