Title
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF RETAINING THE MORTGAGE REGISTRATION FEE, AS PROVIDED IN K.S.A. 79-3102.
Presented by: Kristi Zukovich, Director, Sedgwick County Communications and Community Initiatives.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve the resolution.
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Kansas has charged a fee on the recording of mortgages for nearly 100 years. It has been a significant source of funding for local governments and has been upheld by the courts as a valid tax. In 1915 Legislation was created and signed by the government for a Mortgage Registration Fee. Since 1925 the current Mortgage Registration fee has been $.25 per 100. In 1990, a $.01 was added for the Heritage Trust Fund. The Mortgage Registration Fee was designed from the beginning to be a revenue stream for the county. Without the registration service fee, counties would not have the revenue to fund the mortgage registration process; a process which involves the Register of Deeds, County Clerk, Treasurer and Appraisers Offices.
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Financial Considerations: The mortgage registration fee produced $6.3-million of revenue to fund general operations of the county in 2013, and has ranged from $5.4-million to $8.7-million every year since 2003. It accounts for about 5% of total yearly General Fund revenue. The General Fund is the source of funding for the Sheriff ($51.5-million), other public safety operations (approximately $38-million), public works ($15.5-million), and other critical services. The loss of 5% of General Fund revenue would require some combination of these responses: reduce or eliminate county services equal to as much as 5% of total General Fund spending, or increase local property taxes as much as $6.3-million, which would require up to a 5% increase of the property tax rate.
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