GO WYANDOTTE!

Wyandotte County to negotiate with Legends, Nebraska Furniture Mart over unpaid taxes
By MARK WIEBE
The Kansas City Star

Unified Government Mayor Joe Reardon has asked Wyandotte County’s top administrator to “re-engage” in negotiations with two of the county’s largest retailers, which have refused to pay their property tax bills.

Speaking at the beginning of a budget workshop Thursday at City Hall, Reardon said that Nebraska Furniture Mart and The Legends shopping center were “good community partners.”

But, he added, his job required him to “protect and uphold the interests of our taxpayers and the public.”

Although he said he was optimistic that the government and the retailers could reach an agreement suitable to all parties, Reardon did not offer a specific solution.

Nebraska Furniture Mart and The Legends are disputing the values at which the county has appraised their properties. Both have unpaid property tax bills. Nebraska Furniture Mart owes $6.2 million, and The Legends owes $5.1 million.

Reardon said the government was obliged to make sure “that we are being good stewards of the taxes paid for local government,” and it had to be “accountable and fair.”

A spokesman for the Unified Government and a Nebraska Furniture Mart executive exchanged heated words Tuesday, a day after County Administrator Dennis Hays called out the furniture giant and The Legends for failing to pay their taxes.

Nebraska Furniture Mart said it has never failed to pay an obligation. Company vice president Bob Batt said the Unified Government was bullying the company and argued that the Unified Government had overvalued Nebraska Furniture Mart’s property.

BS!!!!!! WHY IS ANYONE NEGOTIATING? SURE, LET'S CUT THESE COMPANIES A DEAL ON THEIR TAXES AND TELL THE PUBLIC HOW MUCH MONEY WE TOOK OFF THEIR BILL AND THEN ASK THE PARENTS AND TEACHERS IN WYANDOTTE IF THEY THINK THEY COULD'VE USED THAT AMOUNT FOR WYANDOTTE'S RUN DOWN SCHOOLS...LET'S NOT FORGET THAT WYANDOTTE'S RESIDENTS PAY SOME OF THE HIGHEST PROPERTY TAXES AROUND THE AREA (WHY DON'T THEY GET A DEAL TOO???) OR BETTER YET, LET'S COMPARE THE NUMBER OF PARKS AND CHILDREN THAT LIVE IN KCK...GET THEM FOR ALL THEY'RE WORTH...OOOOHHHH I WISH I WORKED FOR THE CITY....HMMMMMMM:)