According to the Kansas Department of Revenue, the September revenues were $16 million below the estimate, which for the first quarter is $1.5 million below the estimate.
The first quarter of the fiscal year is meaningful because it includes the first quarterly tax payments of the taxpayers and does include the self-employed. These figures came out before the recent National news on the country’s financial situation.
Individual income tax receipts were $299.5 million, about $15.5 million or 5% below estimates made last spring by the Consensus Estimating group. September’s numbers were still $5.8 million or 2percent above last September’s individual income tax payments.
Corporate taxes were 10.5 percent or $7.3 million below the $70 million estimate, and some 30 percent or $27 million below receipts from a year ago.
Sales taxes receipts were $142.6 million, up a half percent or $660,000 above the estimate.
The oil severance tax brought in $7.9 million; gas severances taxes were $10.25 million both were roughly 50 percent above estimates. Cigarette taxes were almost $11 million or 22 percent and $1.9 million above estimates.
While being virtually on target is always notable, the slumping individual income tax receipts are troubling because it includes the first sounding of those quarterly filers’ income, which is directly tied to the performance of small business.
Community wind, in many respects is an attempt to socialize renewable energy production and generation. In community wind programs, a city usually owns the equipment, property, and generation. Accompanying collective “ownership” are collective liabilities. Because the public owns the development, it also assumes significant financial obligations that may include lease payments, taxes, depreciation, and problems associated with regulatory environment.
Jonathan Fisk, in an article published in the September issue of “Kansas Government Journal” magazine provides great insight on what others around the nation are doing to develop this resource. Community wind projects may also be similar to investor-owned projects.
Community wind owners include rural landowners, small businesses such as farms, local organizations such as schools and universities, Native American tribes, rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and even religious institutions.
These developments include the installation of the turbines on their land and are being developed throughout the upper Midwest and are slowly expanding into the South. The projects range from a single turbine installation to hundreds and typically serve only local communities or owners.
Texas, Kansas and North Dakota (usually the top three states in wind-generated potential) produced a combined total of 6 Megawatts of “community wind” electrical power. However, Iowa and Minnesota each experience less wind but produce much more electricity from “community wind”. Often, these projects are mid-scale projects that were developed in areas where electric grid constraints ruled out larger projects.
It is likely that rural areas in Kansas would be considered for such projects because of the state’s lack of east-west transmission infrastructure. On July 10, 2008 the City of Jetmore, began construction on the first municipal wind-energy project in Kansas. Jetmore is a rural community in Hodgeman County, which has class 4 to class 5 winds (out of 7 classes), averaging 16 to 18 mph. Specifically the Jetmore project is municipally funded and owned.
Hodgeman County leased the land to the City and after considering its options, the City purchased refurbished 150kW turbines ($250,000) from West Wind in Great Bend, Kansas. City officials reasoned that although the turbines were used, it was still the city’s best option. West Wind’s facilities are less than an hour away and in a position to ensure a favorable response time to service requests.
They also determined that the larger turbine size gave the city “more bang for the buck”. In fact the turbines will produce the equivalent of 12% of Jetmore residents’ electricity.
It is important to note that the decision makers of Jetmore understood that wind power does not necessarily lower energy costs. Wind does not blow at a consistent level during the day or at a constant speed during the year; it is variable and fluctuates.
As a result, the Southwest Power pool, to which the city has access, does not consider wind power “either firm or dispatchable by electric utilities.” It also requires that it must be backed up by firm generation (e.g. coal-fired, nuke, or gas fired). Because of these limitations, the Jetmore project is designed to offset spot-costs, the short-term price for electricity delivery.
These costs tend to be higher because they involve higher levels of risk and occur when “city’s base” amount of electric power has been exceeded. More information can be found at www.windindustry.org/communitywind or www.kcc.state.ks.us/energy/comm_wind/cw_toolkit_ver_.
In the same publication the El Dorado Waste Water Treatment Facility is highlighted. The city recently received the “Environmental Project of the Year Award” from the American Public Works Association. The article gives a history of the development of the project and explains the benefits and cost savings of having such a facility.
This facility receives many visitors from other communities to see how the project looks and operates. Just last month we hosted a group from Dodge City and they are now moving forward on a similar project of their own. We are proud of this community project that provides a much under appreciated service (think sewer waste), saves us money providing that service and protects the environment.
I consider it an honor and privilege to serve you in the Kansas House of Representatives. If I can be of service to you just give me shout. Home; 1115 Rim Rock Road, El Dorado 67042, 321-2087, or johng@carlisleinc.net, grange@house.state.ks.us, or www.johngrange.net. Thanks, John.
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