Mayor’s Minutes - March 17th , 2025 - Downtown Beautification, Property Tax Relief Expansion

In this first episode of the Mayor's Minute(s), Mayor Rick Walker chats about Youth Art Month in De Soto, downtown beautification efforts, and the expansion of our property tax relief program!

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:08 Youth Art Month Proclamation

00:29 Downtown Beautification Project

00:58 New Storm Sirens Installation

01:17 Capital Improvement Plan Update

01:42 Property Tax Relief Program

03:45 Conclusion and Final Remarks

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Hello De Soto! It's time for a Mayor's Minute.
At our latest City Council meeting, we started by proclaiming March as Youth Art Month in De Soto.
Art plays an important role in our school and our community, and fosters creativity and critical thinking in young minds.
And I encourage everyone to support local student artists and celebrate the impact of the arts in our De Soto community.

(00:29):
.666666667At the start of our meeting, we heard a proposal from the De Soto Garden Club requesting the City's assistance to create a beautification project downtown. 6 00:00:37,241.666666667 --> 00:00:44,731.666666667 They've asked for help purchasing four large outdoor planters and planting materials that will add a pop of color to downtown De Soto. 7 00:00:44,891.666666667 --> 00:00:51,415 The Council decided to fund $3,000 to bring a fresh, vibrant look to our downtown street scape.

(00:51):
The Garden Club will plant and maintain the plants.
The City will help out by filling the self-watering pots as needed.
We've also accepted bids for a couple more storm sirens.
We're adding new weather warning sirens at a 103rd and Edgerton Road in the southwest part of the city and at a 102nd and Waverly Road.
.333333333So these will provide additional warning areas to our early warning system in case of dangerous storms. 13 00:01:17,773.333333333 --> 00:01:29,703.333333333 We've also, taken a significant step toward an update to our capital improvement plan, our CIP We'll look at priorities for infrastructure improvements in the city in the upcoming years.

(01:29):
It's gonna be an ongoing discussion.
.66666667There'll be opportunity for public input, but we'll have some Council work sessions to decide what projects we need to focus on as we look to De Soto's future. 16 00:01:42,176.66666667 --> 00:01:48,286.66666667 Another community initiative that we, looked at was our tax relief program. 17 00:01:48,466.66666667 --> 00:01:59,596.66666667 One of my top priorities as mayor has been ensuring that De Soto seniors and disabled veterans and fixed income residents can afford to stay in their homes even as our property values rise. 18 00:01:59,656.66666667 --> 00:02:05,656.66666667 So that's why last year I led the charge to create De Soto's first ever property tax relief program.

(02:05):
We heard a presentation on rolling that program out again for this year based on the success we had last year.
Last year there were 55 applications approved. 21 00:02:15,173.33333333 --> 00:02:23,993.33333333 There was an average rebate of about $450 per household, and we were able to give away 98% of the available funds. 22 00:02:23,993.33333333 --> 00:02:29,813.33333333 And because of that success we're gonna make a few smart adjustments to the program for 2025. 23 00:02:29,873.33333333 --> 00:02:32,873.33333333 And, try and reach even more of our community. 24 00:02:32,873.33333333 --> 00:02:36,773.33333333 So some of the changes we added a one-year residency requirement. 25 00:02:36,773.33333333 --> 00:02:41,133.33333333 The idea of the program is to refund taxes that were paid in the prior year. 26 00:02:41,133.33333333 --> 00:02:45,543.33333333 So, I think it's important that we ensure that you have been a resident more than a year. 27 00:02:45,543.33333333 --> 00:02:49,923.33333333 So that we're giving the funds to people that have paid taxes in the city. 28 00:02:50,213.33333333 --> 00:03:00,823.33333333 We're trying to expand the application period, so we're gonna roll it out just a little bit earlier and trying to make it easier for residents to apply and receive assistance in that application. 29 00:03:01,323.33333333 --> 00:03:19,980 And then we're also adding a reconsideration or a relook process so that if your application doesn't initially meet one of the standard eligibility criteria, we can run it through an additional review process to make sure that we're helping as many people as we can, and that we don't leave funds unused. 30 00:03:20,146.66666667 --> 00:03:27,26.66666667 De Soto is growing rapidly and that is exciting, but we also know that it's driving some property values to increase. 31 00:03:27,26.66666667 --> 00:03:31,136.66666667 And we know that some higher property values can lead to higher tax bills. 32 00:03:31,136.66666667 --> 00:03:37,200 So this program ensures that our seniors and fixed income residents aren't priced out of their homes. 33 00:03:37,331.66666667 --> 00:03:45,41.66666667 The application period will start on April 22nd, so if you know someone that might benefit keep an eye out for more details on how to apply. 34 00:03:45,198.33333333 --> 00:03:54,805 We know that De Soto continues to grow and evolve, and we're working hard to ensure that we keep De Soto a great place to live, a great place to work, and a great place to raise your family.

(03:54):
So that's it for today's Mayor's minute.
Thanks for listening, and as always, I'll see you around town.