KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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It’s been six months since the PILOT fee, or payment in lieu of taxes, was supposed to come off Board of Public Utilities customers’ bills.
KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson checked in with Wyandotte County leaders on the progress of the removing the fee.
The conversations began with Tyrone Garner, the Mayor/CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
This was the first face-to-face interview between Henderson and Garner on the topic.
Prior this interview, Garner only took questions over the phone.
Rachel: "So, what have you learned since then?"
Garner: "I’ve learned that it’s complex."
The PILOT fee dropped from 11.9 percent to 10.9 percent in 2025 after Unified Government commissioners voted last year to lower the fee.
“Other utility companies have what they would call a franchise fee, but we call it a PILOT, which is anywhere between 4 and 6%,” Garner said. “If we can move it in that direction, I think that’s a positive that we can all see.”
According to the Unified Government’s Charter Ordinance No. CO-3-02, BPU transfers a percentage of gross operating revenue to the Unified Government monthly.
“As part of our charter-based partnership with the Unified Government, BPU must administer and collect the PILOT fee on the UG’s behalf, remitting 100% of those funds to the UG’s general fund in lieu of property taxes,” Amber Oetting, director of communications and marketing for BPU, stated in an email. “This structure differs from privately held utilities like Evergy and Black Hills Energy, which are regulated by the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC). Those utilities recover their costs—including property taxes—within their customer rates, which are reviewed and approved by the KCC, not through a separate PILOT fee.”
Oetting explained the process further in person.
“We go off gross receipts, and that’s the full amount,” Oetting said. “That’s anything we bill our customers for. That’s before any expenses are taken out. Anything like payroll, any capital that we put back into our infrastructure.”
Oetting said the UG commissioners are responsible for taking action on any directives and has full authority to regulate the charter.
“The relationship is good,” Garner said. “I can’t say that there’s a bad relationship. It was never bad, per se. Not like people would think. Could communication be better? Of course.”
Garner says the full authority comes because the UG owns the BPU.
“That question I’ve raised this year: 'Is BPU a burden or a benefit?"' Garner said. “One of the things I’ve looked at is how do we make the BPU bill a real utility bill? And that’s what a lot of people would like to see as well.”
Garner says the UG and BPU have been looking for years at the concept of bill separation.
A lot of complaints he gets come from residents who get their utility services cut off for not paying wastewater, stormwater or trash fees that all appear on the joint BPU and UG services bill.
“Is there a pathway where we can bring real relief for our residents,” Garner asked. “That’s a priority for me.”
Finding that pathway led to the formation of a task force specifically focused on analyzing PILOT and BPU bill relief.
It’s a joint effort between UG commissioners and BPU board members. The task force is spearheaded by the UG's At-Large District 1 Commissioner, Melissa Bynum.
Garner credits Bynum's leadership for the formation of the UG's tax rebate program for seniors, which does offer PILOT relief for seniors who qualify.
“They’re asking the hard questions, they’re looking at all scenarios,” Garner said. “They’re putting everything on the table, and it’s not done in a way that benefits anybody politically here at the Unified Government.”
Rachel: "After we passed that October 1 deadline, were you saying, “I want to show up in this way?"
Garner: "I believe my role is to bring these folks together and to provide leadership and bring about the context which they should be discussing, which is bring about PILOT relief and hopefully finding a way to make the BPU bill a real utility bill."
Others are working on cross-organizational collaboration.
Oetting says she’s made collaboration and avoiding miscommunication priorities since stepping into her role a few months ago.
“I think that comes with a relationship, and that’s my role and responsibility, to have a strong relationship with the UG’s communication division,” Oetting said. “That’s something we’ve worked really hard to change and transpire. “If information does get sideways, we understand where that information is coming from and how best to get it across honestly and transparently.”
But she’s not holding only herself responsible for sustaining this relationship.
“With our new leadership and the work that we’re doing here and the work that we need to do here, we do not want to isolate our relationship with the UG,” Oetting said.
That new leadership includes the new BPU general manager, Jeremy Ash, who began his job at the beginning of 2025.
“Just me talking to the new general manager, and I talk to some of the BPU board members on a regular basis, I can say they’re just as committed as the Unified Government commission,” Garner said.
He was preceded as BPU's general manager by William “Bill” Johnson.
KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson spoke with Johnson in October 2024 about the PILOT fee.
Henderson uncovered a letter Johnson emailed to Garner and County Administrator David Johnston warning that the October 1 deadline to remove the PILOT fee was ''unrealistic.''
Oetting said Ash was in Washington, D.C. with BPU’s electric production team this week, which is why he did not meet us in person.
“We really do not want this to be an impasse for us,” Oetting said about the PILOT fee. “We really do want to find a way to work through things that are hard. And this is a hard thing. But this is just one thing.”
Ultimately, collaboration is key going forward.
“We want to find ways to come to the table together on so much more,” Oetting said. “And what we don’t want is past miscommunication and the PILOT to remain a reason to be stagnant in how we can go forward together.”
Rachel: "If the UG issues a directive, is the BPU obligated to follow it?"
Oetting: "If it’s a directive that’s done by a charter, 100%."
But when County Administrator David Johnston told BPU to remove the PILOT fee from customer bills by October 1, the directive alone wasn’t enough.
That miscommunication is what ultimately led to the UG’s differing interpretation of the charter ordinance. Oetting said the joint legal counsel confirmed BPU was always in compliance with the charter ordinance.
Rachel: "That idea of two things can’t be true at once still stands?"
Oetting: "That’s up to interpretation, but yeah."
Still, Garner says he’s not shying away from taking a closer look at the charter.
“There’s nothing nefarious or illegal about it,” Garner said. “But does it really reflect what the intent was when that language was put in our charter of what gross revenues should mean? I believe at some point, the Unified Government Board of Commissioners is going to have to really bring clarity to that question.”
Mayor Garner announced at the end of 2024 that he would not seek re-election when his term ends in December 2025.
Rachel: "Is [a charter amendment] something you feel can be done while you’re still here?"
Garner: "I’m hopeful. I don’t know. It’s really not up to me. I don’t vote on anything. I bring forward recommendations, and that’s one of the recommendations that I hope to bring forward."
The overarching question remains.
Rachel: "What can residents realistically expect? Should they set their sights on seeing the PILOT gone or relief in general?"
Garner: "If I had to tell the public, just be patient. Let’s just wait and see what they come back with because it is a true partnership between the leadership here at the Unified Government as well as the leadership at the Board of Public Utilities."
Rachel: "Can you explain for residents setbacks that they don’t know about as to why is this taking so long?"
Garner: "These things take time. I’d say the biggest challenge is money. Our Unified Government isn’t any different. We just don’t have a lot of financial resources to be able to do a lot of the things we would love to do for our residents. That’s a challenge, and that’s going to continue to be a challenge for the Unified Government."
Garner says lowering the PILOT percentage to 10.9 is a start.
It’s an amount he wants to continue lowering, but there’s certain repetition he hopes to avoid.
“I don’t wanna over promise and under deliver,” Garner said.
Rachel: "How can miscommunication be avoided? I know last time we talked about dropping the ball, how can that be avoided?"
Garner: "I just think you have to be intentional. Continue to have these meetings, having open communication, keeping these channels of communication active.”
