Topeka ? Tax negotiators for the Kansas House refused Thursday to go along with a Senate proposal that would have imposed a local property tax lid on city and county governments.

That plan was added on to the Senate’s tax bill earlier this week by Sen. Jacob LaTurner, R-Pittsburg, who argued that cities and counties have greatly increased their local property taxes in recent years.

His proposal would have required cities and counties to hold public elections before they could raise property taxes by more than the rate of inflation.

Without an election, even in growing communities where revenues increase because of growth and new construction, LaTurner’s proposal would have required those cities and counties to lower their mill levies so the increase in revenue would not exceed the rate of inflation.

That proposal had never been introduced as a bill and was never the subject of any hearings in either the House or Senate tax committees. When asked why he hadn’t introduced it earlier in the session, LaTurner said, “I just thought of it Saturday.”

Rep. Marvin Kleeb, R-Overland Park, who chairs the House Taxation Committee, said House Republicans think the idea has merit, but he said there is not enough time this year for cities and counties to schedule elections before they have to adopt their 2016 budgets in August.

He also noted that about 60 counties in Kansas have seen decreased property valuations this year because of falling oil and gas prices, and imposing a cap now would lock those communities into a depressed tax base.

Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug said the tax lid would have forced cutbacks in local government services.

“Because the state has already decided to phase out the mortgage tax over four years, and because of other things the state does each year that adds more responsibility for local governments or reduces our tax base, some other core county service would have to be cut,” he said.