Property taxes, EMS, voting: What to know about Sedgwick County’s proposed budget

Sedgwick County plans to staff its ambulances with more paramedics and raise employee pay across the board in 2024. But county commissioners say they may also lower the mill levy to offset rising property values.

Next year’s $546.2 million budget proposal was unveiled at a special meeting last week.

Public budget hearings will be held on Aug. 2 and Aug. 23 — the same day the commission is set to adopt the plan — and members of the public will also have an opportunity to weigh in during regular commission meetings or by leaving a comment on a new online budget forum.

Here are five takeaways from Sedgwick County’s 2024 proposed budget:

Property taxes

The budget proposal calls for the county’s mill levy rate to tick up from 29.368 to 29.370 because of a technical adjustment, but commissioners in the 4-1 Republican majority indicated they are interested in reducing the mill levy to minimize the impact on property taxes.

Property taxes are calculated “by taking a percentage of the appraised property value and multiplying that figure by the mill levy,” the county says on its website.

Assessed property value across Sedgwick County is expected to increase by 9% in 2024, and commissioners expressed interest in calling for other taxing jurisdictions, including cities and school districts, to consider possible mill levy reductions. If only the county reduced its rate, the impact on property taxes would likely be minimal for most taxpayers.

“We could take a leadership role in challenging all of our entities to match whatever we think might be comfortable with some kind of a mill levy reduction that would have a significant impact to all the residents and the businesses that are getting whacked pretty good,” Chair Pete Meitzner said.

The mill levy rate will be discussed further at upcoming budget hearings.

Raises

Staff recruitment and retention remains a top priority for the county. The 2024 budget calls for a 3% wage increase for employees on the general pay plan and a 2% increase for county firefighters, EMS workers and sheriff’s deputies on top of their regularly scheduled step increases.

That comes a year after the commission approved a 30% increase for Comcare mental health workers and other high-vacancy positions, and a 8% raise for other employees. If 2024 adjustments are approved, the county will have spent $46.5 million on raises in the last two years.

County Manager Tom Stolz told commissioners there are still persistent vacancies across county departments, including in emergency communications, corrections and facilities maintenance.

EMS changes

The county is switching back to a two-paramedic staffing model for Emergency Medical Services after an alternate one paramedic, one EMT model contributed to dangerously slow response times, low morale within the department and an exodus of paramedics.

The proposed budget includes $284,322 for filling paramedic vacancies — half of the $568,644 the department initially asked for in May. The failed ambulance staffing model was adopted in 2018 as a cost-cutting measure.

The proposal also includes $65,730 for hiring an EMS billing quality assurance specialist.

2024 election

The county plans to pay for 15 more polling stations for the 2024 presidential primary and general election. The election office will also hire three new employees next year — a warehouse supervisor, a technology supervisor and an election specialist.

In total, Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater will receive $944,579 for election-year expenses, including replacing batteries in ballot-marking devices and tabulators and sending out flyers to all registered voters about voting in advance by mail.

Adding, cutting positions

The county plans to spend $284.2 million on personnel in 2024, the highest of any expenditure category but 2% less than in 2023 due to a net decrease of 8.7 full-time equivalent positions across departments.

Grant funding for eight corrections employees is running out and the county is also eliminating an environmental inspector position, seasonal mower and equipment operator positions with the Highway Department, and the American Rescue Plan Act public information officer position.

Six departments will hire for new positions in 2024, including a fleet mechanic and a fire training officer for Sedgwick County Fire District No. 1, two senior residential appraiser positions and a medical investigator for the Regional Forensic Science Center.