City of Wichita considers lowering its mill levy rate amid budget deficits

Amid calls for tax relief from property owners, the city of Wichita is considering reducing its mill levy by half a mill.

It would be the first reduction in the city’s mill levy in nearly 40 years.

The city says reducing the mill levy rate will be a $15-a-year reduction in property taxes for a $260,000 home, which they say is the average cost for a home in the area.

“The public wants property tax reduction,” council member Dalton Glasscock said. “Every single person I talked to believes that it is burdensome for them, and I think even taking one step to reduce half a mill shows that we’re serious about spending tax dollars wisely.”

Property valuations in the county have continued to go up, with an average median increase of 9% this year.

For those who saw a 9% increase, city property taxes would increase by $27.75 per $100,000 of home value prior to the new valuation, even with a .5 mill reduction. To keep property taxes flat when a home’s value increases by 9%, the mill levy would need to decrease by about 2.71 mills.

Talks around reducing the mill levy were considered during the city’s budget workshop on Tuesday. Reducing the mill levy by half a mill would bring in about $2.5 million less for the city.

The city is expecting a budget deficit in 2026 and 2027, but the increase in property valuations have brought in more revenue than the city had initially estimated.

The city will continue its budget discussions throughout the summer, with its first public hearing at an evening city council meeting on Aug. 7. The city will adopt the budget by late August.

The last time the city was able to reduce its mill levy was when Sedgwick County voters passed a 1% sales tax for the entire county in 1985.

Not all council members were supportive of the mill levy reduction, including council member Brandon Johnson, who has continued to push for the city to increase its mill levy.

“We’re looking at reducing a mill levy, not raising a mill levy, and over time I think that’s going to be harmful to a lot of the services that citizens want,” Johnson said.

The city is also considering adding its own sales tax to generate additional revenue in the coming years.

Other budget adjustments

Last month, council members considered a number of items to reduce the city’s deficit, which the city estimated to be about $2 million next year and $5.5 million in 2027.

About $1.8 million in reductions will be drafted for the city’s budget document that will be discussed in August.

Those reductions include eliminating two full-time positions in the municipal court system, which the city says is to match a reduction in traffic citations, and one position in the city manager’s office. Eliminating those positions will reduce the city’s budget by $678,000 in 2026, according to the city.

The city is also projecting that insurance rates for its employees will not be as high as it initially budgeted, with about $752,000 in savings next year.

A number of other reductions are being considered to address the larger deficit in 2027.

The police department has proposed eliminating a City Hall security position and eliminating its Saturday hours at the animal shelter – a combined $228,000 reduction.

One of the larger reductions for 2027, about $900,000 for public art allocations from the city’s capital improvement plan, had some pushback from council members.

“There are young people who are super talented and may not fully know that yet, that are out making some decisions they shouldn’t,” Johnson said. “And the opportunities that we provide through the public art funding actually could shift that, and they could see that there is a future there.”

Those reductions would not be set in the city’s budget for 2027 unless they’re approved next year.

This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM.