Sedgwick County commissioners push mill levy lower before approving budget

Sedgwick County property owners will see a lower than expected mill levy on their property tax bills next year.

The county commission approved a final budget for 2026 on Wednesday, setting the mill levy slightly lower than originally planned through a series of cuts and reallocations.

A recommended budget had set the mill levy rate at 27.881 mills, down from 28.659.

The commission was able to lower that rate further, to 27.553 mills, before it passed the final budget. That equates to a $12.72 reduction for every $100,000 in a home’s appraised value.

The largest reallocation came from an amended funding agreement with Exploration Place, which allocated a total of $3.5 million in funding for two years through reserves directly to the children’s museum. That allowed for a $1.7 million cut in the county’s budget for the upcoming year.

The agreement came as commissioners are discussing how to fund cultural arts and other services considered non-essential without using property taxes. One of the possibilities is a sales tax initiative.

Other cuts, suggested by Commission Chair Ryan Baty, included eliminating a position in the county’s emergency communications department to help the department seek accreditation and a reduction in property tax dollars that help supplement the county’s tag offices.

The 911 position would be pushed into a future fiscal year as the emergency communications department prepares to add 20 new positions as a result of recommendations made in a third-party report after the Brookhollow Apartment fire that killed 22-year-old Paoly Bedeski.

“When I see this, I think that we might be able to push back the accreditation manager to a future budget year,” Baty said. “That way we can focus on primarily the 20 [new positions] request that’s coming from the department.”

The county tag offices are funded by a mix of tag office fees and then further supported by $900,000 in local property tax dollars.

Baty and other commissioners have contended those offices shouldn’t be supported by local tax dollars, with the offices being mandated by the state of Kansas to operate.

Those offices will now be supported by $500,000 in local property tax dollars.

County staff and commissioners say the reduction shouldn’t lead to a decrease in services at those offices.

“I believe that we can limit that to $500,000 and still maintain some level of services to this community demanding services so that they don’t have lines around the building at the tag office while we work with the state on this,” Baty said.

Commissioner Jim Howell said no local property tax dollars should go toward the tag offices this year. That motion did not pass.

“This is a state problem, and I want to send that message to Topeka,” Howell said.

Howell ultimately voted along with his colleagues to approve the overall budget.

“I think that we have moved the ball in the direction that I would prefer,” Howell said. “Do I love everything about it? Absolutely not. I think we can make it better. I think there’s still a quarter of a mill we could have cut.”

Original recommended budget

The county’s original recommended budget made other cuts that also were adopted at Wednesday’s meeting, including reducing crime prevention funding by $400,000, reducing cultural funding by $160,000 and eliminating $80,000 to broadcast county meetings with the local PBS channel.

Two new elephant zookeepers at the Sedgwick County Zoo were included in the recommended budget. The zoo has welcomed three elephant calves this year.

The county is also continuing to increase pay for its employees, which it has done in recent years to address significant staffing shortages.

A majority of Sedgwick County staff will see a 3% increase in salary, as well as a 1% step increase.

Sheriff’s employees will receive a 5% increase as part of an agreement the commission has already approved.

This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 4:34 PM.