Wichita voters could be asked to approve one-cent city sales tax in March

Wichitans may be asked to vote on a one-cent city sales tax on a March special election ballot to fund an $850 million proposal.

Wichita Forward, a non-profit coalition, called on the city Tuesday to levy the sales tax to fund public safety, property tax relief and revitalizing Century II and the surrounding area, among other things.

The proposed sales tax would end after seven years.

“We believe in our community and its future,” said Wichita Forward Co-Founders Aaron Bastian, of Fidelity Bank; Ben Hutton, of Hutton Construction; and Jon Rolph, of Thrive Restaurant Group, in the news release. “We invite anyone who shares a passion for our city to join the conversation and coalition on advancing Wichita Forward.”

The Wichita City Council will discuss the initiative at its Dec. 9 meeting, Wichita City Manager Bob Layton confirmed to the Eagle. Pending final approval by the council at its Dec. 16 meeting, a sales tax question will be asked of Wichita voters.

“I’m looking forward to allowing the community to have that say in an open voting process,” Wichita Mayor Lily Wu said.

The sales tax initiative as proposed would fund these items while it’s being collected:

• $250 million to go toward Century II and the convention space complex
• $225 million for public safety capital improvement projects
• $150 million for capital improvements and operating costs at Second Light (formerly the Multi-Agency Center) and affordable housing
• $150 million for property tax relief, which the group’s website says could provide “12% relief” through 2033
• $75 million to build a new performing arts center

Bastian explained in an interview with the Eagle that $150 million in property tax relief could lower the city’s mill levy rate by about four mills. That’s about $46 in savings for every $100,000 in appraised value on a residential home.

“Which today would be 12% of what the city collects from a property tax standpoint,” he said. Bastian is president and CEO of Fidelity Bank.

According to Bastian, $125 million of the sales tax initiative would be put in a permanent investment fund to fund the city’s new homeless shelter and other needs to address homelessness in the city.

“When we include this in the plan, we would never need to have the debate about how to help people experiencing homelessness in the city, from the city standpoint, again, it’s paid for,” he said.

The group included updates to Century II and a new performing arts center in the plans to address quality of life in the city’s core.

“The arts are what makes life interesting,” Bastian said. “If I thought about my life without music and TV and movies, gosh, it just, it takes a lot of the fun out of it.”

Bastian said a March special election ballot for the proposal was ideal, saying it’s a nonpartisan issue.

The date for a March special election next year would likely be March 3, according to a new law passed by the legislature this past session.

“To have it in a primary or a general election, it will get lost in all of these other voting mechanisms,” he said. “If it’s on the ballot in March, you give the public the best opportunity to figure out how they feel about it and come out and vote.”

Public engagement on the project so far appears to be limited to a survey sent out recently and funded by Wichita Forward and private discussions with business leaders, people who work in education and nonprofits, and city council members, along with the mayor.

The full results of the survey have not been publicly released, but a statement from the group says 70% of respondents said they wanted property tax relief, “practical, long-term solutions to the growing homelessness challenges” and “support for First Responders.” The statement also says over half of respondents agreed that “revitalizing the Century II complex and a world-class performing arts center were priorities worthy of the city’s consideration.”

The group said in an interview with The Eagle that it surveyed about 530 people in Wichita through late October into early November.

For a family of four in the city, with a combined income of $50,000, a 1% sales tax would be an estimated increase of $173 a year, according to adjusted Internal Revenue Service data.

Earlier estimates from the city showed that a one cent sales tax would bring in $100 million a year.

Wichita does not now have a city sales tax, but it receives more than 57% of a countywide sales tax approved by voters in 1985. It asked voters for a 1% tax in 2014 to pay for a new water supply and several city departments. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal. Rolph was the chairman of the Vote Yes committee at that time.

The proposed sales tax arrives on the heels of the state’s decision to cut the state’s 6.5% sales tax on food, which took effect in January. The sales tax rate on non-food items in Sedgwick County is 7.5%. Some Wichita suburbs, including Derby, Haysville, Maize and Park City, have approved their own 1% sales tax.

This story was originally published November 25, 2025 at 2:27 PM.