[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6464384,"mediaKeyId","5783836-32fd9577440e9999c25330069dd8306f","parentId",5783836,"title","Votes at a glance: Augusta council approves library tax ordinance, IRB extension, public works and water bonds, and street engineering contract","audioSeconds",371,"startMs",3972005,"endMs",4343630,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5783836-32fd9577440e9999c25330069dd8306f&start=3972&end=4343","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5783836-32fd9577440e9999c25330069dd8306f/thumbnail_3972005.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6464384/Augusta/Butler-County/Kansas/Votes-at-a-glance-Augusta-council-approves-library-tax-ordinance-IRB-extension-public-works-and-water-bonds-and-street-engineering-contract","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6464384-78fd512d96cf398575fd31f296ebc008/orig.mp4?Expires=1773555568&Signature=BOeCObTNZGkJBzLBxHHnjDFqJpijHyqzjxF8StfG9wVzuGiIWW~HOdn8fAwsb9-4uyVMW8HZUUtCA5igAeZiMxG2SzOutrx-fp8tSsPaOM1N-PghWDbqjwqZ3JVQf9q5RLyLg9AX~UWZbCmedPK2zws7rY59dFNF3MK05DEZvml0P9CwuIqwOJOk47Wwf8TzTs2iO0XroANd8l97m~onbknLl-JopQ9PG-SO7RTDdiAShrZGErCEJN0Zm9mDihkdZMkbnIiZiEpcwJXI73ZMYa895-iAyZ6jXjZ-VezGENrPcvRFTUEFhHAQJXXpW1qC8HRf6TBh7vl9keQRHvcTgw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Augusta, KS","date","2025-09-16T13:44:47Z","article","Augusta — The Augusta City Council on Sept. 15 approved a set of formal items in addition to the adopted 2026 budget, including an ordinance limiting library tax increases, an extension of an industrial revenue bond (IRB) sales-tax exemption for a senior-apartment rehabilitation, authorization to finance a public-works campus and water-system meter improvements, and a professional-services contract for a state street grant project.

Library tax ordinance

The council voted by roll call to adopt Ordinance No. 22-49, which updates the maximum property-tax dollar amounts for the Augusta Public Library operating fund and library employee-benefit fund to match figures in the newly adopted 2026 budget certificate. The roll-call recorded the following votes: Martin — Yes; Burke — Yes; Bailey — Yes; Scott — Yes; Richardson — Yes; Davis — Yes; Brown — Yes; Maher — Yes. The motion carried.

IRB extension for senior-apartment rehabilitation

The council approved Resolution No. 2025-20, which amends a 2023 resolution regarding the Club Tower rehabilitation project and extends the effective period for the project's sales-tax exemption certificate through Dec. 31, 2025. Bond counsel Kevin Cowan told the council the developer expects a December completion and the extension will allow the sales-tax exemption certificate to cover the remaining work. Cowan said this action is preparatory; he told the council he expects to return in coming weeks to discuss the issuance of bonds when the project is complete.

Public works campus, water-system improvements, and bond authorization

The council approved three related resolutions (2025-21, 2025-22 and 2025-23) to: (1) authorize construction of public-works campus buildings; (2) authorize improvements to the city public-water system (including reimbursement for advanced metering infrastructure previously installed for water); and (3) authorize staff and bond counsel to proceed with offering general-obligation bonds (Series 2025) to finance the projects. Staff said the combined public-works project was previously estimated at more than $8 million; the staff report referenced approximately $1.2 million in internal cash that will reduce bond principal (an item described as electric department equity for acquisition of an existing building). Bond counsel described a plan to issue a single tax-exempt bond series to cover both public-works projects and the water-meter reimbursement to avoid a separate taxable issuance.

Water-meter (AMI) status

Staff said the water portion of the advanced metering infrastructure is 100% installed; electric metering is about 25% installed. The council approved the water-system resolution and the bond-offering authorization by voice votes.

Contract for CCLIP US-54 mill and overlay (JEO Consulting)

The council approved a professional-services agreement with JEO Consulting Group, Inc., for design of the US-54 mill-and-overlay project funded under the KDOT CCLIP program. Staff clarified the grant award was for a KDOT program with a $400,000 cap (not a $1,000,000 program as previously misstated in an earlier discussion). The contract was approved \"in an amount not to exceed $77,000,\" and the city manager was authorized to sign.

Other routine votes

Earlier in the meeting the council approved minutes from the Sept. 2, 2025 city council meeting and the Sept. 11, 2025 work session, and approved Appropriate Appropriation Ordinance No. 9 dated Sept. 10, 2025. Those motions carried by voice vote.

What the actions mean

- Ordinance 22-49 ties the library's tax-dollar ceilings to the updated budget certificate adopted by the council.
- Resolution 2025-20 preserves the developer's sales-tax exemption while the Club Tower rehabilitation completes; council and bond counsel expect a future bond issuance once the developer finalizes the project.
- Resolutions 2025-21/22/23 establish the legal basis for construction, water improvements and a bond sale; staff and bond counsel will return with sale results and more detailed financing terms.
- The JEO contract advances design work so the city can bid the US-54 street work, anticipating construction in 2027.

All items described above were approved by the council at the Sept. 15 meeting; where roll-call votes were recorded in the transcript they are reported above.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","September 15, 2025 City Council Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","At its Sept. 15 meeting the Augusta City Council approved a package of ordinances, resolutions and contracts: an update to the library tax cap, an extension of a sales-tax exemption for a senior-apartment rehabilitation, authorization for public-works and water-system bonds, and a $77,000 engineering contract for a US-54 mill-and-overlay grant.","taxTitle","Augusta, Butler County, Kansas","taxId",63639,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6464389,"Augusta adopts revised 2026 budget; estimated mill levy falls to 58.227 amid public concern over taxes and staffing",1680,381685,2062182,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5783836-32fd9577440e9999c25330069dd8306f&start=381&end=2062","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5783836-32fd9577440e9999c25330069dd8306f/thumbnail_381685.jpg","/articles/6464389/Augusta/Butler-County/Kansas/Augusta-adopts-revised-2026-budget-estimated-mill-levy-falls-to-58227-amid-public-concern-over-taxes-and-staffing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6464389-bba7e40a1b50a812d7703c0f9f71d568/orig.mp4?Expires=1773555568&Signature=VPpO-ivdCfxsQsT261kSvQKXXWz8~WQObqbWq7zsY4ckVrK2qIm4~h8WVAyXU3KVIsy-FUBPTc3nz2beWmUuToGZumJuEguzsenD9r-Asw-4h~2HPIOrWpmnsbmAkxYZSbF3XJx13rDKnZx5~jIFTkReBxD0S8q~urCRK~JHAkcnAs1NhNV5hcwx0p68-KjWGpVWR9P7muTMH8wOdZ9rVWk6zLn033tnxNC4dTGkjs6h-OtQvXo~xG12eOnvqmNUoeLl8fGmF76cfQMIK1I1VNArki4U8uYDtmENcPaWbJVchD207pr5wAZr84tZp4pg~aowHWk3JqUxCI6hVvEmRA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Augusta — The Augusta City Council on Sept. 15 adopted a revised 2026 budget that reduces the city's general-fund cash reserve from $950,000 to $750,000 and sets an estimated mill levy of 58.227, city staff told the council during the meeting at City Council Chambers.

The adopted revision keeps four additional police officer positions requested earlier this year and uses $200,000 in carryover to help cover those costs, City Manager Josh Shaw said. \"We don't set the mill levy. We set the amount of property tax dollars,\" Shaw told council members while explaining the change in the budget certificate and its effect on the mill levy estimate.

The move matters for homeowners: using 2023 census figures and the city's calculator, staff told the council that on a median home value of $162,000 (taxable value shown as $18,653), the change from last year's levy to the new estimate works out to about $2.75 per month — roughly $33 per year — for that median home.

Why it matters: council members said the options available during budget deliberations were limited and that the adopted plan was the best among difficult choices. Members of the public urged more aggressive cost-cutting and new revenue sources to reduce the burden on property owners.

Public comment and council discussion

Resident Ron Reed, who spoke during public comment, urged across-the-board cuts to contractual and commodities spending and suggested user fees and targeted surcharges as alternative revenue sources. Reed told the council, \"I have no control over my property taxes,\" and said a 10% cut to contractuals and commodities in the general fund could exceed $1.2 million in savings based on his calculations.

Another resident, identified in the record as Shelby, criticized the city's spending on large capital projects and said Augusta is \"aging out as a community,\" arguing the city needs growth to broaden the tax base rather than relying on higher taxes on existing homeowners.

City staff summary and mechanics

Shaw and budget staff told the council the key change in the revised certificate was lowering the cash-reserve figure by $200,000, which in staff calculations reduced the estimated mill levy by about 2.3 mills (from an earlier estimate of 60.505 to 58.227). Staff also noted the budget retains the four officer positions that drove the original mill impact and that other line-item choices — such as contractuals and commodities — would require detailed review to quantify savings.

Council reaction and vote

Council members said they spent more than 30 hours reviewing options this summer and described the adopted plan as \"the best of the bad options\" available. After discussion, a councilmember moved to approve the revised 2026 budget; the motion received a second and passed on a voice vote: \"All those in favor, say aye.\" The clerk recorded no roll-call vote for the budget item in the transcript; the mayor declared the motion carried.

Next steps and context

Council members and staff urged continued public ideas on cost savings and revenue options. Staff said the city holds a pre-budget strategic retreat in mid-February and individual fund work sessions later; councilmembers asked staff to explore ways to increase public engagement earlier in the budget process so residents can offer input before final decisions are drafted.

Clarifying details recorded at the meeting included the $200,000 carryover use, the revised cash reserve level ($750,000), the estimate that four officers would cost about $334,000, and staff's note that sales-tax revenue had been estimated conservatively in the 2026 draft (projected $1.6 million versus current-year estimates around $1.8 million). Councilmembers and members of the public raised housing and growth as longer-term tools to broaden the tax base.

The council's adoption of the revised 2026 budget was the principal formal action on the matter during the Sept. 15 meeting; separate items on the agenda addressed library tax limits, development financing and several capital projects and were voted on later in the same meeting.","On Sept. 15, 2025, the Augusta City Council adopted a revised 2026 budget that keeps new police positions while using $200,000 in carryover to reduce the cash reserve. The move lowers the estimated mill levy from 60.505 to 58.227; residents urged the council to pursue cuts, new fees and growth to ease tax pressure.","actionData","errors"]

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Votes at a glance: Augusta council approves library tax ordinance, IRB extension, public works and water bonds, and street engineering contract

Augusta adopts revised 2026 budget; estimated mill levy falls to 58.227 amid public concern over taxes and staffing