City staff told the Spring Hill City Council on July 10 that the city will notify Johnson and Miami County clerks it intends to exceed the state-calculated revenue-neutral rate and set a public hearing on Aug. 28 to consider authorization to do so, and the council voted to approve that notice.

The council voted to authorize staff to notify county clerks and to set the not-to-exceed mill levy at 22.925. The motion passed with a 3-0-0 vote.

The item opened as part of the city’s 2026 budget process. “Tonight you’re going to set a ceiling, the rate we won’t exceed,” a staff member identified in the record as Mrs. Dunn said, urging the council that the action would not bind the final budget to that rate but would set an upper limit for the city to follow. Dunn said the county-calculated revenue-neutral rate provided to the city was 20.676 and presented the city’s preliminary total assessed value of $204,462,299 across both counties. She said holding the mill levy steady would generate roughly $385,000 additional revenue because of assessed-value growth and that the administration had balanced a 2026 budget at the current mill levy.

Council members discussed options ranging from keeping the rate unchanged to shaving small fractions off the current levy. Mayor and councilors emphasized caution because state-level changes to property-tax law could affect future budgets. Councilor (voice recorded as) Ryan said many cities currently cannot truly go “revenue neutral” because operating costs and capital needs rise faster than current revenues.

The council’s motion at formal action read: “I move to approve notification to county clerks of the city's intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate and not to exceed 22.925 mils and set the appropriate hearing date.” The council then set the hearing for August 28. The motion passed 3-0-0.

Why it matters: The notification and ceiling determine what the city may propose for its 2026 property-tax rate and trigger public notice and hearing requirements under state procedures for revenue-neutral calculations. Staff said they expect additional guidance from the Kansas Legislature next year on property-tax limits and planned the ceiling to give the city room to respond without exceeding a cap.

Officials said more budget work sessions and a combined revenue-neutral and budget hearing are scheduled before final adoption.

The council did not adopt a final budget July 10; it adopted only the notification and the not-to-exceed rate for purposes of county notification and public hearing scheduling.