Johnson County developmental supports seeks added budget to cover wage, technology and service demands

Chad Von Onan, executive director of the Johnson County Department of Developmental Supports, told the Board of County Commissioners that the department's recommended FY2026 budget includes roughly $1 million more in total tax support compared with 2025, driven primarily by a recommended 4% salary and wage increase.

The increase reflects a departmentwide salary base of about $30 million and additional requests for technology and service-related expenditures, Von Onan said. He added that some new revenue streams identified after the initial budget submission ' including a planned nonemergency medical transportation contract ' should add about $250,000 annually.

Why it matters: the department provides services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across Johnson County; funding and staffing changes affect access to programs, waiting-list management and community-based supports.

Von Onan said housing access emerged from stakeholder planning as the top local priority. "Their number 1 priority is how can they access, affordable and accessible housing," he said, attributing that finding to feedback from program participants, families and direct support professionals gathered during a February strategic-planning retreat facilitated by K-State extension staff. He…