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Commissioner Ryan Beatty launches 2026 budget survey, asks residents to prioritize public safety, taxes and services
Summary
Commissioner Ryan Beatty outlined 10 priority questions for Sedgwick County's 2026 budget, asking residents to weigh in on funding for 911 modernization, EMS, sheriff compensation, COMCARE, property tax relief and cultural amenities such as INTRUST Bank Arena.
Commissioner Ryan Beatty on Thursday asked residents of District 4 to weigh in on priorities for Sedgwick County’s 2026 budget, announcing a short public survey that lists 10 possible funding initiatives ranging from 911 modernization to property tax relief.
Beatty said the county’s annual budget funds 46 departments and nearly 3,000 employees who deliver services including public safety, public works and public health. “The most important thing we do as a county commission is create and fund the annual budget that operates all of Sedgwick County government,” he said.
The survey asks residents to prioritize proposals that include: funding enhancements to 911 to separate call takers and dispatchers, update technology and add nearly 20 new employees; expanding EMS staffing and ambulances; compensation increases for the sheriff’s department; additional COMCARE staff for behavioral health services, particularly for children; and property tax relief in the form of a mill levy reduction or service cuts.
Beatty said the sheriff’s department had been down “nearly a 120 deputies” when he joined the commission and is now near full staffing under “Sheriff Easter.” He asked whether the county should continue to keep compensation competitive with other area law-enforcement agencies.
The survey also asks about maintaining funding for cultural amenities such as the Sedgwick County Zoo, Exploration Place and INTRUST Bank Arena, or redirecting those dollars to public safety or tax relief. Beatty noted the county used a sales-tax ballot question to finance construction of INTRUST Bank Arena roughly 15 years ago and asked whether a similar approach—using sales tax for certain projects while reducing reliance on property taxes—should be considered.
Other questions in the survey include whether to remodel the juvenile corrections campus listed on the county’s capital improvement plan so multiple juvenile services can operate under one roof; whether to pursue more shared services with the City of Wichita to find savings; and whether to increase COMCARE resources for mental-health services to the homeless at the multi-agency campus now called Second Life.
Beatty said the county begins its budget process in February and works through the summer to adopt a final budget in August. He urged residents to complete the survey and offered contact information for further questions or feedback.
