Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Shawnee council signals higher 2026 levy, approves event funding and updates open-records fee policy
Summary
Council voted to notify Johnson County it intends to exceed a 22.3-mill revenue neutral rate for 2026, approved $55,000 to the Shawnee Chamber for Americana and Ales, and updated the city's open-records fee policy (Policy Statement 56). Staff outlined budget staffing changes and recommended raising the transient guest tax from 8% to 9%.
At its July 14 meeting the Shawnee City Council voted unanimously to inform Johnson County that the city intends to exceed the revenue neutral rate of 22.3 mills for the 2026 budget.
The council also voted 6-2 to provide an initial $55,000 in funding to the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce to kick-start planning for the Americana and Ales event scheduled for June 20, 2026, which city staff said will coincide with the World Cup. City manager Paul Kramer told the council the money would help secure artist production equipment and marketing.
Separately, the council updated the city’s Policy Statement 56 to align with recent state legislation changing the fee structure for open-records requests; that update passed on an 8-0 vote.
City staff presented additional budget planning items: a goal to reduce the city’s reserve fund to 45% by the end of 2025 with further reductions planned for 2026 and 2027; the 2026 budget will include one new full-time police dispatch position, a reallocation of a vacant position in City Hall, and expansion of a part-time parks and recreation position to full time to support the summer camp program. Staff also recommended increasing Shawnee’s transient guest tax from 8% to 9% to match nearby communities; that recommendation was presented but not recorded as a council vote in the meeting summary.
The council set next steps and public-engagement dates for the budget process: on July 28 the council will set dates for budget public hearings and consider adopting the capital improvement program and the full budget presentation; the city will host a budget open house on Wednesday, Aug. 6, at Shawnee Town 1929's Town Hall. Final public hearings and a vote to approve the budget are scheduled for Monday, Aug. 25.
Where vote tallies were given in the meeting summary, they are recorded here; individual council member votes were not listed.
