Shawnee County commissioners set maximum mill levy at 49.326% and schedule public hearing amid debate over deep budget cuts

Shawnee County commissioners on Monday adopted a resolution notifying the public of the county’s intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate and set a public hearing for Sept. 8, 2025, while discussing options that would shrink department requests by millions to avoid a larger mill-levy increase.

The resolution (2025-55) sets a proposed maximum mill levy of 49.326 and schedules the public hearing for 9 a.m. Sept. 8 in the commission office. The board voted 3-0 to adopt the notice and set the hearing.

Why it matters: County staff told commissioners that holding the mill levy flat at last year’s 48.326 would require $7,454,800 in additional, unspecified reductions in the requested departmental budgets plus the use of $3,000,007.48 of 2024 reserves to cover a one-time 2026 ‘‘27th pay period’’ payroll impact. Commissioners discussed alternative paths — including allowing a modest increase above the revenue neutral rate to avoid deep cuts — before agreeing to set a maximum that preserves flexibility but requires further budget work.

County financial administrator Jennifer Sauer presented figures showing the total departmental requests would raise the county’s estimated mill levy to about 53.051 if all requests were granted with no use of reserves. She said using the 2024 excess reserves would lower that estimate to about 51.471. Sauer also told commissioners that cutting roughly $2.4 million from the budget reduces about one mill in the levy, and that an estimated $5.1 million in reductions would keep the proposed maximum at approximately 49.326.

Commissioners pressed staff on trade-offs. Commissioner Mays said he wanted to aim for a flat mill levy, while Commissioner Cook and Commissioner Rippon expressed interest in protecting core services and avoiding sudden public reaction to a large advertised levy increase. Sauer cautioned that the tax rules and final valuations could change before final adoption and that the board could set a higher maximum now and lower it later, but if the board adopts the maximum now it cannot exceed that number at final adoption without publishing a new intent notice.

Discussion details and numbers presented by staff were framed as estimates: Sauer described a $3,748,000 component of the 27th-pay-period exposure as the available excess from 2024 financials and said the total one-time payroll estimate used in staff calculations included many of the new position requests in the departmental submissions. Commissioners asked for follow-up work to narrow where the approximately $5–7 million in likely cuts would come from if the board seeks to hold the levy steady or near current levels. Several large departmental requests were discussed as likely sources for cuts, including the sheriff’s office, Department of Corrections, District Attorney, Parks and Recreation, Public Works and the county’s contract partner Valeo.

The board formally adopted the resolution to notify the public of its intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate, listing the proposed maximum mill levy of 49.326 and the Sept. 8 public hearing date. The motion to adopt was offered by Commissioner Cook and seconded by Commissioner Mays; the motion carried 3-0.

Next steps: staff will return with detailed reduction options, refined revenue estimates and potential effects on CIP items and departmental programs ahead of the Sept. 8 hearing. The board signaled interest in targeting a modest increase (roughly one mill above last year) as a safer public message while working toward a flat levy by final adoption.