Committee recommends 2026 strategic goals, sets Sept. 8 public hearing on proposed budget; council signals intent to exceed revenue-neutral rate

The Committee of the Whole recommended adoption of Overland Park’s 2026 strategic goals and approved the proposed 2026 operating budget for public hearing, voting 10-2 on a multi-part motion that also set a Sept. 8, 2025, 7:30 p.m. public hearing and instructed staff to notify the county clerk of the city’s intent to exceed the revenue-neutral property tax rate.

City Council leaders said the motion bundles the legal and procedural steps required for the city’s budgeting process, including setting the public hearing and drafting a resolution to levy a property tax rate that would exceed the revenue-neutral rate. The motion as read to the committee included adoption of the 2026 strategic goals, approval of the proposed 2026 budget for public hearing purposes, scheduling of adoption hearings for the 2026–2030 capital improvement and maintenance programs, and formal notice to the county clerk regarding the city’s proposed intent to exceed the revenue-neutral rate of 14.538 mills.

Why it matters: The committee’s action begins the formal public-notice and hearing process the city must complete before finalizing a property tax rate. A staff or council speaker explained that the “revenue-neutral rate” would keep the same mill levy year over year, which would maintain total property tax revenue despite inflation and rising personnel costs; the speaker said maintaining the revenue-neutral rate was likely not feasible under current cost pressures. The committee set the public hearing on the proposed budget and the hearing on the intention to exceed the revenue-neutral rate both for Sept. 8, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall’s council chambers.

Key details and next steps: The multi-point motion directed staff to prepare a resolution for the governing body regarding the intent to levy a property tax rate exceeding the revenue-neutral rate and to carry out all required notice and publication steps. The committee approved the motion 10 in favor and 2 opposed; those votes were recorded as a tally rather than individual roll-call votes in the transcript.

Context: Committee members said the motion reflects earlier committee work and a series of edits to the proposed strategic goals. Staff noted the city had reviewed the draft goals in committees earlier in the summer and made clarifying wording changes to make priorities—such as implementation of the urban forest plan, the natural resource master plan (as part of the Playbook OP work), and evaluation of missing-middle housing—easier for the public to understand. The committee discussion also flagged that some multi-year planning efforts (for example, traffic calming and the OP safety action plan) may take more than one budget year to complete.

Public process and schedule: With the committee recommendation, the governing body will hold the required public hearings on Sept. 8, 2025. Staff and council indicated additional presentations to committees and the public will occur as the budget process continues.

Votes and formal actions from the meeting: The Committee of the Whole recommended adoption of the 2026 strategic goals and approval of the proposed 2026 budget for public hearing by a 10-2 vote. The committee also directed staff to notify the county clerk of the governing body’s proposed intent to exceed the revenue-neutral rate and to draft the necessary resolution and public notices as required by law.

Ending: The committee moved on to a separate item after the vote; the recommended actions now proceed to the full City Council for final consideration and any additional public hearings or amendments.