Sedgwick County clerk seeks stable staffing as office implements truth‑in‑taxation mailings

County Clerk Kelly Arnold told the Board her office’s 2026 general‑fund request is $1,660,000 and is driven primarily by personnel costs. Arnold said the clerk’s office has 18.5 full‑time employees divided into divisions for real estate recording, taxation and clerk administration, and that “everything I do is state mandated.” Arnold said the office recently has achieved stable staffing and maintains live customer response for callers and walk‑ins. She flagged the county’s property‑tax software as a long‑running weakness: the current tax‑system software is more than 15 years old and the vendor is moving customers to a new platform; she said cost estimates for migration were expected soon. A prominent line item in the clerk’s budget is the county’s cost to produce truth‑in‑taxation mailings (referred to as “revenue neutral rate” letters): Arnold said the county spends about $120,000 total to send the county‑level mailing and currently budgets about $150,000 because state law reimburses the county for that expense for the near term. She said recent state action extended reimbursements for two additional years, but that the county expects the reimbursement could end in the future and local governments will need to share the mailing cost. Arnold said most of the clerk’s budget is personnel; commodities and contractuals are small and consistent with prior years. She asked commissioners to note the office’s continuing work with finance and the assessor on mill‑levy certifications and on property‑tax items the county must deliver to cities and townships. Commissioners thanked clerk office staff for assistance handling homestead refunds and township inquiries during busy periods.