Sedgwick County official says assessed values rose 8.6% and county likely will exceed revenue-neutral rate; sales-tax option proposed

A Sedgwick County commissioner told a public forum that assessed values across the county rose 8.6% this year and that the county is preparing to exceed the state'defined revenue-neutral rate rather than make the deeper cuts that would be required to hold revenue flat.

"We're going to exceed the revenue neutral rate. We're going to increase our property tax collections some amount," the commissioner said, and invited residents to speak at upcoming hearings on the 2026 budget.

The matter matters because Kansas law requires a recorded vote if a local government intends to exceed the revenue-neutral rate. The county plans to consider the manager's recommended 2026 budget when it is released to the commission in late July, hold at least two public hearings (including an evening session about two weeks before adoption) and adopt a budget in August, the commissioner said.

How the increase arises and what it would mean Assessed value is the starting point for property-tax bills. The presenter said county appraisers convert market appraisals to assessed values (residential assessed value is 11.5% of appraised value) and then multiply by the total mill levy for the many jurisdictions that share each property tax bill. The county'wide assessed-value increase of 8.6% would have produced roughly an 8.6% revenue boost if the commission kept mill levies unchanged.

The commissioner described a likely compromise: keeping roughly 4% to 5% of the assessed-value growth to fund rising operating costs while "giving up" the remainder. That approach, according to the presentation, would capture about half of the roughly $14 million in new assessed-value revenue associated with the 8.6% growth and translate to a near one-mill reduction in the county'level mill levy while still increasing total collections.

State policy changes and lost revenue The presenter emphasized that state-level changes have shifted costs onto counties. He cited a set of state actions, including the long-running change in the local ad valorem tax reduction (LAVTR) program and other exemptions, and said the net effect over the last 16 years is a $477 million shortfall in what the state used to provide.

"We did n't get 477,000,000 from the state that they used to fund," the commissioner said, summarizing the county'level impact. Other state changes noted in the presentation include a machine-and-equipment exemption that reduced county tax receipts for certain business equipment and changes to city-county revenue-sharing sources.

Specific budget context The presenter gave several concrete figures: the county expects roughly $199 million to $200 million in property-tax receipts in the current year; property-tax supported funds were shown as about $302 million in a slide; and the sheriff's office was described as the single largest line item, at roughly $85 million.

The presenter also reviewed budget process mechanics: the county sets a budget and a separate forecast (what it expects actually to spend), runs a publicly available budget simulator and gathers input. He said the county often budgets more than it expects to spend so funds are available if needs arise.

WSU 1.5-mill levy and local commitments The commissioner explained the county-wide 1.5-mill levy for Wichita State University as a historical commitment made when Wichita University joined the Kansas Board of Regents: the regents required a 1.5-mill local support levy, and the county levies the 1.5 mills county-wide. The commissioner described options under discussion, including limiting future increases for WSU above a fixed percentage or shifting some of the levy back to the city, but said the legal and political consequences are unclear and would require further work and likely state-level changes.

Sales-tax proposal to shift culture/recreation off property tax As one possible alternative revenue strategy, the presenter said he is drafting a county resolution to seek a voter-approved 0.25% county sales tax, which he estimated could generate about $35 million annually in current dollars. Under the draft described at the meeting, roughly half of the revenue would be dedicated to culture and recreation (including the zoo and Exploration Place) and the proposal would include a model property-tax reduction of about four mills.

The commissioner framed the sales-tax proposal as a multi-step process requiring a county resolution, legislative approval at the state level, and then a countywide ballot measure (the speaker suggested a target of the November 2026 ballot). He emphasized the proposal would be subject to voter approval and was only a draft idea at the time of the meeting.

Budget simulator, public input and program cuts The presenter summarized public feedback from a recently launched budget simulator: about 300 submissions were recorded, including many from a WSU class; average time on the simulator was short, and the presenter and staff said the tool needs more detail so residents can better weigh tradeoffs. Some participants favored keeping many programs level-funded, while others suggested cuts to specific items (the presenter said Exploration Place had a comparatively large savings balance and was repeatedly identified as a possible reduction).

Housing and economic development discussion Commissioners and attendees also discussed housing supply as a root cause of rising property values. The presenter argued that some conventional incentives and low-income housing tax-credit approaches can raise costs and that alternative regulatory and design approaches could lower construction costs. He described ideas such as narrower streets, standardized components, and smaller-footprint homes as examples that could reduce per-unit costs and expand supply. No formal county action on housing incentives was taken at the meeting.

What was decided and next steps No formal vote or ordinance was adopted during the forum. The presenter said the manager'recommended 2026 budget would be sent to the commission in late July, that an evening public hearing would be scheduled about two weeks before the August adoption meeting, and that the commission would need to take a recorded vote if it intends to exceed the revenue-neutral rate.

The commissioner also said he would bring a draft resolution on the 0.25% sales-tax proposal back to the commission for consideration, but emphasized the measure was preliminary and would require state approval and a voter referendum.

Ending County officials encouraged residents to review the budget materials, use the improved simulator when available and attend the evening public hearing to comment on specific budget items before the commission finalizes the 2026 budget in August.