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County counselor warns state property‑tax changes could reshape local budgets if signed
Summary
County Counselor Jacob Hans briefed commissioners on a late legislative package affecting property‑tax protest petitions that would cap increases at 3% or CPI (whichever is lower), change the calculation base and set petition thresholds at 10% of qualified electors who voted for Secretary of State; staff warned the change could constrain local budgets, particularly for agencies with larger levy increases.
Jacob Hans, Riley County counselor, told the commission the Legislature passed a property‑tax package late in the session that would change how protest petitions operate. He summarized the main features and local implications for the county's budget process.
Hans said the revised language would limit allowable increases to 3% or the previous year's consumer price index (whichever is lower) and remove some of the most disruptive earlier provisions. It also would allow certain tax payments (for example, some tax‑increment financing payments) to be excluded from the calculation base. Most significantly, Hans said, the petition threshold language sets a requirement equal to 10% of qualified electors who cast ballots for Secretary of State in the last general election; county staff noted that the numeric signature requirement will vary by jurisdiction and could be lower than previous thresholds for some districts.
"At least that they have taken the really nasty parts of the legislation out," Hans said of late amendments, but he cautioned the change still creates new constraints and uncertainties for how local taxing entities compute tax increases and respond to successful petitions.
County staff presented local levy data showing a 3% increase overall from 2025 to 2026 but a 7% increase for RCPD. Commissioners and staff discussed how a successful petition or the statutory cap could force reallocation or cuts elsewhere in the county budget, and how the law's treatment of special districts and small taxing units (townships, fire districts, benefit districts) may create practical difficulties because signature thresholds will be lower in those smaller jurisdictions.
Hans said the governor had 10 days to act on the package and the county would continue to monitor for clarifications, possible litigation, and secondary impacts to budgeting processes. He advised preparing for scenarios in the 2027 budget cycle and coordinating with the law board as RCPD and other entities prepare their requests.
