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Douglas County presents recommended 2027 budget; mill levy held flat at 48.669 mills
Summary
County staff presented the recommended 2027 operating and special-purpose budgets, holding the mill levy flat at 48.669 mills and outlining a deliberation timetable that will culminate in adoption on Aug. 26 after hearings and a revenue-neutral notice period.
Douglas County staff on July 6 presented a recommended $201.5 million overall budget and a $154.2 million combined operating proposal for the county's three levied funds, saying the draft keeps the mill levy flat at 48.669 mills for 2027.
Brooke Sauer, presenting revenue and assessment data, said real estate accounts for about 91% of assessed value in Douglas County and that staff used a 2% delinquency assumption for the 2027 revenue forecast. "In Douglas County, real estate makes up 91% of property assessment sources," Sauer said, summarizing the property-class breakdown used to prepare the operating budget.
Sauer told commissioners the county's assessed value increased about 4.9% compared with the prior year's certified value and noted a previous peak increase of 14% in 2022. Staff also highlighted that a new RHID district in Baldwin first appeared on the 2025 tax roll; staff reported an increment in that district of roughly $1.5 million.
On sales tax, Sauer said the county's 1% general sales tax is shared with cities under a state-determined ratio (Lawrence receives roughly 58 cents of each dollar collected), while the dedicated quarter-cent behavioral-health sales tax is retained in full by Douglas County and has outpaced the 1% general tax in recent years.
Staff described an increase in investment income after 2023 driven by changes in county cash-management strategy and participation in the Kansas Municipal Investment Pool, noting interest earnings climbed to about $8.5 million in 2024. The capital plan presented to commissioners shows an estimated $30 million facilities spend-down in 2026 and an additional $25 million in 2027 (these figures exclude road and bridge infrastructure projects).
Sauer listed targeted fund-balance goals for the next budget cycle (general fund 25%, road & bridge 25%, employee benefits 20%), and said the revenue-neutral rate is calculated at 38.605 mills. "To reach revenue neutral, the county would need to cut $4,800,000 from this proposed budget," she said.
Staff also summarized departmental supplemental requests included in the recommended budget: a market-based pay adjustment averaging 3.4%, a 1% merit pool, longevity pay, and several position changes (including two district-court positions moved from grant funding into the base budget, two full-time deputies for courthouse security, a self-help district-court navigator FTE, and a self-help eviction-diversion coordinator FTE). The recommended budget includes $700,000 for ongoing IT and software services and a one-time transfer to replace vans for senior transportation.
The commission was given a timetable for the budget process: hearings continue through the week, deliberations run through the morning of July 15, staff will ask the board to set a maximum levy at the July 15 evening meeting, a CIP presentation will follow on July 22, taxpayer notices will go out by Aug. 10, and staff expects to present the adopted budget on Aug. 26.
No formal actions or votes were taken during this morning's overview presentation; commissioners asked clarifying questions and requested follow-up documentation on several line items and fund allocations. The budget hearings continue later in the week with departmental and partner presentations scheduled.
