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Shawnee County appraiser seeks $2.54 million budget driven by personnel costs; office readies for specialized valuations
Summary
Steve Baumann requested $2,540,000 for the appraiser's office for 2027, a 4.69% increase he said is almost entirely wages and benefits. He told commissioners his office will seek outside experts for complex valuations such as data centers and that appeal-related appraisal costs are already budgeted.
Steve Baumann, Shawnee County appraiser, told the board he is requesting a $2,540,000 budget for 2027, an increase he described as about $114,000 or 4.69% over 2026. "Our budget is made up, 95% wages and benefits," Baumann said, adding his office has 24 full‑time employees: 20 appraisal staff and four GIS staff who support the county.
Baumann said last year the office held a flat budget for wages and salaries and that he does not plan staffing changes for 2027. He said most of the requested increase is to cover pay and benefit costs: "All of that is in wages and benefits." He also noted some money is set aside for outside appraisal services that arise in appeals.
Commissioners asked how the department would value novel property types such as battery storage facilities or data centers if applications appear. Baumann said the office would "probably request outside assistance" for specialized valuations and would appraise market value "as we do everything else according to statute." County counsel and another participant confirmed the application resolution approved by the commission requires applicants to cover costs for any experts needed.
On appeals, Baumann said a recent law limits how valuations can change after a successful appeal and that the office already budgets for appraisal work triggered by legislative and statutory requirements: "We do have some money built in our budget to account for legislative appraisal requirements." He said the operational cost of multiple simultaneous appeals is mainly staff time, and costs beyond that typically occur only if appeals proceed to upper review levels.
After questions about health‑insurance premium impacts and appeals workload, Baumann was excused.
Next steps: the appraiser's budget will continue through the county's budget review process and remain subject to approval by the commissioners.
