photo by: Joe Preiner

The Douglas County Courthouse.

Budget deliberations have concluded for the Douglas County Commission, and a reduction in the county’s property tax rate is one step closer to becoming reality.

Having initially aimed for a flat mill levy, commissioners instead have crafted a preliminary budget that cuts the mill-rate by two mills. Compared to the originally proposed budget, that equates to a property tax decline of $46 for a residence valued at $200,000.

A mill is the amount of tax that is payable per dollar of the assessed value of a property. If ultimately approved by commissioners, Douglas County’s proposed mill levy will drop from 46.219 to 44.219.

While preliminary, the mill reduction trimmed $3.81 million from the initial budget proposal, with the new overall budget figure totaling approximately $190.7 million. Due to rising property tax values and a projected increase in sales tax collections, the county is spending more than it did a year ago — with the newly revised budget checking in approximately $14 million higher than the 2023 budget.

After the commission concluded the six days of budget proceedings on Wednesday morning, Commission Chair Patrick Kelly said he was pleased with the outcome.

“I’ve heard from a lot of community members about how our assessed rates are really impacting the tax burden for families and community members,” he said. “Some of the services we’re funding sometimes are for the same people that are getting hit hardest by this tax burden.”

Kelly added that he took a different approach than in previous years, looking at “every number top to bottom” to discern its impact, as opposed to having a set number already in mind — while Commissioner Shannon Reid said the process was “exciting.”

“This is what balance looks like — of competing values and weighing out what the needs and wants are,” she said, “and what responsibility we have to provide quality services to meet the needs of our community.”

Kelly floated the idea of having a study session that he characterized as a debriefing of the budget process — which would entail budgetary guidelines, general themes and potential correspondence with community partners.

“I’m excited about a lot of the conversations we’ve had here, and just want to keep that moving,” Kelly said.

The budget, though, is not yet final. The next step in the process is a public hearing, slated for Aug. 30.

Budget tidbits

Here’s a look at several items that are included in the budget that has received preliminary approval from commissioners:

• Commissioners have tentatively approved a 3.4% general wage increase and provided funding for up to a 4% merit wage increase for departmental personnel. The two wage adjustments come at a cost of about $2.5 million to the county’s budget.

• After having asked many questions about a pair of funding requests made by the Lawrence chamber of commerce and its associated Economic Development Corporation of Lawrence & Douglas County (EDC), the commission opted to set aside $135,000 in the budget for the two funding requests.

More than $100,000 of that amount would be for the Chamber/EDC’s Revolving Loan Fund, an initiative to support minority business owners who are just starting out. But that money comes with a catch: the Chamber/EDC will have to raise funds from private donors first, and then the county will match the funding they raise. The commission said it would match up to $105,000 of private funds.

• Commissioners denied a $50,000 request from KU Innovation Park to provide more operational funding for the business incubator complex on KU’s West Campus. But commissioners did approve a one-time funding request of $225,000 related to a planned phase IV expansion of the incubator buildings. The move aligns with the City of Lawrence’s three-year funding commitment for the expansion project.

• Approved $736,673 in funding to improve wages of Douglas County Sheriff’s Office staff, with a particular emphasis on correctional workers who staff the Douglas County Jail.

• Approved $138,268 to add another full-time assistant county administrator.