photo by: Journal-World

The Douglas County Commission will hold their Wednesday meeting at the Douglas County Public Works building, 3755 E 25th St.

Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday are set to consider adopting the 2025 budget — which proposes a significant tax rate decline — but first members of the public will get one last chance to offer comments on the plan.

Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on the proposed budget as part of their weekly meeting before making the final decision on the budget. If approved, the budget would result in the largest property tax rate decline in nearly 30 years.

The $201 million proposed budget includes a property tax rate reduction of 2.911 mills for a total mill levy of 41.298 mills. A mill is one dollar in property tax for every $1,000 of assessed valuation. At such a rate, property taxes for a $300,000 home would decrease by about $100 for the year.

The proposed cut is second in size only to the 4.36 mill decrease in 1995, which was part of a deal for a new 1-cent countywide sales tax. If adopted, the 2024 proposed rate would be the third consecutive year of mill levy reductions and would mean a nearly 13% reduction in the property tax rate since 2021.

As the Journal-World previously reported, to reduce the mill levy, commissioners are choosing to reduce the size of their reserve funds to pay for some capital improvement projects, rather than using new tax dollars for those projects.

As commissioners developed the budget over the last month, they expressed a desire to create a property tax rate decrease that was large enough to largely offset the rising home values that many county residents have experienced. Rising home values can cause a homeowner’s property tax bill to increase, even if the property tax rate itself holds steady or declines slightly.

Commissioner Patrick Kelly during the budget deliberations said that not only is the mill levy plan a decrease from what was originally proposed by the county administrator, but he believes it will also be for many residents a decrease from what they paid to Douglas County last year.

In addition to setting the tax rate, the budget also details ways the county will spend its funds in 2025.

According to a memo in the agenda, the proposed 2025 budget allocates $2.9 million to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical to support the shared funding of Station 6 and 7 expansions and the annual ambulance replacement plan. It also sets aside $3 million for implementing a compensation study for employees and $2 million for market, merit, and longevity pay for county employees, along with several other additional funding programs for multiple departments.

There will also be multiple distributions to community partners, including $2.8 million in one-time funds for supportive housing projects with DCCCA, Cardinal Housing Network Inc., Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church and the City of Lawrence; $600,000 for a Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool; $58,000 in one-time funds for suicide prevention programs for Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health; $42,000 in one-time funds for Wellness Wednesdays Mobile Outreach for Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health; among several other funding requests and changes.

The commissioners will also approve the 2025 budget for Consolidated Fire District No. 1, which proposes a total of $2.1 million and maintains a flat mill levy of 5.5 mills. As the Journal-World reported, maintenance costs are going up, and some of the department’s oldest equipment dates back decades. The budget outlines plans to acquire battery-powered jaws of life equipment; update the pump, tank, and hose systems on several brush fire trucks; and further bolster the fire district’s equipment reserve fund. Consolidated Fire District No. 1 provides fire protection to large parts of rural Douglas County.

In other business, county commissioners will:

* Have a work session with Treanor Architects and J.E. Dunn Construction to discuss design issues related to the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center remodel and addition project.

As the Journal-World previously reported, in May, the county commissioners authorized a plan to construct the 57,000-square-foot addition on the south side of the JLEC, renovate existing areas within the current building, and build the 25,965-square-foot “public safety building.”

* Consider authorizing the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to enter into a new contract with Turn Key Health Clinics for inmate medical services. The department seeks to terminate its current contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare due to dissatisfaction with its services and recent corporate changes.

The proposed contract with Turn Key Health Clinics is set to be effective from Oct. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2025, and includes the option for four annual renewals. Future renewals will start on Jan. 1 to align with the county’s budget cycle, according to the memo in the agenda. The total annual cost of the contract is $1,163,978.24, which encompasses a $124,000 allocation for medications and outside medical expenses. Future renewals will see an annual increase of 3.5% or the CPI, whichever is higher, with the increase taking effect on the renewal date. Funding for this contract is currently available in the Sheriff’s Office budget.

* Hear a proclamation in recognition of the Community Health Facility’s 25th Anniversary. According to the proclamation in the agenda, over the past 25 years, more than 800,000 people have been served by the facility through the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Lawrence-Douglas County health department, and the Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association.

* Consider authorizing Douglas County to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding between Douglas County Emergency Communications and Ford County Emergency Communications regarding 911 overflow capabilities.

The County Commission’s work session will begin at 4 p.m., with a business meeting following at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Douglas County Public Works training room at 3755 E. 25th St. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.