photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Many Douglas County residents were disappointed after hearing the final decisions about the 2025 county budget on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.

Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved a budget with the county’s largest property tax rate decrease in decades, after hearing from a room full of public commenters who urged them to cut the tax rate even more.

The $201 million 2025 budget includes a property tax rate reduction of 2.911 mills, for a total mill levy of 41.298 mills. As the Journal-World reported, that’s the largest property tax rate decrease by the county in almost 30 years and the third consecutive year of mill levy reductions. But it also follows a recent two-decade period when Douglas County experienced the largest property tax rate increase of any urban county in Kansas, going up 70% while the state’s other urban counties had increased 8%.

Commissioner Patrick Kelly said budget discussions, by their nature, are difficult conversations to have.

“We want to create a space within here to have tough conversations, and the budget is the way of holding that space,” Kelly said. “We were very transparent at our budget hearings.”

Some of the community members who filled the training room at the Douglas County Public works building on Wednesday wanted more from the commission. During more than an hour of public comments, they said the commission shouldn’t be congratulating itself for lowering its mill levy when high property taxes remain a significant issue in Douglas County as a whole.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Douglas County residents attended the county meeting on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 with signs urging commissioners to revisit the budget for 2025.

“Retired and lower-income citizens cannot afford to keep their homes due to property taxes,” said county resident John Ims. “People cannot afford rentals as landlords raise rents to pay taxes. People become unemployed and unhoused. People see their own budgets broken and must make decisions among food, medicine and rent.”

Two candidates for the County Commission in this fall’s elections — Rich Lorenzo, a Republican running for the District 5 seat, and Brad Chun, an independent in District 2 — also urged commissioners to pump the brakes on the plan.

“The taxpayers of Douglas County deserve a say in how their money is being used, and furthermore, the people you serve deserve more tax relief than you are offering,” Lorenzo said. “Give the people back their money, especially after the past four years of over-taxation.”

Commissioner Shannon Reid said she was aware of the financial hardships faced by many county residents.

“I hear there is an impact about inflation across the board and that the property valuations inflating has had a significant impact in those past couple of years,” Reid said. “That is a fact … I’ve experienced it too. I believe that our job as commissioners is to seek balance and to weigh what is necessary to maintain services for our county and plan for the future needs.”

A mill is one dollar in property tax for every $1,000 of assessed valuation. The 2.911-mill rate reduction the commission approved would mean that property taxes for a $300,000 home would decrease by about $100 for the year.

Following the budget approval, commissioners also unanimously approved the 2025 budget for Consolidated Fire District No. 1, which includes a total of $2.1 million and maintains a flat mill levy of 5.5 mills. As the Journal-World reported, the department’s oldest equipment dates back decades and maintenance costs are increasing. 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:

• Held a work session with Treanor Architects and J.E. Dunn Construction to discuss designs for the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center remodel and addition project.

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

• Authorized the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to enter into a new contract with Turn Key Health Clinics for inmate medical services. The department wants to end its contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare because of dissatisfaction with its services and recent corporate changes.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Douglas County commissioners decided on the 2025 budget on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.

The 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.

• Heard a proclamation that recognized the 25th anniversary of the Community Health Facility. According to the agenda, the facility has served over 800,000 people over the past 25 years through the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, and the Douglas County Visiting Nurses Association.

• Authorized Douglas County to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding between Douglas County Emergency Communications and Ford County Emergency Communications regarding 911 overflow capabilities.