photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Douglas County Commission meeting room is pictured on Thursday, July 3, 2025.

Douglas County commissioners will begin their budget hearings for the 2026 budget next week, reviewing dozens of additional funding requests from local agencies and departments.

County staff is proposing a $191.4 million budget for 2026 that holds the property tax rate flat at 41.298 mills – one mill is one dollar per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. A homeowner with a $600,000 property would pay $2,850 in property taxes to the county under the proposed rate. A $300,000 home would have a bill of $1,425, and a $200,000 home would incur $950 in taxes.

The tax a property owner pays is determined by both the mill levy and the property’s assessed value, so even if tax rates stay steady or are lowered, rising property values might still cause tax bills to go up for many residents. The total assessed property valuation in Douglas County increased 5.7% in 2025, compared to 6.8% in the previous year.

The proposed budget would include $16.5 million in funding for more than 40 local agencies and nonprofits. In addition, commissioners will be reviewing more than 60 additional funding requests from county departments and agencies. Next week, county commissioners will be hearing from those departments requesting additional funding and later decide which requests will be included in the adopted 2026 budget.

Public budget hearings will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday, July 7 through Thursday, July 10, in the Douglas County Commission meeting room at 1100 Massachusetts St. If needed, Friday, July 11 has been set aside for additional hearings with departments requiring more time to meet with the County Commission.

The public is welcome to attend in person or join virtually via Zoom, and no public comment will be taken during the hearings. Meeting details and recordings will be available on the county website. Budget deliberations are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Monday, July 14.

Monday, July 7

The departments with additional funding requests and invited to meet with commissioners on Monday include the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Cardinal Housing Network, Tenants to Homeowners, Family Promise, Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, HeadQuarters Kansas, Heartland Regional Alcohol and Drug Assessment Center, Heartland Community Health Center, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, Mirror Inc. and DCCCA Inc.

The Heartland Community Health Center has submitted a request for one-time capital funding totaling $1.5 million from the county’s fund for Behavioral Health projects to support the Bluestem Wellness building, which provides behavioral health services and was completed in 2024. The funding would be used to reduce the principal balance of their loan for the project.

In addition, Tenants to Homeowners is looking for $500,000 to help build five additional small houses for affordable housing in partnership with Peaslee Tech and Dirtworks Studio at the University of Kansas. Similar units have been built at 914 Ward St. and include solar panels, metal roofs and high-quality, multi-purpose furniture to make them more affordable.

As the Journal-World reported, Bert Nash is also seeking $500,000 in gap funding to address the challenges to its behavioral health services, specifically outpatient therapy services. There are also two other requests for additional funding for the Treatment & Recovery Center, with $604,305 in 2025 and $1,249,424 for 2026. None of these requests are included in the proposed 2026 budget.

Tuesday, July 8

The departments invited on Tuesday are the Sheriff’s Office, District Court, District Attorney, Kansas Holistic Defenders, K-State Research and Extension, historical societies and the Heritage Conservation Council, all of which have additional funding requests.

The Sheriff’s Office is requesting $281,348 in funding to add four new deputy positions. One deputy would be dedicated to serving judge-signed warrants, while the other three would staff the newly expanded and remodeled Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

This expansion includes a new control center and inmate holding area, which one deputy would oversee. The remaining two deputies would be responsible for monitoring the additional courtrooms, offices, and public spaces created by the renovation. Currently, the proposed budget includes funding for only two of the four requested positions.

The District Attorney’s Office is asking for $130,688 to transition a part-time Assistant Attorney III position to a full-time position. The request said there’s been high turnover in the department during the last several years and caseloads have been high for attorneys on staff.

Wednesday, July 9

On Wednesday, the departments bringing forward their additional funding requests include Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, Emergency Communications, Emergency Management, Baldwin City Chamber, Douglas County CORE, Child Advocacy Center and Center for Supportive Communities.

The Emergency Management department has a one-time funding request totaling $150,000 for training and exercises to ensure Douglas County’s first responder agencies and other stakeholders are prepared for FIFA World Cup events in 2026. Lawrence, specifically Rock Chalk Park, is being considered as a base camp for a World Cup tournament team. Team staff, media and thousands of fans are expected to accompany whichever team selects Lawrence. This funding was included in the proposed 2026 budget.

The proposed budget also includes funding for LDCFM to restore a portion of funding reductions from the City of Lawrence. The proposal would raise the percentage of Fire Medical’s services that the county pays for from the current 36% to 38.25%. This increase will keep many of LDCFM’s current resource levels steady, including 24-hour ambulances, six battalion chief positions and a training lieutenant.

If the county did nothing, the number of full-time Fire Medical positions that would be cut would be 18. However, with the proposed funding increase from the county, only 10 positions would be cut. Due to existing vacancies on staff, no existing LDCFM employees would be laid off, officials have said.

The County Commission will also hold its regular business meeting on Wednesday, and members of the public can provide public comment on budget hearing topics or other county business either in person or via Zoom.

Thursday, July 10

The department’s meeting on Thursday will be with the Sexual Trauma & Abuse Care Center, Housing and Human Services, Just Food, Public Works, Zoning, Treasurer, Maintenance, Administration and IT.

The maintenance department has submitted two separate requests for additional funding to support custodial staffing needs related to the expansion and remodeling of the JLEC, as well as the new Public Safety Building. The first request – totaling $67,033 – seeks funding for two full-time equivalent custodial positions to begin in July or August 2026 to be at the JLEC or the PSB. The second request is for an additional custodial position to be assigned to both the PSB and the Douglas County Jail, costing $39,412.

The Public Works department has an additional $497,500 included in the proposed budget to allocate towards annual funding to maintain the surface of paved roadways in the county to address increasing costs. The level of funding for these services has remained unchanged for the last five years, and without adequate maintenance, higher volume roads will require full-depth reconstruction every 25 to 30 years, the request said.

There will also be additional hearings for the five-year Capital Improvement Plan and Douglas County Consolidated Fire District No. 1, which are scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6.

The County Commission is currently scheduled to adopt the 2026 budget during a public hearing at its regular business meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 27. People can read the full proposed 2026 budget on the Douglas County’s Budget and Finance webpage.