photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A Douglas County Consolidated Fire District 1 vehicle is pictured in July 2022.

Douglas County’s Consolidated Fire District No. 1 is eyeing a 9% budget increase and a property tax rate hike for 2026 to increase its staffing and strengthen its savings account for big equipment purchases.

On Wednesday, Douglas County commissioners will receive an overview of the rural fire district’s 2026 budget proposal, which totals about $2.5 million, up from about $2.3 million in 2025. The increase would be funded, in part, through a 1/2 mill property tax rate hike.

The fire district, which serves a 228-square-mile area in rural Douglas County, is seeking the extra money this year to add more staff, cover rising maintenance costs associated with aging facilities and equipment and build up its savings, a memo to commissioners said.

Much of the increase comes from spending on personnel, where the budget calls for about $172,000 in new spending. The district wants to increase its coverage at Station 151 in Lecompton by reclassifying an existing full-time employee to a 24/7 position, and two new full-time positions are also being added to enable one full-time responder per shift.

Additionally, the budget will add $150,000 to a reserve fund that will eventually be used for replacement of fire trucks and other large equipment. The reserve fund currently has $150,000 in it, and the budget proposal would increase that to $300,000.

The budget also includes a $20,000 increase to better integrate the district’s systems with the county’s IT and emergency communications networks and a $10,000 increase for facility improvements.

According to the memo to county commissioners, the budget would require a mill levy increase of 0.5 mills, which would put the district’s mill levy at exactly 6 mills. That’s also the maximum mill levy that county commissioners set for the district “earlier this month. Because that maximum is already set, the commission could still lower the mill levy, but it could not raise it higher than 6 mills.

Even if the district were to hold the mill levy flat, it would still be collecting more in property taxes this year. The mill levy is only half of the equation that determines your property tax bill — the other half is the assessed value of your property, and Deputy County Administrator Sean Pederson told the Journal-World that the valuations in the fire district are up this year.

Motor vehicle taxes would also provide some of the needed revenue for the 2026 budget, Pederson said.

Some expenditures in the 2026 budget wouldn’t be as big as in past years. The funds budgeted for “miscellaneous expenditures” would decline by more than $83,000, because the district has been able to pay down some of its debt obligations.

The County Commission will not take any action on the fire district budget proposal on Wednesday; commissioners will be hearing the presentation as part of a work session before their regular business meeting. The actual public hearings on the county and Consolidated Fire District No. 1 budgets for 2026 are scheduled for the County Commission’s business meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 5:30 p.m.

In other business, county commissioners will:

• Receive updated design information for the second phase of the Douglas County Public Safety Building project. The Phase II scope of work primarily includes the interior finish of the main floor of the building. The previously approved portions of the building – which are currently under construction – include the lower level and the entire building envelope of the facility.

The design team has completed the Phase II design and documentation and is now submitting the updated plans for the County Commission to review, and it will be further discussed on Wednesday.

• Consider signing a grant agreement between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the county for $149,520 for a term of 12 months, beginning April 1, 2025. This funding will go towards a permanent supportive housing program for 12 chronically homeless individuals.

Douglas County was initially approved to receive funding from the HUD for the fiscal year 2024, but the county was notified by the HUD that the final award amount would be $149,520, a reduction of 53%. During the 2026 budget deliberations, county commissioners approved $171,512 in one-time funding to sustain funding and services at current levels for the full one-year grant cycle.

The county plans to apply for fiscal year 2026 grant funding, though it is not currently included in the proposed federal HUD budget. Commissioners have also set aside funding to continue the program after the current grant ends on March 31, 2026. If federal funding is restored, staff will update the County Commission on the need for funds, a memo to commissioners said.

• Hear an overview of the 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Plan, which establishes the proposed schedule of infrastructure projects to be completed over the next five years. This CIP proposes eight bridge replacements at an estimated cost of $12.6 million.

The extension of Wakarusa Drive is also currently scheduled for 2027, and it is estimated to cost $10.3 million. This project would extend Wakarusa Drive south across the Wakarusa River to connect to E1000 Road. Douglas County Public Works is coordinating the design with the Corps of Engineers and the City of Lawrence, according to the CIP, and concept plans and preliminary designs are scheduled to be presented to the public in 2026.

• Consider awarding a construction project in the amount of $1,159,952 to replace a bridge carrying North 1400 Road, or Route 442, over a tributary to Captain Creek east of Eudora. The existing bridge was originally built in 1931 and is a priority in the current Capital Improvement Plan because of the inadequate waterway opening and deteriorated concrete structure. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026.

The County Commission’s work session will begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Commission meeting room at 1100 Massachusetts St. The business meeting will follow at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.