photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Douglas County Commissioners met on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.

Although Douglas County’s proposed budget for next year is still being finalized, county staff says it’s working to maintain a flat property tax rate for 2026, unless county commissioners decide otherwise.

That was the message from County Administrator Sarah Plinsky on Wednesday at the County Commission’s weekly meeting, where commissioners received a first glimpse at the budget process.

“Unless I receive direction from the Commission, otherwise, I give you a budget with a flat mill levy and that maintains services,” Plinsky said. “So that is what I am looking to do as we put together the proposed budget.”

A property tax rate – also known as the mill levy – is expressed in mills, where one mill equals one dollar per $1,000 of assessed property value. Local governments and taxing authorities establish this rate to generate revenue to fund public services.

The overall property tax amount a property owner pays is determined by both the mill levy and the property’s assessed value. According to the presentation given to commissioners on Wednesday, the county has experienced a 5.7% increase in assessed property valuation for 2025. Even if tax rates stay steady or are lowered, rising property values might still cause tax bills to go up for many residents.

But this isn’t nearly as much in comparison to previous years. In 2024, the increase in assessed valuation was 6.89%. The past five years have averaged 7.73%, and the 10-year average is 5.94%.

The proposed 2026 budget won’t be presented to commissioners for another month, but staff wanted to provide a first glimpse of the budget, outlining early themes and financial pressures. Plinsky said some of the emerging budget pressures include inflation; compensation adjustments, health benefits and market shifts; increasing needs for public health, housing and behavioral health services and more.

County staff also shared with the commissioners that it has received 58 supplemental requests totaling around $10 million, with $2.9 million coming from county departments and $7.2 million from community partners.

Plinsky said the staff’s current estimate is that the requests that could be eligible to use mental health sales tax funding total $6.1 million. But there’s not enough money available to fund all of them; she said that less than $2 million for these types of projects is actually available.

Additionally, county staff provided estimates of the planned transfers from the general fund into other funds for 2026:

• $5.3 million to the capital improvement projects fund, which funds major improvements, repairs and renovations to infrastructure and facilities.

• $5.1 million to the mental health fund and behavioral health projects.

• $4.7 million to the local 1% sales tax fund, which is being set aside to cover debt.

• $1.3 million to the equipment reserves fund, which is used for major equipment purchases and expenses.

• $1.2 million to the ambulance reserve fund, which is typically used for replacing ambulances.

• $475,000 to the workers’ compensation fund.

Budget hearings are scheduled to take place July 7 through July 11 with the deliberations to follow on July 14 and conclude on July 16. A public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27, which is also the day commissioners are expected to vote on the 2026 budget.

In other business, county commissioners:

• Heard a presentation from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical about proposed increases to ambulance fees.

In the new rate proposal, the base rates for non-emergency service would remain the same. However, all of the emergency rates would rise by 28%. The least complex emergency service level would rise from $595 to $762; the next most complex would go from $699 to $895; and the most specialized and complex level of care would rise from $774 to $991. In addition, the mileage rate would increase for all ambulance rides. It would go from the current $9.23 per mile to $15.24 per mile.

The department is also proposing a new fee for what’s called “specialty care transport services.” These involve moving a critically ill or injured patient from one hospital to another while offering care that’s beyond the scope of what a normal paramedic would provide. This service would have a fee of $1,210.

• Received an overview of the behavioral health objectives and strategies adopted in the 2024-2029 Community Health Improvement Plan, which is a strategic plan addressing health issues in Douglas County, and reviewed the funding priorities supported with budget allocations in 2025.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Commissioner Erica Anderson said she would like to explore whether or not funding is necessary for the county’s online resource for wellness and mental health, myStrength. It offers a variety of programs for meditation, sleep, reducing stress and more.

Bob Tryanski, director of behavioral health projects, said the goal is to have 12,000 users in Douglas County, but that MyStrength currently has about 2,000 users. The county has been paying for the program for seven years, he said, and last year, it received $28,500 from the county.

The presentation comes after recent discussions about the financial status of Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, which announced staffing reductions and temporary pay cuts for some of its employees in May. Commissioner Gene Dorsey has suggested using the county’s mental health sales tax fund, a fund that has in the past been used for building expenses for mental health projects, to provide emergency assistance to Bert Nash.

• Authorized Chief Judge James McCabria and the Citizen Review Board director to accept the Permanent Families Fund grant award in the amount of $60,103. The grant is for the Citizen Review Board, a volunteer program of the Douglas County District Court.

• Authorized the county administrator to purchase excess workers’ compensation insurance coverage from Midwest Employers Casualty. The premium is $162,250 for June 15, 2025, through June 14, 2026.

• Determined a bridge replacement project on North 1400 Road, Route 442, over a tributary of Captain Creek, east of Eudora, to be necessary and approved the project plans and specifications prepared by the county engineer. The County Commission also authorized the county engineer to solicit construction bids for the project.

• Held an executive session “for the purpose of consultation with legal counsel for the County regarding potential litigation, which would be deemed privileged under the attorney client relationship.” No action followed the session.