photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Douglas County commissioners will hear about several pending Kansas legislative proposals that could reshape property taxes on Wednesday.

In addition to hearing more about what’s going on in the Kansas Legislature, county commissioners will be briefed on the county’s own property tax system and tax incentive programs during a work session. No action will be taken following the session, as it is for informational purposes only.

There are several proposed bills involving property taxes commissioners will hear more about on Wednesday, including:

• SB-488 – a bill titled “Kansas Property Tax Freedom Act of 2026,” which would phase out property taxes over a few years, reducing them 50% in 2026, 75% in 2027, and eliminating them entirely by 2028.

To replace lost revenue for local governments, schools, and other taxing entities, the bill would create a new “Kansas fair share purchase surcharge” on almost all retail purchases, for example, a flat fee on transactions of $20 or more and a percentage on smaller purchases. The revenue would be distributed to taxing subdivisions, the state general fund, and a new property tax freedom reserve fund.

• HB-2406 – a bill allowing commercial, industrial, telecommunications, and railroad machinery and equipment that was acquired or brought into Kansas on or before June 30, 2006 to qualify for a property tax exemption.

• HB-2644 – a bill requiring the county appraiser to adjust the value of residential and commercial property when a final valuation determination is made, or to obtain a fee-simple appraisal, if the appraised value increases by more than 5% over a three-year period.

• SB-332 – a bill that would exclude buyer’s premiums, the extra fee paid to an auctioneer, from the sale price of property bought at auction when completing the real estate sales validation questionnaire and determining property tax values.

• SB-329 – a bill requiring the county appraiser to submit a single property appraisal report at a valuation appeal hearing before the regular division of the Kansas State Board of Tax Appeals.

• SB-319 – a bill that would create a rebate program for certain property owners. Under this bill, if a residential, commercial, or industrial property sells in a qualifying sale for less than 97% of its county-appraised value, the owner could apply for a rebate of the excess property taxes they paid based on the higher appraised value for that tax year.

The session also aims to inform the Douglas County commissioners about the processes, regulations, and fiscal impacts associated with property taxation and incentives.

Currently, there are 236 active tax incentive properties in Douglas County, according to a presentation in the agenda. The program with the largest number of properties is the Reinvestment Housing Incentive Districts with 117. This type of program helps communities support new housing by devoting the property tax revenue from a new development back to the developer to help cover infrastructure costs.

The Neighborhood Revitalization Area – a rebate program that reimburses developers a portion of paid taxes, with no maximum on the number of years – has 69 properties in the county. In addition, the Tax Increment Finance program, which utilizes increased real estate and local sales tax revenues to finance redevelopment projects, has 40 properties.

There are currently no regular agenda items on the agenda for the County Commission’s meeting on Wednesday as of Tuesday afternoon.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, COMMISSIONERS WILL:

• Consider approving two separate agenda items for fiscal year 2026 Specialty Court Funding Award Agreements for the Douglas County Drug Court and Behavioral Health Court.

The county’s Drug Court was awarded $27,319 to cover the cost of sending four team members to the July All Rise conference in Nashville, Tennessee, including housing and airfare. The funding will also be used for participant support such as Uber/Lyft gift cards and cell phones/phone cards. The Behavioral Health Court was awarded $26,964 to also cover the cost of sending four team members to the July All Rise conference along with similar participant support.

• Consider approving the state fiscal year 2027 Kansas Department of Corrections 7th Judicial District Juvenile Community Corrections Comprehensive Plan grant application totaling $570,965 for the county’s juvenile justice services. The grant supports required graduated sanctions programs as well as prevention services.

• Consider approving the state fiscal year 2027 Adult Community Corrections Comprehensive Plan grant application for funding from the Kansas Department of Corrections totaling $826,440. This includes $721,270 for adult community corrections services, $50,169 in DUI funds, and $55,000 in behavioral health adult grants. In SFY 2025, the program supervised 210 cases and achieved an 82.6% successful closure rate, exceeding the state target of 75%, the agenda said.

• Consider two separate agenda items from the Public Works department – to solicit bids for supply of rock aggregates and hot mix asphalt, both for the 2026 maintenance of county roads, bridges and parks.

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.