Interim County Administrator Alan Howze presented a proposed 2027 budget of $551 million to the Unified Government Board of Commissioners on Thursday, Aug. 6, and made fiscal discipline its cornerstone. “We have had expenses that have exceeded our revenues over a period of time, and that is not sustainable,” he said.

The spending plan grows by $42 million, about 8 percent, from the $509 million budget adopted last summer, and it makes full use of the 1 mill property tax increase that commissioners set as a ceiling in July. Budget Director Reginald Lindsey said the proposal doesn’t lean on the UG’s reserves. It is “structurally balanced and does not use fund balance,” he said.

Personnel costs make up nearly half of the budget. The plan puts $4.4 million toward negotiated raises for union employees and $2.2 million toward a 3 percent cost-of-living raise for non-union workers, and it fully funds the health care fund. The

The presentation opens a busy stretch of public meetings, starting with detailed department-level budget workshops Aug. 10 through Aug. 13, a comprehensive workshop Aug. 20, and a public hearing Aug. 24. The process culminates in final approval of the budget at the commission’s Aug. 27 meeting.

The board also received good news on the UG’s previous fiscal year. An outside firm gave the UG’s 2025 finances a clean audit, the highest opinion available, with “no material weaknesses” in its financial controls.

The nearly four-hour meeting took place in the commission chambers with all commissioners present.

Costs rising even faster than property values

Even without the tax rate increase, higher property valuations alone would cover a modest budget increase. However, continued upward pressure on wages (including the expiration of federal grants) plus long-deferred maintenance costs drove spending higher.

The median home in the county is worth about $182 thousand. For the owner of a $200 thousand home in KCK, the UG share of the tax bill would rise about $136 with the added mill, split nearly evenly between the city and county taxes.

Lindsey noted that the UG has trimmed its rate over the past decade. The county rate fell 2 mills, about 5 percent, from 2016 to 2026. The KCK rate dropped 4.7 mills, about 11 percent. He also reminded residents that the UG is only part of a larger tax bill and makes up close to half of what a city resident pays across all taxing bodies.

Commissioner Christian Ramirez (District 3) urged staff to spell out the full picture, because several other taxing bodies are also raising revenue this year. “We are only one of 16 taxing entities, and we have to be considerate of what this is doing to our community,” he said.

Grants expire, forcing hard choices

The budget absorbs the loss of two federal grants. The COPS grant, a US Department of Justice program, funds 12 of the police department’s 343 sworn positions. As it ends, the department will move those officers into vacant, locally funded slots. Lindsey said that shift would leave Chief Karl Oakman less room to start new recruit classes and could reduce capacity for community policing and patrol.

Commissioner Melissa Bynum (At-Large District 1) objected to that trade-off. “Community policing is one of the things that has contributed to what the chief said earlier, which is record lows in crime. And I don’t know why we would turn our focus away from that when it has been so effective for 30 years,” she said, adding, “I don’t want to give up ground we’ve made with community policing.” Commissioner Andrew Kump (At-Large District 2) said a new grant application aimed at community policing officers is coming to his committee.

The SAFER grant, a FEMA program, for the fire department poses a harder problem, with an original projected 2028 impact of $1.89 million. The budgeted impact for 2027 is $930 thousand, $383 thousand from the city general fund and $546 thousand from the EMS fund. The plan funds six new positions, two per shift, plus $345 thousand in overtime, and keeps the department within a 4 percent growth target. Commissioner Carlos Pacheco (District 5) pressed staff on how the UG would sustain that added capacity then. Howze called the concern fair and said the work is not finished.

The county’s public safety operations are also under pressure. The sheriff’s department budget includes $650 thousand for seven new positions, part of a group of 20 positions unfrozen but not funded in last year’s budget. Inmate contractual costs for medical, food, and systems rise $335 thousand, and the county needs an $11 million replacement for its nearly obsolete emergency radio system. Reserves sit far below the commission’s 25 percent target, which Howze said leaves little room for a disaster or a downturn.

Additional spending and revenue, plus a user fee at the DMV

The budget commits $10 million in general-fund debt to replace the Sunflower Hills clubhouse, which is 50 years old and lost part of its roof earlier this year. Golf revenue will be used to repay the debt, with Howze pointing to the 47 thousand rounds played at the course each year. Another $1 million in tourism funds would cover building a junior course and restrooms to complete the major renovations at one time.

The plan partially funds a homeless coordinator, a new position for the UG, which has struggled with finding a consistent approach to homelessness. Philanthropic partners will cover the rest of the role’s cost. It funds the cold weather shelter at $230 thousand and increases support for Wyandotte Behavioral Health after years of flat and declining funding. That mental health allocation grows to $905 thousand in the proposed budget, from $863 thousand in the 2026 amended budget.

The budget also shifts the cost of running the county’s motor vehicle offices off the general fund to a user-pay model, increasing revenue by about $1.3 million a year. A state law that took effect July 1 lets counties recover their DMV costs through a transaction fee. Howze said the state mandates the service without paying for it. The state’s message, he said, was “You shall do it, but not with our money.” The proposal sets an $8 fee per transaction, enough for full cost recovery.

Bynum drew a line there. “I’m not good with the $8, just on the record,” she said. Chief Financial Officer Shelley Kneuvean said the county keeps only a small share of state vehicle fees now, and the new charge would simply cover what the office costs to run.

The plan puts $12.5 million into streets, bridges, curbs, gutters, and alleys, $3.45 million into fire station improvements, $1.5 million into the first responder radio project, and $418 thousand toward the first phase of a new countywide warning siren system. It sets aside $300 thousand to repair and reopen the Mill Street Bridge, which has been closed about three years, connecting Armourdale to Central Avenue. It funds a Parkwood Pool replacement with $1 million in tourism funds and a $750 thousand grant match as part of an estimated $5 million to $6 million cost. It also restarts the County Initiative for Funding Infrastructure, sending $1.2 million to KCK, Bonner Springs, and Edwardsville for infrastructure.

The technology budget funds a new 311 contact center customer database at $275 thousand, financial and personnel system upgrades at $380 thousand, online permitting improvements at $200 thousand, and a full replacement of the UG broadcast system. By reallocating vacant positions, the budget finds room for two economic development positions focused on small business and growth, plus a grants and development position and an intergovernmental affairs role.

Commissioners praise plan, press for details

Ramirez and Commissioner Andrew Davis (District 8) praised the plan as the most comprehensive they had seen. Ramirez said it was a first in his tenure. “I don’t think I’ve seen where we’re in the black with the city and the county,” he said. “I don’t think I have seen that since I’ve been here, and that is kudos to our staff.”

Ramirez also pushed for specifics. On the clubhouse debt, he wanted a return before the UG borrows. “I need a business model that tells me what the return on investment is going to be,” he said. He asked for a granular housing strategy tied to dollar and percentage goals, and for a closer look at the older northeast area, where land bank properties keep a large share of land off the tax rolls.

Mayor Christal Watson pressed budget staff on figures in the amended 2026 budget that she found hard to square. “That doesn’t look good to me,” she said, and asked for a plainer presentation. “If I’m confused, I know the community is, and we have to make this plainer,” she said. Howze said positions opened after last year’s adoption, which were not in the original budget, pushed the amended 2026 numbers into the red, and said the 2027 plan corrects that by holding departments to targets. The long-range tables underscore the stakes. At the current mill rate, the city general fund runs a growing deficit and dips into the red by 2031, and the county general fund turns negative around 2030. The added mill keeps both funds positive further out.

Staff outlined possible new revenue to ease reliance on property taxes, including voter-approved sales tax initiatives, which in Kansas run on 10-year renewal periods. For a county health sales tax (which could go as high as 1 percent), a quarter-cent would bring in about $12 million a year to be used for homeless services, mental health, and substance abuse. A city parks sales tax at the maximum available rate could bring in about $16 million a year, which could fund a new park in Piper, the Parkwood Pool replacement, the golf course, community centers, and trails. Staff also floated cost-recovery ideas, such as billing insurance for ambulance rides and a franchise fee on commercial waste hauling. Ramirez’s Administration and Human Services committee will take up the sales tax question Aug. 17. Davis asked that any parks sales tax also fund infrastructure, so all eight districts benefit.

Library board restructured as Edwardsville departs

After a long and tangled debate, commissioners voted 8 to 2 to abolish the countywide library board and rebuild it around the Piper and Turner areas. Commissioners Lopez and Stites voted no.

The change is needed because of Edwardsville’s decision to open its own municipal library and pull out of the shared taxing district. A state statute effective July 1 also rendered appointed members who live outside the taxing area non-voting, which turned the 11-member board into six voting and five non-voting members. To help Edwardsville stand up its library, the board approved transfer of $800 thousand, and Edwardsville agreed to remain in the district for 2026, with its library expected to open in late 2027.

Commissioners waded through five proposals before landing on a hybrid. The adopted structure seats commissioners whose districts touch Piper or Turner, then adds a mayoral appointment from Piper, creating an eight-member board with four Piper voices and four Turner voices. The board will revisit tiebreaker rules at a later date.

An earlier motion for a seven-member board failed 4 to 6, and confusion over how commission districts align with school district lines stretched the debate. Kump argued the seven-member version was fairest because it seated commissioners who represent residents in the taxing area. “The people who are actually within these districts and impacted directly by this should be the ones who have an input,” he said. Commissioner Jermaine Howard (District 1) pushed to keep former members as non-voting voices. “We can keep it an 11-member board, and then they just wouldn’t be able to vote. It’s as simple as that,” he said. Commissioner Philip Lopez (District 6) asked why Turner could not simply pull out like Edwardsville.

As the map dispute dragged on, Commissioner Bill Burns (District 2) offered a wry fix. “I might just suggest that our legal team file a writ with the US Supreme Court so they can figure out what the heck we’re talking about here,” he said.

Grant policy sent back to committee

Commissioners set aside a grants application policy and returned it to the Administration and Human Services committee on a 10 to 0 vote. Davis argued for trusting staff to pursue funding and letting the board decide when the money arrives. “I would rather staff really just be trusted to go forward and apply, and if the commission doesn’t like it at that time, we deny it,” he said.

Howze said front-end board review protects the staff, because some grants carry conditions the board might reject. “There are grant opportunities out there that are ideologically directed in one direction or another that wouldn’t necessarily have six votes on this dais,” he said. The board asked the committee to address grants with no match, grants that create ongoing personnel or operating costs, and adherence to the strategic plan. Watson asked that the monthly grants report be shared publicly.

Clean financial bill-of-health

Jacob Holman, a partner with Forvis Mazars, a nationwide audit firm with an office in KCMO, presented the 2025 annual financial audit and reported the best result available. The firm issued a “clean or unmodified opinion. That’s the highest level opinion that you can receive as an organization,” he said. He reported “no material weaknesses” and “no significant deficiencies,” the two most serious levels of control problem. The audit provided one important best-practice note recommending annual conflict-of-interest disclosures.

The general fund closed the year with an unassigned balance of about $69.6 million, or 3.7 months of revenue, up slightly from 3.6 months a year earlier. Kneuvean reminded commissioners and viewers that “an audit and a budget are not the same thing.”

Ahead of the meeting, Pacheco used a social media post to head off a common misreading of the audit. The report put the UG’s total net position at about $963.9 million at the end of 2025, up $116 million, or nearly 14 percent, over the year before. But that figure is not spendable cash, Pacheco cautioned. He likened it to home equity: a $300 thousand house with a $200 thousand mortgage leaves $100 thousand in equity, not $100 thousand in the bank. Most of the UG’s worth is tied up in roads, bridges, buildings, sewer systems, and utility lines, he wrote, and much of its cash is restricted to specific uses such as bond-funded projects. “We are not bankrupt, and we are not sitting on a billion dollars of free cash,” he wrote.

Commissioners adopted a contract with the union police dispatchers and call takers, retroactive from January 2026 through December 2028, with raises of 4, 3, and 2 percent.

The board also allocated the final $1.47 million of the initial $5 million American Royal payment. The money adds fiber in three corridors along Leavenworth Road, Parallel, and the Fairfax area and pays $526.8 thousand to nearly finish paying off a loan on the downtown grocery. It also sets aside $250 thousand to design a new golf clubhouse at Sunflower Hills, and spends $82.5 thousand on equipment to fight illegal dumping, along with smaller amounts for a downtown master plan, Sister City efforts, speed bumps, a sidewalk, and tax rebate outreach. The vote was 10 to 0.

Honorary street rename on State Avenue for fallen officer Hunter Simoncic

Commissioners unanimously approved an honorary street name at State Avenue and Campus Boulevard for Officer Hunter Simoncic, who was killed Aug. 26, 2025, near the intersection as he tried to stop a fleeing felon. The department plans to unveil the street on Aug. 26, the one-year anniversary of his death.

Watson also read proclamations marking National Night Out Against Crime, held Aug. 4, Purple Heart Day on Aug. 7 along with the county’s standing as a Purple Heart County, and Providence YMCA Ball Family Center Day on Aug. 17, honoring 20 years of the center. Oakman thanked sponsors for the National Night Out event and said it showed “how the community came together.” The board also approved travel requests from Bynum, Kump, Howard, and Ramirez for legislative business and conferences.