Unified Government votes to end Wyandotte property tax freeze, increasing bills
Wyandotte County commissioners, by a 7-3 vote Wednesday, approved the Unified Government’s recommendation to collect higher property tax revenues in fiscal year 2026. They also approved the maximum tax rate possible, but this doesn’t mean that will be the rate used to levy taxes.
This means that the Unified Government will likely bring in more revenues than it did this budget year. The commissioners’ 2024 decision to freeze property tax revenues left government departments in a bind this year, resulting in sweeping cuts to public services.
Bringing in new revenues would both increase the Unified Government’s portion of residents’ property tax bills as well as fuel area services, such as transportation and public safety.
Commissioners decided that the Unified Government can raise its property tax rate by a maximum of three mills — that’s $3 per $1,000 of property value — on both the city and county sides. They set a related public hearing for Aug. 26.
This means the commission now has the option to levy higher taxes in the 2026 budget year, and the government might not have to operate on stagnant revenues for a second consecutive year.
The cap is lower than what Unified Government staff pitched earlier this month. Instead of collecting a maximum combined $288 million, the cap limits the Unified Government’s total annual property tax collection to $279 million.
Unified Government financial staff, during a roughly six-hour meeting last week, recommended increasing the maximum rate the commission could adopt, but not necessarily the rate it will recommend for adoption in August, by 5 mills — $5 per $1,000 of property value — on both the city and county sides. That increase would have resulted in a combined $240 increase on the amount a KCK resident with a $200,000 home would pay in annual property tax.
The board ultimately deferred the decision to this week.
The resolution adopted Wednesday would reduce that increase from the current tax rate, which alone would bring in new revenues due to increasing property values, to three mills on each side. This means bills would still increase if the approved tax rate cap were adopted, although it would be less than the cap that staff proposed.
David Johnston, county administrator, told commissioners that the Unified Government doesn’t plan to recommend that the board adopt that maximum tax rate. Rather, that value allows the government to evaluate how much flexibility it will require during the budget process, especially given that the Unified Government expects it’ll cost more to staff and run itself in 2026.
The county is on track to spend $3.4 million more this coming year, and the city is on track to spend $4.9 million more.
“We have no intentions to reach that limit in our budget preparation,” Johnston told the board.
The board is scheduled to formally set a tax rate and adopt a budget for the 2026 fiscal year in late August.
Commissioners Tom Burroughs, Philip Lopez and Chuck Stites, all of whom are seeking public office in the November election, voted against collecting additional property tax revenues and the rate cap.
Commissioners Melissa Bynum, Gale Townshend, Bill Burns, Christian Ramirez, Evelyn Hill, Mike Kane and Andrew Davis voted in favor. Davis is seeking re-election this year.
The Unified Government isn’t the lone taxing entity in Wyandotte County to submit a notice of intent to collect new revenues in the coming budget year. This means other institutions that collect property taxes are also planning to collect more in taxes than they did this year.
As of Wednesday, these taxing entities submitted intent to exceed revenue neutral:
Bonner Springs
Edwardsville
Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools
Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library
Turner Recreation Commission
Kansas City, Kansas, Community College
Fairfax Drainage District
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 9:20 PM.
