Property tax increases in Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County are likely in the coming fiscal year.
The Unified Government Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday night to allow property taxes to rise up to three mills. That would be about a $144 hike on a $200,000 house in Kansas City, Kansas. The vote was 7-3 in favor of the mill levy cap and not continuing with the revenue-neutral budget approved last year.
Commissioner Tom Burroughs, who is running for mayor of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, was adamant that there is waste in the current budget and property taxes should remain flat.
"We have a systemic fiscal problem," he said during the meeting. "We have a lot of debt. We've been borrowing money to pay our bills. That debt has come due," he said.
Mayor Tyrone Garner voted in favor of allowing property taxes to rise but said property tax relief is still the number one issue with Kansas City, Kansas, residents.
"It doesn't matter if you rent and your rent goes up because your landlord is paying more or if you own a home," he said. "And if you're paying more, it's hard to keep up your home, and if you don't keep up your home, then codes wants to come out and tag your home."
Other commissioners who voted in favor of allowing a property tax hike also insisted there are other places to cut the budget. But County Administrator David Johnston warned that probably means cutting employees. He said there isn't much left to cut from operational funds because those have already been trimmed "close to the bone." But Johnston promised any proposed budget would stay below the approved cap.
There is a long budgetary slog ahead of the Unified Government Commissioners, who said they wanted to be involved in the process, line by line. A public hearing on the budget is set for Aug. 26.
All of this comes at a time of both budgetary uncertainty and expectation for the Unified Government.
A tax increase in Wyandotte County is almost inevitable. All school districts in the county, along with most other taxing authorities, have voted against a revenue-neutral budget, according to Unified Government staff.
The county is also gearing up for what it hopes is an influx of World Cup tourists and money. The Kansas City organizing committee predicts $650 million in economic impact.
The Unified Government’s World Cup Readiness Task Force report said there is a “high likelihood” that a national team would select the Compass Minerals National Performance Center as a team’s base camp for the entire tournament. The report also says teams are expected to use Children’s Mercy Park for practice a day ahead of each match at Arrowhead Stadium.
Right now the Unified Government budget does not include any World Cup expenditures.
Some residents are not at all excited about international soccer in Wyandotte County and said so at a Unified Government budget hearing last week.
“You patronize us and tell us we need to be a good host to people that we give no Fs about. I mean, we’re concerned about taking care of our families,” Jessie Villarreal from Kansas City, Kansas, told commissioners.
The Unified Government also wants to upgrade several firehouses in the city after a report said ten are in “deplorable” condition and six are in “poor” condition. The report also said that many fire companies fall short of meeting response time standards, and more firefighters are needed.
When the report was issued in March, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said he had no idea how much adding staff and upgrading firehouses would cost.
The revenue-neutral budget passed last year — which froze property taxes in 2025 — resulted in millions of dollars in cuts to the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, fire department and Wyandotte County Sheriff.
The parks and recreation, public works and community services departments also saw nearly $2 million in reductions combined.
At the time, Unified Government commissioners and Garner all expressed distaste for the reductions, but said they were necessary to pass a fiscally responsible budget.
