Board of County Commissioners Approves 2025 Budgets

(Sedgwick County, Kan.) –The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) today approved a 2025 budget for Sedgwick County Government that cuts the mill levy for a second consecutive year and establishes the County’s lowest mill levy in 27 years. The spending priorities focus on core services, and staffing and compensation improvements - especially in Public Safety. Commissioners also approved a 2025 budget for Fire District 1 with a reduced mill levy.

Some budget highlights include:

• $16.7 million increase in employee compensation
• 26 additional Full-Time Employees (FTE), including:
  • 10 –Emergency Communications, 911 front line positions
  • 6 – Fire District 1
  • 2 – District Attorney’s Office
  • 2 – EMS
  • 2 – IT
  • 1 – 18^th Judicial District Court
  • 1 – Criminal Justice Management
  • 1 – Human Resources
  • 1 – Risk Management
• Eliminated 1 Full-Time DEI Program Manager position
• $28.8 million Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for County Facilities projects, including:
  • New Juvenile Community-Based Service Building
  • First phase of HVAC replacement in the jail complex
• $760 thousand for a drainage project
• $19 million for roads and bridges
• Increased funding for three senior centers (Oaklawn, Clearwater and Haysville)
• Restored funding for one additional year of KPTS-TV contract to broadcast BoCC meetings
• Reallocated $200,000 from R328 (Northwest Expressway) to ARC 95 project
• Increased $100,000 from Economic Development program for a project viability study of R328 (Northwest Expressway)
• Reduced County mill levy by approximately 1/3 of a mill and Fire District 1 mill levy by more than 2/3 of a mill
• Did not capture all assessed property valuation growth

The 2025 Adopted Budget for Sedgwick County Government is $563,444,425, with an estimated property tax rate of 28.659 mills, and $30,140,800 for Sedgwick County Fire District 1, with an estimated property tax rate of 17.000 mills. Together, the budgets total $593,585,225.

“Commissioners listened closely to the feedback provided by our citizens at two budget roundtable discussions, two public budget hearings and an online forum, before taking action today,” said Ryan Baty, BoCC Chairman. “We worked hard to craft a budget that is both responsible and forward-thinking, balancing the need for core services with quality-of-life amenities. By continuing to build a stable workforce and strong Public Safety system, we strive to keep our residents healthy and happy, far into the future.”

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