KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Overland Park will need a mill levy increase in its 2022 budget to pay for police department improvements, including a Behavioral Health Unit.
That was the recommendation from City Manager Bill Ebel, as Overland Park, like other cities, recovers from the hit to its revenues from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release from the city.
The mayor and council will decide if the proposed $327 million budget will need changes before the budget vote on Sept. 20.
Council committees will review and consider changes, if any, during the rest of June and July, according to the news release.
"With our response to the pandemic, we were able to position the city better going into 2022 than we thought," Ebel stated in the news release. "We must continue to focus on providing essential services. Our financial situation is stable, but enhancing public safety services requires a one-mill levy increase."
The news release states the average Overland Park home is worth about $350,000 and would pay about $3.35 more each month with the one-mill increase.
That money will go to pay for a new 11-member Behavioral Health Unit already approved by the council, the release states.
The fire department also will add firefighters and battalion chiefs.
