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The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, is kicking off its 2027 budget season as officials balance resident concerns over property taxes with the need for infrastructure improvements.
Mayor Christal Watson is entering her first budget season with a focus on transparency and educating the community on the budget process.
"I think the most important thing is taking the approach of educating our community while we’re being transparent," Watson said.
Watson said her top priorities are infrastructure, workforce and business development, and housing and community needs.
The new commission also has its own set of priorities: upholding fiscal sustainability, fostering economic development, focusing on service and communication, and improving infrastructure.
Commission members developed these at one of the three retreats they’ve had thus far. Watson said the events inspired collaboration and enthusiasm surrounding the next budget.
"We don’t want to raise taxes," Watson said.
However, the Unified Government's expenses are outgrowing its revenue.
In 2025, the commission increased the mill levy, or tax rate, for the first time in recent years to collect more property tax revenue to pay for services.
For the 2026 budget, the mill levy rate is 36.219 for Kansas City, Kansas, and 35.704 for Wyandotte County.
This is an increase from the 2025 revenue-neutral rates of 34.462 for the city and 33.459 for the county, though still lower than the 2024 rates.
Unified Government Budget Director Reginald Lindsey said 70% of the budget goes toward personnel, with a significant portion dedicated to public safety.
"Our pace of expenses is outgrowing our pace of revenue growth. That definitely poses an issue," Lindsey said.
Lindsey noted the city and county fund balances are currently lower than the 25% target, but officials have been working to reduce debt over the past few years.
"If we are increasing funding someplace, we kind of have to like trade it someplace else," Lindsey said.
Residents have expressed property tax fatigue for several years now.
"People don’t just have money sitting by being like, 'Property taxes are going to go up, here’s some extra money I have.' We have to cut it from our budget," Jodi Maxey said in March.
Other long-time residents are worried about being taxed out of their homes.
"It doesn’t add up," Carole Newton told KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson in 2025.
In all honesty, Watson admitted she’s nervous about her first budget season as mayor.
"When I was on the campaign trail, many people said, ‘We don’t have a budget problem, we have a spending problem.’ So let’s help educate where we spend our dollar," Watson said.
To help educate the public, the Unified Government offers detailed "Open Book" articles online that outline topics like how the city and county mill levies fund the budget.
Infrastructure remains a top priority for the mayor, including the internal infrastructure of departments and personnel.
The Public Works Department is currently working on a $19.1 million pavement project on State Avenue and Parallel Parkway, which was a 2026 budget promise.
In the 2025 amended budget, the Unified Government allocated over $7 million to post-storm emergency street repairs and pavement preservation for Parallel Parkway.
This was funded by one-time revenue from the Plaza at the Speedway Tax Increment Financing, or TIF.
Lindsey added that this funding is also being directed toward street preservation to address potholes before summer.
"We need to have a solid infrastructure so that we’re ready for the Chiefs when they come and any other major developments that want to come within Wyandotte County," Watson said.
Lindsey said resident surveys show the public's desire for infrastructure improvements.
Other requests the UG has seen involve the BPU PILOT, which Lindsey says was reduced over the past two years. He hopes for the same again this year.
Both Lindsey and Watson welcome more input from the community.
The next "DotteTalk" public hearing is scheduled for 6–7:30 p.m. on April 28 at the Kansas City, Kansas, Community College Technical Education Center.
You can visit the UG’s website to learn more about when budget workshops are being held.
"If you want your voices heard, you need to be engaged and participate,” Watson said. “Now more than ever, it’s our time to shine and work together, and we need our residents.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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