ALLEN COUNTY, Kan. — The Allen County Commission will hold hearings on their proposed 2026 budget Tuesday evening at 6:30 at part of the regular meeting at the Courthouse that begins at 6. The Commission usually holds an evening meeting the third Tuesday of the month but changed it to August for the purpose of this hearing.
The county is proposing a levy of 59.523 mills, slightly less than the 2025 levy and about 3 ½ mills over the revenue neutral rate. This levy will raise an additional 696 thousand dollars in revenue for the county for next year. About 2.4 mills of the levy increase is for the general funding, with about a half mill increase for EMS and a 1,2 mill hike in the levy for the airport.
The virtual elimination of funding for Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center will take not quite a mill off the overall levy, with a just under one mill cut proposed for the road and bridge levy and a more than two mill reduction in the special bridge levy, with minor adjustments up and down in other levies.
In addition to the county’s budget, hearings on the budgets will also take place for Fire Districts 2, 3 and 4, and for Sewer Districts 1 and 2, which like the county have proposed budgets that will exceed the revenue neutral rate for 2026.
The fire district levies will be set at five mills, which is basically the same as for 2025 and from around a quarter to a third of a mill over RNR. Sewer District 1’s nine mill proposed levy is slightly less than the 2025 rate and about 2/3rds of a mill Above RNR, and for Sewer District 2 they are proposing to double their levy from 10 to 20 mills, with RNR levy rate that would raise the same property tax dollars as for 2025 about a mill less than the 2025 rate.
Prior to the hearings they will receive the weekly road and bridge and public works updates and following the hearings there will be an update from Thrive Allen County.
