McPherson city staff, City Commission and the public gathered Tuesday morning for a combined meeting on Revenue Neutral Rate and the proposed 2027 budget.
Finance Director Richard Miller addressed the commission on the Revenue Neutral Rate structure before the public comment portion. One citizen voiced his concern over rising costs. The commission then adopted the RNR with a 3-0 vote and moved into discussion on the proposed 2027 budget.
The City’s budget calls for a property tax levy of 53.826 mills, which would be 2.666 mills above the levy that would generate the same amount of property tax revenue received for this year and amount of $430,267 (2.666 mills). According Miller the levy would be about the same as for the 2026 budget.
The commission did hear from two members of the audience who opposed some of the projects on the budget. John Harper from McPherson told commissioners he has six years of college and still has trouble understanding the math and methods behind the budget, “I got this in the mail,” he said. “I can’t make heads or tails of this, other then the bottom line shows – I assume my taxes are going up $200 a year.”
McPherson resident Cutter Ross took issue with an item for work on a butterfly garden, “We don’t need a butterfly garden,” he said. “We need a sidewalk that gets workers from one side of town to the other safely.”
Prior to the vote, Mayor Jim Loving expressed his thanks to staff for their work over the past months. He also added that it is hard to please everyone in a city with 14,000 residents. “We’ve got a budget put together that fits the needs and wants of most the people in McPherson,” he said.
Before Commissioners passed the budget on a 3-0 vote – Finance Director Richard Miller outlined several priorities in the plan, like fully staffing police and fire departments, wastewater treatment plant maintenance and plant improvements, plus upgrades at Hess Park and Challenger Park. Also on the list, cemetery expansion planning, Water Park maintenance and rehabilitation, Planning and Zoning Comprehensive Plan implementation, upgrades to the Downtown Plaza, expansion of the Northview hike/bike trail system, reconstruction of Kansas Ave from Maple to bypass, plus expansion of hike/bike trail on Ave A from Foxfire to Centennial.
