Atchison commission to consider higher property tax rate Monday

The Atchison City Commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall to decide whether to signal a property tax rate above the revenue-neutral level, a move that could shape next year’s city budget and what homeowners pay in 2027. The decision would not lock in the final budget, but it would set the ceiling for the levy and point residents toward the public hearing still to come.

City Manager Mark Westhoff is recommending a cap of 45.168 mills, which is 1.459 mills above the county clerk’s revenue-neutral rate of 43.709 mills. That difference would bring in roughly $152,000 more across the general fund, debt service fund and library fund. It would give the commission room for streets, parks, municipal operations, debt payments and the portion of the budget tied to the Atchison Public Library, which is included in the city’s municipal budget but operates independently.

Kansas budget law requires any taxing entity that plans to exceed the revenue-neutral rate to notify the county clerk by July 20 and hold a public hearing before adopting a final budget. For Atchison, that hearing is already set for 4:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at Atchison City Hall. Monday’s action would put the city on that path, while still leaving commissioners the option to settle on a lower levy later if public comment or budget priorities change.

Westhoff’s 2026 budget presentation put the proposed budget at a 2.5% increase in property tax revenue, below the 2025 CPI inflation calculation of 2.7%. The city’s six-year average property-tax revenue growth since 2020 was 2.2% per year, compared with a 4.1% CPI average over the same period. The city’s final proposed 2026 budget came in at 46.498 mills, about 1.6 mills over the revenue-neutral rate, and would produce a 3.4% increase in tax revenue in 2026.

Atchison County has already gone through a similar process for its 2026 budget, setting a maximum levy of 68.951 mills, or $15,832,586 in ad valorem tax dollars, after exceeding the revenue-neutral rate. County leaders held their hearing at Memorial Hall, 819 Commercial Street, after public notice under the same Kansas budgeting rules now shaping the city’s calendar.

Commission meetings are generally held at 4:30 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month in the Commission Chambers at 515 Kansas Avenue, and they are televised online with time for public comment.