Need help understanding Sedgwick County’s property tax notice? Here’s a breakdown

For the four in five Sedgwick County homeowners whose property value increased this year, last week’s tax notices from County Clerk Kelly Arnold didn’t contain much in the way of good news.

Property taxes are expected to go up for most residents by as much as several hundred dollars this winter. But if the tax mailer left you with more questions than answers, you’re not alone.

Parsing the year-over-year change in property taxes levied by the state, county, city and school district would be hard enough if the notice included an overall tally of how much property owners paid last year and what they can expect to pay this year.

The mailer includes no such tally, leaving it to residents to add up the totals and figure out for themselves how much more money they should budget for property taxes.

Below are answers to some of the questions you may still have after reviewing your tax notice.

How are property taxes calculated?

Taxes are calculated by multiplying a percentage of the appraised property value — 11.5% for residential properties and 25% for commercial and industrial properties — by each taxing jurisdiction’s mill levy and dividing by 1,000.

For example, under Wichita’s current mill levy rate of 32.762, the city would collect $376.76 in property taxes on a $100,000 home. Sedgwick County’s current mill levy rate of 29.368 means the county would collect $337.73 on the same home.

What should I add up to estimate my year-over-year change in property taxes?

You can estimate what you’ll be expected to pay this year by adding up the figures in the “tax” column under “Proposed Budget.” To compare that to what you paid last year, add up the figures in the “paid” column under “Prior Year Tax.”

This year’s mill levy rates won’t be locked in until taxing jurisdictions adopt their 2024 budgets. Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita are both set to adopt their budgets this week.

What is the Revenue Neutral Rate?

A revenue neutral budget is one that uses the exact same amount of property tax dollars as the previous year’s budget. Taxing jurisdictions can collect more in property taxes by raising the mill levy or by keeping it the same while property valuations go up, as they did this year.

For example, Sedgwick County would have to lower its mill levy rate by more than 2.4 mills to achieve a revenue neutral budget. The county, Wichita and the Wichita school district have all notified the state that they plan to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate next year.

Under state law, notices must be sent to property owners alerting them of a taxing jurisdiction’s intent to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate. Public hearings must also be held so that taxpayers have a chance to weigh in before budgets are adopted.

What does this mean for Sedgwick County taxes?

County Manager Tom Stolz’s $546.2 million budget proposal calls for the mill levy rate to tick up by 0.002 mills, which, coupled with rising valuations, would result in the county collecting almost $13.4 million more in property taxes next year.

However, the Republican majority on the Sedgwick County Commission has expressed a will to reduce the mill levy rate instead, which would cut into the revenue generally used to support public safety and roads.

The county would have to lower its mill levy rate by more than 2.4 mills to achieve a revenue neutral budget, which Chief Financial Officer Lindsay Poe Rousseau has said is not feasible without extensive cuts.

Rousseau said the budget could absorb a 0.25 mill reduction easier than a 0.50 mill reduction, but both options will be on the table when the budget comes to a vote Wednesday. Staff has not yet identified specific areas where cuts could be made.

What does this mean for city of Wichita taxes?

Wichita’s mill levy has remained flat for the past 30 years, but City Manager Robert Layton’s $715 million proposed budget calls for the city to collect $12.6 million more in property tax revenue than in 2023 due to rising property values.

Mayor Brandon Whipple has said he supports Layton’s plan to stash this year’s $12.6 million budget surplus and next year’s projected $14.1 million surplus in the city’s reserve fund as a buffer against future shortfalls. It’s unlikely that there will be a majority on the council in favor of lowering the mill levy rate when the budget is adopted Tuesday.

City staff are working on a potential property tax relief pilot program that would supplement existing state programs by offering a 25% tax refund for low-income seniors, disabled veterans and their surviving spouses and residents with underage dependents who live in a home valued at less than $350,000 and received a state property tax credit of at least $40.

What does this mean for Wichita school district taxes?

In general, public school funding accounts for between 40% and 50% of residents’ property tax burden. Under state law, school district property taxes are collected under several separate line items.

Overall, USD 259’s combined mill levy is set to increase by 0.698 mills to 52.182 mills under next year’s budget proposal. But Budget Director Addi Lowell told the school board that she expects the final mill levy rate to be slightly lower, resulting in something closer to a 0.472 mill property tax increase.

Other suburban school districts in Sedgwick County are anticipating mill levy increases as well, including the Goddard school district, which is proposing a 0.051 mill combined hike.

How can I make my voice heard?

The city, county and school districts are all required to hold public hearings before moving forward with budgets that exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate.

Wichita will hold its final budget hearing at the City Council’s 9 a.m. meeting Tuesday inside City Hall.

Sedgwick County will hold its final budget hearing at the County Commission’s 9 a.m. meeting Wednesday inside the Ruffin Building Auditorium.

The Wichita school district’s revenue neutral budget hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Aug. 28 at Wichita North High School.

When are property taxes due?

Property taxes are billed annually in November. Residents must pay either all or half of their property tax bill by Dec. 20. If a resident elects to pay half of their taxes up front, the other half is due no later than May 10.