The City Commission was presented with the city manager’s proposed budget for next year and discussed what it will mean for the average homeowner at Monday night’s meeting.
The proposed budget includes a flat mill levy of 39.001, with a shift of 1 mill from the general fund to the bond and interest fund to help pay for debt obligations.
The presentation also broke down what this would mean for the average homeowner in Eudora. For the median Eudora home value of $245,100, an 11.5% valuation and the flat mill levy, that would be about $1,099.30 in property tax that goes to the city.
Another graphic shows the breakdown of specific utility bill prices for a home of the same median value:
Eudora’s mill levy comes in lower than Baldwin, Tonganoxie and Bonner Springs, but is higher than Lawrence, Lecompton and De Soto, Assistant City Manager Zack Daniel said.
If a home is valued at $240,000 in 2024, with a combination of flat mill levies for the school, city, library and state and the decrease of 2.9 mills from the county, here is what the tax bill would look like in 2025 as presented by the city:
USD 491: $2,076.14
Douglas County: $1,326.32
City of Eudora: $1,170.08
Library: $102.48
State: $45
Total: $4,720.03
The city receives about 24.8% of the total property tax bill.
The only action taken on the budget at Monday’s meeting was to set the required budget public hearing for Aug. 26. The hearing required for the revenue neutral rate will be the same night.
General Fund
The city’s budget includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment and 3% merit increase for all city employees.
Police positions will receive an additional raise to be more competitive. At a past meeting, the increase was discussed at 6% for officers and sergeants. The budget also includes money to add another police officer and vehicle.
Other priorities in the 2025 budget include:
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$250,000 for economic development pursuits related to projects like the entertainment district south of K-10. This funding will combine with another $250,000 from the capital improvement plan sales tax fund for a total of $500,000.
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$125,000 for a portion of the pavement management program
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$17,598 for the addition of a Parks and Rec intern
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$30,000 toward a standards of coverage request for proposals recommended by the Eudora Fire Department Strategic Plan
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$33,741 in additional costs related to dispatch services ($124,181 total, budgeted out of the police and fire departments)
Capital improvement projects:
Public Works
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Street projects, including pavement management, chip and seal, crack seal and pothole maintenance and street extension/surveying: $1,023,200
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Pavement management: $775,000 with funding from various funds
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Electric small bucket truck and Hunters Ridge Phase 3: $426,600
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Water backwash holding tank improvements, backwash holding rank pumps, transfer pump 3 replacement, water treatment plant design: $922,040
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Sewer services Peach Street lift station decommission, effluent channel gate improvements: $922,040
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Stormwater annual channel clearing and culvert improvements: $252,500
Parks and Rec
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Pilla Park redevelopment: $866,667
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CivicRec software migration: $16,135
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Equipment/facility improvements, including security cameras for Community Center, new cardio equipment: $122,214
Related to the Parks and Rec budget, there is potential for another $18,000 in revenue since the city is exploring taking over softball and baseball programming from the Eudora Amateur Baseball and Softball Association. These discussions are ongoing.
Utility funds
The city manager’s proposed budget includes the following rate increases for residential utilities:
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Electric – 3%
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Water – 6.5%
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Wastewater – 9%
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Stormwater – 12%
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Refuse – 0%
This would result in an overall increase of about 4.6% on average for households, Daniel said. This rate schedule is preliminary and will be voted at the end of this year.
This graphic provided by the city shows how these increases would affect the median household:
Overall, the general fund is estimated to spend down its fund balance by $597,710, meaning the balance at the end of year will be about $1.8 million. This would be a 24.7% reserve funding for expenditures.
General fund revenue
It is expected for the 2025 revenue to be a total of about $6.6 million, up from the estimated 2024 revenue of about $6.4 million.
The general fund revenue for 2025 is expected to be about 5.6% higher than original adopted revenues and about 2% up from when the city adopted an updated 2024 revenue estimate. The general fund will lose 1 mill to move to debt servicing in the bond and interest fund – meaning there will be 37 mills in the general fund.
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Sales and use tax are also exceeding budgeted revenues by almost 6%, so the city is estimating an additional 3.5% increase in 2025.
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Revenue from licenses and permits are also up. The 2024 permits are expected to exceed budgeted amounts by 140%. This is mostly due to the Mid America Bank building permit. The city also plans to receive more requests in 2025.
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Other revenue increases are due to increasings in municipal court dockets. A possible additional part-time deputy court clerk may be necessary down the line, but it is not currently budgeted. Cash bonding processes are also being discussed, which could also add to this revenue. Court revenue is up about 41%, Daniel said.
Expenditures
The city is proposing $7.2 million in 2025 expenditures, up from the estimated $6.7 million for 2024.
This year’s budgeted expenditures are likely to come in about 2.9% less than originally budgeted. The city said this is due to a reduction of expenditures for economic development costs. Because of this, the city authorized continuing on the pavement management program at a past meeting.
Commissioner Roberta Lehmann asked Daniel and City Manager Kevyn Gero if this year’s budget was conservative similar to that in 2023 and 2024.
Daniel said there was nothing extra in this budget, and only focused on priorities listed by the commission.
Gero said this budget only maintains core services and current programming, without the addition of anything new.
Before the final vote is done, Mayor Tim Reazin asked that the city send out more than just the effects for the median household, but for the highest and lowest bills as well.
After coming up with goals during the strategic planning meeting earlier this year, the city was able to tie the budget into meeting these goals, Gero said. Those goals are having safe/welcoming neighborhoods, a strong and diverse economy, connecting generations through parks and rec, and being fiscally responsible stewards.
Gero said there are also unfunded requests that are long-term needs that could not fit into next year’s budget. The needs for new facilities or expansions were not addressed, nor were any of the city’s aging infrastructure needs, she said.
Here are some of the unfunded requests:
• Part-time assistance for planning, municipal court
• Vac and reel trailers for electric utility ($143K)
• 1″ waterline replacement ($23K)
• Ford truck w/ utility bed ($74K)
• RAS/WAS meters ($40K)
• Metal storage building for wastewater ($175K)
• Additional property for potential substation
• Fencing at street shop ($14K)
• Major facilities improvements for City Hall, public safety, etc.
The only action taken on the budget at Monday’s meeting was to set the required budget public hearing for Aug. 26.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
