A full-time city planner, part-time deputy court clerk, economic development pursuits related to the proposed STAR bond district and setting aside money for equipment updates for the fire department are among the expenses the city may see after Monday night’s City Commission meeting.

Interim City Manager Zack Daniel presented the city manager’s proposed budget for next year.

Different aspects of the budget have been discussed throughout the last few months, but Monday night was the first full formal proposed all-inclusive budget. While the manager and commissioners had previously discussed raising the mill by one, Daniel’s proposed budget included a half mill increase. 

After the city and Convention and Visitors Bureau’s first big Fourth of July event this year, the budget also includes extra funding for celebrations next year. Daniel said they will double the allocation for the event because fireworks are getting more expensive and because they want to bring more traffic to the area with the World Cup. 

Mayor Tim Reazin asked if the fireworks end up not needing the additional funding that some of that money be funneled back into the visitors bureau to support their efforts during World Cup season. He said there could be potential for more advertising for Eudora on the other side of the county line, especially as people are in the area looking for small town things to do. 

Reazin said there could be an argument for raising the mill levy by a full mill rather than half to help plan for some more events related to unknowns surrounding the World Cup next year. 

“And if the next year comes around and we make a decision to not, we could pull that mill back, or pull half that mill back, if we need to,” Reazin said. “That’s, to me, an argument for the full mill because of the potential unknown.”

For the police department, the proposed budget includes updated software, as well as the annual new vehicle program. 

Public Works includes additional pothole and crack/seal maintenance. 

“General fund, as I’ve mentioned before, is really funding routine, standard operations, ​so your bigger projects, your bigger capital projects, your bigger street projects, are going to be located in other areas of the budget that is not the general fund, and it’s not funded primarily through property taxes,” Daniel said. 

The city will continue to transfer money to its economic development fund for the STAR bond project, with $120,000 in the general fund and $250,000 out of the sales tax items. 

The budget also includes a 2% cost-of-living adjustment and 2.2% merit increases for all city employees. 

Reazin asked if the city was on par with neighboring communities, and Daniel said after hearing increases from other municipalities at a convention, Eudora is in the middle of the pack for compensation increases. 

The breakdown of expenditures included in the general fund per department is shown below:

In terms of revenue coming into the general fund for 2026, it is estimated the increase will be about 5% over 2025 year-end totals.

Here’s the full breakdown:

Daniel also reshared the mill levy rates for each of the taxing entities. This graphic represents what Eudora residents were taxed based on the highest mill rate noticed, (rather than the changes discussed like the half mill rather than full mill for the city.) The county is expected to lower its rate by a half mill. 

The district makes up 45%, the county and Eudora both representing 26% each, 2% to the library and 1% to the state.

Commissioner Roberta Lehmann said she wants residents to see the mill levy graphic to emphasize what percentage of taxes the city is receiving. 

Reazin said it is also nice to know that the county will receive a percentage of the tax revenue collected for the Nottingham Center back. Although the lot is not full, the city is paying off the debt service for what is in place, he said. Sales tax generated by the district is going back to support the debt associated with the district. 

Daniel said they have had interest in the remaining lots, and said the city is continuing to retool how they see the district’s layout. 

As the city has previously discussed utility rate increases, Daniel gave a brief overview of the proposed changes. 

Electric — 5% increase (This utility is still under review, but 5% is the minimum adjustment subject to change depending on 2026 projects, Daniel said. The final proposed change will be discussed at the meeting to approve the budget.)

Water — 6.5% increase 

Wastewater — 8% increase

There is no proposed change to stormwater or trash/recycling rates. Staff likely will see the need to increase those rates as part of the 2027 budget, though.

The commission also recently discussed capital improvement projects included in next year’s proposed budget.

Here’s the breakdown of projects funded through the capital improvement plan:

Electric
Winchester substation circuit ($137,500)
Winchester second feeder ($165,000)
Substation development phase I ($400,000)

Water
Vac truck ($133,410)
PLC upgrades ($84,000)
Water treatment plant development ($1.2M)

Stormwater
Affluent channel clearing ($52,500)

Sewer
UV light upgrades ($25,000)
Meadowlark pump station ($225,000)
Hunters Ridge lift station ($225,000)

Parks & Rec
Special event enhancements ($10,000)
Equipment/facility improvements ($90,000)
Pilla Park ($298,225 local match)

Public Safety
EPD patrol car rotation ($43,000)
EPD equipment ($25,750)
EFD training center development ($28,550)
EFD vehicle – fully outfitted ($64,510)

Streets/Roads
Pavement management program ($610,000)
Annual chip & seal ($ 115,000)
Curb replacement ($99,000)

The city will be able to adopt the budget after having its budget and revenue neutral rate hearing Sept. 8. No action was taken on the budget Monday night.

The city is also planning to have a booth at the September Main Street Market to distribute informational materials related to budget and increases for utilities and property tax rates.