Douglas County commissioners — following about 21 hours of budget hearings and deliberations over the past week and a half — set their maximum property tax rate for 2026.
Commissioners spent their mornings each day last week and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week hearing from community organizations and county departments about their budget requests, then deliberating about them.
Each year, local governments must approve their maximum mill levy, or property tax rate, well before they approve the complete budget and the details that go into it. Just as the city commission had to approve its maximum mill levy Tuesday in order to notify the county clerk by July 20, the county commission had to approve its maximum mill levy on Wednesday.
County staff members had proposed a flat mill levy of 41.298. That would still mean a tax increase for most property owners as total assessed property valuation increased 5.7% this year, according to the county.
County commissioners on Wednesday evening voted to approve a slightly lower maximum mill levy of 40.669. The decreased rate is not enough to offset tax increases from assessed valuations, however, so most property owners will still see their county property taxes increase.
The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 would have paid the county about $950 in property taxes in 2025. Under the commissioners’ maximum mill levy for 2026, that value would decrease to $935; however, if that home’s assessed valuation increased by 5.7%, the owner’s property taxes owed to the county would increase to about $989.
Commissioners can tax and spend less than their approved maximum mill levy rate, but once set, they cannot exceed the maximum. The mill levy could still decrease before final approval of the 2026 budget.
The county commission expanded by two members starting with the November 2024 election, and this was the first time the five-member commission came to the table for the budget process. Recordings of the budget discussions are available on the county’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@douglascountyks.
The commission will not meet on July 23 but will meet again Wednesday, July 30. At their work session at 4 p.m. that day, they’ll discuss the five-year capital improvement plan and the budget for Consolidated Fire District No. 1.
Commissioners will hold formal public hearings on the budget during their Wednesday, Aug. 27 meeting, and they will likely give the budget their final approval at that meeting.
See the county’s complete proposed 2026 budget at this link.
Meeting agendas are available via the county’s portal at this link. Meeting information and Zoom links will be posted on the county’s website at this link.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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