WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — For the first time in decades, the Wichita City Council has voted to reduce the mill levy — the rate used to calculate property taxes — by half a mill. The decision came during a presentation of the city manager’s proposed budget for 2026 and 2027.
The 5–2 vote was not unanimous. Council members Brandon Johnson and Maggie Ballard opposed the reduction, which would save the median homeowner about $14 a year.
Crown Uptown will not be added to historic register of places
“To me, it doesn’t make sense to reduce it — and again, for a symbolic $14 that you’ll eat up with a few gallons of gas, or one pizza, or if you’re someone who goes to Starbucks, usually one of their drinks is like $28,” Johnson said. “So I think something performative like that is not worth doing today.”
The proposed budget, which totals just over $1 billion, includes funding for road repairs, homeless services, and the retention of 42 grant-funded firefighter positions that were previously at risk of being cut…