Commissioners reach agreement on 2024 budget with decrease of 2 mills

The Board of County Commissioners reached a tentative agreement on July 12 on an approximately $190.7 million budget for 2024. They agreed on a mill levy of 44.219 mills, which is a decrease of two mills from 2023. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value.

The 2024 budget included growth in property values (assessed valuation) of 10.98%.  This higher than traditional rate of growth allowed the Commission to reduce the mill levy by $3.8 million in the general fund.  The 2024 budget does not eliminate any current county services. 

Commissioners Shannon Reid, Patrick Kelly and Karen Willey reviewed over 30 funding requests totaling $16.9 million from Douglas County departments and community partners. 

Douglas County departments and community agencies that received new or expanded funding included:

• $2 million in one-time funds for a permanent supportive housing project with Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center.
• $574,510 in one-time funds to eliminate the mortgages for Artists Helping the Homeless, allowing more funding to go to operations.
• $736,673 for market-related pay adjustments for correctional offices and sworn officers in the Sheriff’s Office.  Additional funds will be provided to adjust comparable positions in Criminal Justice Services.     
• $225,000 in one-time capital funding for the Phase IV expansion of the KU Innovation Park.  
• $386,000 in one-time capital funds to support production and capital upgrades for Cottonwood, Inc.
• $165,000 in additional funding for Transitions, transitional supportive housing on the Treatment and Recovery Campus of Douglas County.  
• $65,000 in one-time funds to support the Willow Domestic Violence Center’s Blueprint for Safety Community Program in partnership with the District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office.  
• Matching funds for a grant-funded Eviction Diversion Coordinator for the District Court Self-Help Center.
• An additional Adult Services Officer for Community Corrections.
• An Assistant Motor Vehicle Supervisor position for the Treasurer’s Office.
• A Security Engineer for Information Technology.

Commissioners agreed to continue to support funding for ambulance replacement at Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical. The 2024 allocation is $945,000 for the replacement of two ambulances.

Additionally, Commissioners approved $2.5 million for market, merit and longevity pay for county employees. They also transferred $5.3 million to the Capital Improvement Projects fund, a 7% increase from last year.

Commissioners reviewed the 2024-2028 Capital Improvement Program for facilities, road and bridge projects during a work session on July 26.

The budget will be adopted during a public hearing on August 30 that will be held during the County Commission business meeting.

Video recordings of the budget hearings and deliberations are available on our YouTube channel: http://dgcoks.org/dgkscommrecordings.

To view more information about the county budget: http://budget.douglascountyks.org.