The Board of County Commissioners reached a tentative agreement July 15 on an approximately $199.2 million budget for 2027. Commissioners agreed on a mill levy of 40.286 mills, a decrease of 0.383 mills from last year.

For the fifth consecutive year, the county commission has lowered the mill levy. Since 2023, the commission has reduced the mill levy by a combined 7.112 mills, lowering the rate from 47.419 to 40.286, a decrease of 15%. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 assessed value.

The 2027 budget includes a 4.9% increase in assessed property valuation, compared to 5.7% the previous year.

Commissioners Erica Anderson, Gene Dorsey, Patrick Kelly, Shannon Reid and Karen Willey reviewed funding requests totaling $15.4 million from more than 40 community agencies and county departments.

Commissioners allocated funding for several one-time projects using existing fund balances. These include:

• $500,000 to the Baldwin City Economic Development Corporation to support a new childcare center in Baldwin City.
• $1.5 million pledge to Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center for a Youth Recovery Center.
• $485,085 to Family Promise to pay off loans on two supportive housing projects, increasing the agency’s ability to expand operations and services.
• $91,761 to Douglas County Historical Societies for capital improvement projects involving accessibility upgrades to facilities and a collections management assistant.
• $340,000 for two behavioral health capital projects for justice-involved housing and a peer support clubhouse.

Community projects that received ongoing funding include:

• $349,500 to help Cardinal Housing Network provide transitional housing services for women.
• $60,000 to restore funding for KU Innovation Park.
• $45,600 for DCCCA, Inc. to expand transitional housing support.
• $108,361 in wage adjustments for Senior Resource Center staff.
• $100,000 for the EveryDay Counts truancy program with Douglas County Youth Services.

In 2026, commissioners supported the expansion of operations at Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical for a new Station 6 as well as an ambulance replacement. The 2027 budget includes an additional $199,000 in ongoing and one-time costs to add a team lead position for the Mobile Integrated Health team.

Commissioners also approved about $1.8 million for an approximately 3.4% market adjustment and 1% merit pool for county employees.

Commissioners transferred $5.4 million to the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) fund to support facilities, road and bridge projects. Commissioners will review projects in the 2027-2031 CIP during their business meeting at 5:30 p.m. July 22.

The Commission held more than 20 hours of meetings and deliberations during its review of the proposed 2027 budget. Video recordings are available on the county’s YouTube channel and website at dgcoks.gov/county-commission.

The 2027 budget will be adopted during a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 26 during the Commission business meeting.

For information about the budget, visit https://dgcoks.gov/administration/budget.