ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Seward County commissioners narrowly passed a budget for Fiscal Year 2026 Monday that included an increase of 13.384 mills over the Revenue Neutral Rate, the mill levy rate needed to collect the same amount of revenue as the previous fiscal year.
The vote of 3-2, with commissioners Steve Helm and Todd Stanton voting “no,” came after county officials lowered what they had given in a letter to property owners of a worst case scenario of raising the county’s mill levy by about 29 mills.
That number was derived from an ongoing Board of Tax Appeals case with Conestoga Energy in which the current payback asked for is nearly $6 million.
The mill levy is based on the county’s valuation, and that number jumped about 7 percent from $265,2013,125 in FY 2025 to an estimated $284,371,278 for the upcoming fiscal year.
Monday’s vote also came after commissioners hosted eight work sessions and two town hall meetings. County leaders are hopeful of a decision from a district court in Sedgwick County regarding the Conestoga case, and Administrator April Warden said Monday, court officials are only looking at the years 2018 through 2020, as the case also regards the years 2021-2024.
In order to meet the newly established mill levy, Warden said 18 positions had been eliminated at the county, though not all of those positions were filled at the time of that decision. Hours at the Seward County Health Department and the county’s maintenance department had likewise been cut, and for each of the last two years, the county’s benefits package had been reduced by $1 million, saving the county $2 million in that realm.
Warden, too, said desktop printers and most fax machines had been eliminated from county offices. She said the county’s reserves had $7 million in 2024, but that number had dropped sharply to $2.4 million in 2025 with reserves being depleted for county projects.
Several local residents spoke during Monday’s public hearing, with many questioning the lack of money to potentially pay back Conestoga. Helm pointed out at this time, Seward County has the second highest mill levy in the state, and census data shows the county’s population has declined by about 1,700, leaving property owners with even more of a tax burden.
Commission Chairman Scott Carr made the motion to approve the budget, and Commissioner Presephoni Fuller seconded the motion. The approval of the budget also came after commissioners voted 3-2, with Helm and Stanton against, to approve a resolution for the county to exceed the RNR.
The RNR for FY 2026 was 40.490, and the approved mill levy was 53.874. Had commissioners approved the worst case scenario mill levy, the rate would be 69.282 mills. The mill levy for FY 2025 was 43.414.
Approved expenditures for FY 2026 were $41,422,542, and approved ad valorem taxes totaled $16,151,840. Expenditures for FY 2025 came in at $37,163,235.
Watch for more details regarding Monday’s public hearing in the Leader & Times.
