Those looking for a new restaurant with a great atmosphere now have that option with Chilakilez and Cheers located at 7-8 Village Plaza.
As owners Isabel Trejo and Hugo Rosales tell it, the idea for the restaurant had been cooking for quite a while.
“In April of last year, we started doing the planning. We wanted to take our time and make sure everything was right, and we slowly started building everything up,” Rosales said. “We had the vision and just started slowly putting everything together, and it was the beginning of this year when we started putting in all the decorations and furniture and everything else.”
Seward County Commissioner Todd Stanton, along with Commissioner Steve Helm, voted no on exceeding revenue neutral rate and on increasing the mill levy by 13.4 mills Monday, but they were outvoted by Tammy Sutherland-Abbott, Scott Carr and Presephoni Fuller.
“I felt the budget process left much to be desired,” Stanton said. “There was not due consideration given to many issues.”
Stanton stated at the Revenue Neutral Rate hearing that Seward County only needed about $250,000 more to satisfy thetax refund that may be needed depending on the ruling of a current court case on the potential overpayment of property tax by Arkalon Ethanol.
It is budget time for the local governing entities, and Tuesday evening, the Liberal City Commission had its own version of those discussions at its most recent meeting.
“The City's 2026 Notice of Budget Hearing was published in the High Plains Daily Leader and Times Sept. 4, and it contained a proposed total budget amount of $66,090,580, a mill levy dollar amount of $8,131,454, which equates to an estimated mill levy of 50.367 mills, based on the July 1 estimated valuation,” City of Liberal Chief Financial Officer Brian Mannel said. “For the past three years, the City of Liberal has kept mill dollars flat – $6,932,519 in 2023, $$6,932,801 in 2024, and $6,932,800 in 2025. These efforts have kept expenses in check for everyday residents but have depleted cash significantly in our general fund. In 2023, the City of Liberal started the year with $4.4 million and ended with $2.8 million. In 2024, the City of Liberal started the current year with $2.8 million and ended with $2 million. We’re currently sitting on a balance of less than $1 million in the general fund for 2025, with an estimation of $4.1 million in receipts scheduled to come in. When considering payroll and expenses through the fourth quarter, we may roll less than $1 million in 2026. If not addressed in the 2026 fiscal year, reductions in staff and/or services would need to happen, which is why we have opted to keep the mills the same but take increased valuations. We also need to improve the health of the general fund for bond ratings. With that being said, we are only about 5 percent short from our year-to-date budget revenue goals, so the issue is low cash rollover and the inflationary environment compared to the past few years. On Nov. 1, the final assessed valuation will be determined, for which the number of mills necessary to fund our dollar request is subject to change; however, the levied dollars will not change. The City of Liberal will exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate for 2026.”
It is officially budget time for local government entities, including USD 480.
The USD 480 school board officially adopted its budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year after a combined Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) and traditional budget hearing at its Sept. 8 meeting, and Director of Business Services Nila Newton said there were a lot of factors given consideration.
“The district’s leadership reviewed assessed valuations, federal and state funding realities, the Building Needs Assessment and community feedback before reaching budgetary consensus and finalizing spending plans, so there was a lot to talk about,” Newton said. “The final approved budget for USD 480 reflects an overall emphasis on balancing operational needs with taxpayer impact in a year marked by rising property valuations and significant debate over public school finance.”
