ERIN MCDANIEL
City of Newton
NEWTON, Kan. — At Tuesday night’s meeting, the City Commission continued discussions of the 2025 budget and voted to notify the County Clerk that the City intends to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate. To remain revenue neutral and take in the same amount of revenue as this year, the City would need to lower its mill levy by 7.86 mills.
That’s because Newton’s assessed valuation rose by 12.7% for next year, a large increase after many years of relatively stagnant growth. If the City keeps its mill levy flat next year, it will bring in an additional $1.35 million in revenue.
Although Commissioners agreed it would not be wise to lower the mill levy enough to stay revenue neutral, they remained undecided on where the mill levy should land.
The City Commission has prioritized economic development in recent years to help grow the tax base and create growth in valuation with new construction. Commissioners said they wanted to take advantage of that growth while also giving taxpayers a break. They also said they wanted to keep an eye on long-term budget projections, as they don’t want to reduce too much now and wind up needing large tax increases in future years.
City Commissioners had requested to see some additional budget options that would reduce the tax rate and absorb only a portion of the valuation increase. City staff brought forward some options for budget reductions in the General Fund, including:
Four new swing sets at three parks - $42,000
Elimination of most right-of-way mowing - $13,552
Fire/EMS Department accreditation - $70,000
Various trainings and travel in Admin budget - $10,000
Golf Course transfer for course improvements - $100,000
Reserve for possible wage increases to stay competitive in the job market after a classification and salary study - $447,855
The Commission will continue to discuss budget options on July 23.
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