Property taxes might increase in Johnson County next year, officials explain why

KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Shawnee and Mission. If you have a story idea to share, send Alyssa an email .

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When you've lived in your home for years, often times you realize property taxes will go up at some point.

KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson spoke with homeowners on and off-camera in Shawnee, Roeland Park, Mission and Fairway as local governments discuss property tax rates during budget season.

Several homeowners voiced that it seems their taxes go up every year.

Others acknowledged it's inevitable and isn't much of a burden on their pockets.

Richard Johnson bought the land his home and business were built on in 1984.

The property is zoned commercial and he got approval from the city of Mission years ago to live on the top floor. You can't miss the dome off Interstate 35 and Lamar.

Jake Weller/KSHB 41

"I’m like the entryway to mission," Johnson said.

Johnson is a creative, or in his words, "a renaissance man."

Living in his home and running a business out of it has helped him pay high property taxes over the years.

"I’m just here like one guy trying to run my little freelance art design and photography business, and they want to make me out to be the income level of a QuikTrip," Johnson said.

Jake Weller/KSHB 41

QuikTrip is directly across the street from his property.

Johnson said he has to protest his appraisal every year because there haven't been any improvements to his property that sits at the top of a gravel hill.

"My kids have told me, 'Dad, don’t sell the dome.' So I don’t know, it’s a tough call, because everything keeps increasing, but the income I can’t charge that much more," Johnson said.

Another homeowner in Mission, who didn't want his name included, has lived in his home for 11 years.

He said it would not surprise him if his tax bill is higher next year.

"Where does it stop?" he said. "I don’t feel I’m getting anything more for my taxes."

Jake Weller/KSHB 41

The homeowner said he doesn't think that will change anytime soon.

The tax dollars the city needs to make improvements to infrastructure and grow are tough when it falls on him.

"The city police here is awesome. That part of our taxes, I get it. Safety is a concern. I feel safe in the city. That would be one positive thing," he said. "The schools are really good. The police department is really good. Neighbors are the best, but if I can’t afford to live here when I retire, they're pushing me out."

Budget Season underway

KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson covers Mission, Shawnee, Overland Park, Fairway, Prairie Village and Roeland Park.

Each city shared their proposed mill levy's for the 2025 budget season.

They're required to provide a public resolution to notify the county clerk by July 20 if they will exceed the revenue neutral rate set by the county.

Budget hearings for every local government will still happen.

The mill levy they propose can go down from there, but they aren't allowed to increase it.

Revenue neutral means a city plans to collect the same amount in property tax as they did the year before. If they exceed it, they will collect more in taxes.

The mill levy is the property tax rate. A city would need to roll it back significantly to revenue neutral to avoid property taxes going up.

When a city's mill levy is finalized, a homeowner would need to multiply the mill levy by their property's assessed value and divide it by one thousand to figure out how much they will pay in taxes.

Mission

Property taxes make up 25% of Mission's general fund revenue. Their largest revenue comes from sales taxes.

"In the 2025 budget, we anticipate maintaining the current mill levy of 18.497 mills. The revenue neutral rate for the 2025 budget would be 17.719 mills. Based on the growth in assessed valuation that Mission anticipates, the difference between keeping the same mill levy as the current year's budget or rolling back to the revenue neutral rate amounts to approximately $173,500. Hardly a significant 'windfall' when thinking about the overall management of a $16 million general fund budget," said Laura Smith, city administrator for Mission.

Mission's governing body voted to increase their mill levy for the 2024 budget by 2.1 mills.

Before the increase was approved last year, according to Smith, the mill levy had not been increased since 2015.

The city was losing mills for the past few years.

One-third of property taxes collected are used by the city's street maintenance program.

According to the city, surveys have shown streets are a priority for residents.

Prairie Village

The city of Prairie Village shared they anticipate property taxes of $11,592,854 in 2025 versus $11,026,962 in 2024.

Prairie Village is proposing a mill levy of 18.325. The city's revenue neutral rate is 17.365.

The last time the city increased the mill levy was in 2012, when it was increased by 0.6 mills.

The city lowered the mill levy 1.0 mills in 2023.

"Property taxes make up about 40% of General Fund revenue. Sales and use taxes, franchise fees, building permits, and other types of revenue make up the rest. The overall general fund budget increase for 2025 is being held to 1.3%, while the city is investing in police officer recruitment and retention by increasing the average salary in the police department by nearly 12% and making the starting salary for new officers among the highest in Johnson County. Broadly speaking, the costs that the city pays for police cars, snow plows, repaving streets, park equipment, and more all tend to increase every year," said Jason Hannaman, the finance director for Prairie Village.

Fairway

In Fairway, the city's proposed budget for 2025 includes a mill levy rate of 19.930. The revenue neutral tax rate for 2025 is 18.646 mills.

According to the city, 2025 would be the ninth consecutive year of a flat mill levy rate, although there are always a few minor adjustments made by the county based on appeals and other circumstances.

Shawnee

Shawnee is proposing a mill levy of 23.048 — that would exceed the revenue neutral tax rate of 21.609 mills.

The city attributes exceeding the rate because of the following reasons:

• $1,527,192 for inflation.
• $436,000 for new construction.
• $66,000 for changes in use.
• $14,820 for expiring abatements.

According to the city, they have not increased the mill levy since 2016 and have decreased it by 3.5 mills over the past three years.

Roeland Park

Roeland Park is proposing a mill levy of 25.5 mills for next year. Each mill is currently worth $134,020.

The city's mill levy was 26 in 2024 so they are trying to reduce it by half a mill.

To avoid exceeding the revenue neutral rate, they would have to drop the mill levy to 24.387.

According to the city, inflation, cost of goods, services and staff contributes to exceeding the rate.

"If we were to keep our property tax revenue flat annually, it would really reduce our capacity to effectively fund operations and reduce reserves over time. Our responsibility is to be good stewards of tax payer dollars and our citizen satisfaction surveys have repeatedly indicated a high level of satisfaction with the services we provide our residents. We don't want to jeopardize that by reducing resources that are a result of growth and increased property values," a city spokesperson said.

Overland Park

Overland Park is maintaining a mill levy of 14.525. That rate exceeds the revenue neutral rate of 13.714 mills.

According to a city spokesperson, property taxes collected are budgeted to increase by $4.5 million.

The city increased their mill rate by one mill for the 2022 budget to establish a Behavioral Health Unit in the Overland Park Police Department.

"The 2025 Operating Budget includes additional resources for information technology and cybersecurity, infrastructure development, public safety and parks and recreation. The proposed budget also continues to support increased personnel and contractual costs. Personnel costs account for around 75 percent of the City's operating budget," a spokesperson said.

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