South Hutchinson sets Sept. 14 hearing on exceeding revenue neutral rate for 2027 budget
The city's published notice names no purpose for the additional tax dollars it intends to collect
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Sign up freeSouth Hutchinson taxpayers who want to know how much more the city plans to collect in property taxes next year will have to go to City Hall — or to a hearing Monday, Sept. 14. The notice the city published Aug. 20 points taxpayers to City Hall for detailed budget information but lists no proposed mill levy, no revenue neutral rate and no dollar amount above it.
The notice, titled a Notice of Hearing to Exceed Revenue Neutral Rate and Budget Hearing, sets out the purpose of the session: "The governing body of the City of South Hutchinson will meet on September 14th, 2026, at 6:00 pm at City Hall South Hutchinson, KS for the purpose of hearing and answering objections of taxpayers relating to the proposed use of all funds and amount of ad valorem tax." That joint title means the city's 2027 budget hearing and the revenue-neutral-rate hearing required of Kansas taxing units are being held the same night. According to the city's events calendar, the city was scheduled to hold a budget workshop on the 2027 budget Aug. 17, three days before the notice was published.
The revenue neutral rate is the mill levy that would raise the same number of property tax dollars as the year before, calculated on the current year's assessed valuation. A city that intends to collect more must publish this kind of notice, hold a public hearing and take a recorded roll-call vote before adopting a budget above the rate. The notice does not say whether the governing body will take that vote immediately after the Sept. 14 hearing or at a later meeting.
South Hutchinson is not the only Reno County government weighing the step this year. The Hutchinson City Council was set to weigh exceeding the revenue neutral rate for its own 2027 budget in early July. Reno County commissioners, who set a maximum 2027 budget in July, faced $1.9 million in cuts to hold their tax rate flat — the trade-off a taxing unit avoids by exceeding revenue neutral. In June 2025, the city was weighing a 2-mill property tax increase for its 2026 budget.
The notice does not say whether taxpayers who cannot attend may submit written objections. The city posts its notices on its news page.
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