The 2024 Riley County Budget was finalized Monday.
County Commissioners held hearings to confirm their intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate for the county budget with a mill levy of 39.956, a 2.26 mill levy reduction from what was finalized in 2023. During the public hearing, resident Gary Olds questioned why commissioners couldn’t get closer to the RNR rate of 38.379, despite having substantial money in savings, reserves and other areas.
Commissioner Greg McKinley cited prices of services going up as one reason for the increase in taxes. Commissioner John Ford expanded saying most of it is balancing services the community wants and expects.
The total budget authority is over $92 million, representing a 14.6% increase over last year’s budget. County officials noted Tuesday the large overall increase from last year is due to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) funds currently sitting in Riley County accounts, totaling more than $14 million as of Aug. 10.
A total of $31.6 million in ad valorem taxes will be levied, an increase of $1.2 million over last year. Valuations impacted the budget significantly, with most residents seeing between 7 and 17% valuation increases.
The fire district budget includes over $1.3 million in total spending authority, with about $1.2 million to be levied in 2024. The department is funded entirely by ad valorem taxes, including commercial and residential property taxes, recreation vehicle tax, delinquent taxes, watercraft, and commercial vehicle tax.
The RCFD budget is up more than $107,000 in 2024, after being held flat in 2023. The county says increases were required in 2024 to cover rising costs for fuel, equipment, facilities and personnel.
A breakdown of the 2024 budget can be found below.
Finalized 2024 RNR noticeRiley County noted in a Tuesday release that mill levies for both organizations are decreasing, but says property taxes are increasing in 2024 due to rising property values.
A mill levy is the tax rate applied to the assessed value of a property. One mill is $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. It’s important to note that assessed value is a percentage of a property’s total value. The assessment rate for residential property is 11.5%. A home worth $200,000 would yield an assessed value of $23,000 ($200,000 x 0.115), culminating in a property tax obligation of $23.00 for one mill.
