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 percent increase over last year’s budget. 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.
Commissioners also approved outside agency appropriations. The special district funds certificate, signed Monday, totals close to $2.8 million.
A breakdown of the 2024 budget can be found below.
