Overland Park’s 2026 proposed budget says it contains a 6.6% spending increase, but the real change is much higher and will result in more than a 500% increase since 1997.
Like many local government bodies, Overland Park compares its proposed budget to the prior budget rather than to actual spending to obscure the real increase. For example, the General Fund budget is allegedly a 6% increase, but the real number that is driving the claim for a property tax hike is 13%.
The 15% increase in Finance & Administration is absurd. Parks & Recreation Administration has a 20% increase, and that doesn’t count a 17% increase for the Arboretum.
The proposed property tax increase is about $5 million. City Council could remove that amount from the General Fund spending plan and still have a 10% spending increase without raising property taxes.
The Overland Park city staff will get nice pay increases and more employees. The budget proposes almost a 13% increase across all funds for Salaries and Wages.
Tap excess cash reserves to avoid a property tax increase in Overland Park
The budget also shows that Overland Park has more than $100 million left over from prior years, and that is far more than is reasonably necessary.
One of the city’s rationales for having extremely high cash balances is buried in another government accounting deception. The proposed 2026-2030 5-Year Financial Plan in Section 4, page 41, includes obvious deceptive predictions to paint a declining financial picture.
After five consecutive years of budget surpluses totaling about $68 million, city staff predict deficits each year that total almost $57 million by arguably understating revenue while merrily continuing to increase spending. For example, sales tax revenue in 2030 is only 7% higher than this year’s predicted finish, which means the city isn’t allowing for inflationary growth in retail spending. They also predict that property taxes will increase at a slower rate than history indicates.
Combine weak revenue predictions with robust spending hikes, like 38% in Finance & Administration, and voilà – you have justification on paper to hang onto millions more than necessary.
It’s easy to blame city staff for these issues, but they are doing what they’ve been trained to do by elected officials over the years. City Council should direct staff to propose budgets that hold tax revenue flat and don’t cut necessary services, rather than rubber-stamp whatever is proposed.
Fortunately, there is still time for the Overland Park City Council to prevent a tax increase at the September 8 public hearing on the proposed tax increase. The hearing begins at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council chamber at 8500 Santa Fe Drive.
