Overview
Junction City, the seat of Geary County, adopted a 2026 budget with $130,928,119 of total budget authority across all funds — the certificate total, verified here by adding every fund page. The General Fund is $36,429,290, but the city's two utility enterprises dominate the total: Wastewater Utility $45,942,708 and Water Utility $13,166,127, plus $10,000,000 of Wastewater Capital Improvement and $6,000,000 of Water Capital Improvement authority. The total 2026 tax rate is 45.022 mills, exactly the revenue neutral rate, so no resolution to exceed it was required.
At a glance — adopted budget 2026
Source: City of Junction City 2026 budget, certificate and budget summary.
General Fund — adopted 2026
General Fund authority $36,429,290; 2025 ad valorem tax $8,212,568 at 35.971 mills; 2024 actual expenditures $25,291,037; 2025 estimated expenditures $33,422,756. Transfers into the General Fund for 2026 total $2,070,000 (Water $485,000, Wastewater $735,000, Sanitation $850,000), and the General Fund transfers out $150,000 to Capital Improvement.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| General Fund authority, 2026 | $36,429,290 |
| 2025 ad valorem tax (General) | $8,212,568 |
| General Fund mill rate | 35.971 |
| 2024 actual General Fund expenditures | $25,291,037 |
| 2025 estimated General Fund expenditures | $33,422,756 |
| Transfers into General Fund, 2026 | $2,070,000 |
| Transfer out to Capital Improvement | $150,000 |
Source: City of Junction City 2026 budget, certificate, summary and transfers schedule.
Major funds — adopted 2026
Every fund page in the certificate, summing to the $130,928,119 certificate total. (The budget summary's own totals row does not match this sum — see Sources & notes.)
| Fund | 2026 authority | 2025 ad valorem |
|---|---|---|
| General | $36,429,290 | $8,212,568 |
| Wastewater Utility | $45,942,708 | — |
| Water Utility | $13,166,127 | — |
| Debt Service | $10,533,460 | $466,543 |
| Wastewater Capital Improvement | $10,000,000 | — |
| Water Capital Improvement | $6,000,000 | — |
| Sanitation | $2,927,557 | — |
| Storm Water Utility | $1,084,524 | — |
| Library | $970,000 | $907,973 |
| Special Highway | $850,000 | — |
| Fire Reserve | $568,752 | $461,986 |
| Federal Fund Exchange | $396,711 | — |
| Special Law | $350,000 | — |
| Employee Benefits | $300,000 | — |
| Eco Development | $285,800 | $229,998 |
| Special Parks & Recreation | $250,000 | — |
| Land Bank | $245,000 | — |
| Capital Improvements | $192,190 | — |
| Drug & Alcohol | $101,000 | — |
| Opioid Settlement | $95,000 | — |
| Disaster Insurance Trust | $50,000 | — |
| Federal Equitable Sharing | $40,000 | — |
| U.S. Treasury Forfeiture | $50,000 | — |
| CDBG Revolving Loan | $100,000 | — |
| Total, fund pages itemized | $130,928,119 | $10,279,069 |
Assessed valuation for 2026: $228,310,235 (2025: $220,788,000; 2024: $214,023,758).
Debt & notes
Outstanding January 1, 2025: general-obligation bonds $41,243,007 (2026 principal due $7,450,168, interest $1,009,586); revenue bonds $108,730,270, dominated by the $79,528,000 KDHE 1973-02 wastewater loan (2026 principal $3,296,404, interest $1,607,745); other debt (KDOT loans and temp notes) $4,628,247; lease-purchase principal $1,868,598. Total indebtedness including leases: $156,470,122. Total 2026 debt-service principal due across all categories: $14,080,940; interest: $3,068,911.
Source: City of Junction City 2026 budget, indebtedness and lease-purchase statements.
Sources & notes
- Only source used: City of Junction City 2026 budget (city site document titled “2026 Proposed Budget”). Read the budget (PDF).
- Adoption verified: the certificate inside the document states the budget was duly approved and adopted after the budget hearing, and the hearing notice names September 16, 2025 — so figures are reported as adopted, not proposed, despite the filename.
- Sum checks: the 24 certificate fund authorities sum to $130,928,119, matching the certificate total; certificate ad valorem components ($8,212,568 + $466,543 + $907,973 + $229,998 + $461,986) sum to $10,279,068, $1 below the printed $10,279,069; debt components ($41,243,007 + $108,730,270 + $4,628,247 + $1,868,598) sum to $156,470,122.
- Discrepancies disclosed, not smoothed: the budget summary's fund rows sum to $124,933,119, not $130,928,119 — the difference is exactly the Water Capital Improvement fund ($6,000,000 in the certificate, shown as $0 in the summary) less the Law Training / DARE fund ($5,000 in the summary, absent from the certificate). Ad valorem totals differ by $1–$3 across the certificate, summary and neighborhood-revitalization pages, and the indebtedness statement prints $154,601,523 where its components sum to $154,601,524. This page uses the certificate figures and flags the gaps.
- Jurisdiction palette: no verified Junction City palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a city color.