Overview
Shawnee County adopted a 2026 budget of $240,007,805. The General Fund ($204,031,156) dominates the budget, followed by Solid Waste ($20,004,311) and the Public Building Commission ($12,000,966). The 2025 ad valorem tax is $117,701,819 at a final rate of 48.911 mills. The certificate was attested September 24, 2025, by the County Clerk, with governing-body signatures present (names illegible, not named) and a September 24, 2025 County Clerk receipt stamp. An exceeds-revenue-neutral-rate resolution was required: Resolution No. 2025-68 (K.S.A. 79-2988), revenue-neutral rate 46.211 mills, hearing September 8, 2025, roll call all yes — Aaron D. Mays (Chair), William D. Riphahn (Vice-Chair), Kevin J. Cook (Member) — attested by Lisa Schmitt, County Clerk. That resolution authorizes exceeding the revenue-neutral rate; it does not state the final levy — the certificate does. The November 1, 2025 total assessed valuation, less TIF, is $2,406,507,578 (the levy valuation; handwritten total $2,410,857,201 less TIF).
At a glance — adopted budget 2026
General Fund — adopted 2026
January 1, 2026 cash $47,841,191 + 2026 receipts excluding the “xxxx” ad valorem line $40,204,741 = resources $88,045,932 (exact). Receipt lines summing exactly to $40,204,741: Delinquent $1,531,903; Motor Vehicle $9,944,314; Recreational Vehicle $109,211; 16/20M Vehicle $43,095; Commercial Vehicle $372,430; Watercraft $75,466; Gross Earnings $0; Local Alcoholic Liquor $828,151; City County Highway $1,586,826; Franchise $300,000; Special Assessments $2,400,000; Intergovernmental $2,785,800; Charges for Services $3,207,832; License/Fines/Fees/Permits $2,262,848; Other $2,366,219; Transfer from Solid Waste indirect $320,020; Transfer from Motor Vehicle year-end $0; Transfer from Sewer Districts indirect $5,762; Transfer from Sewer Districts Public Works $31,000; Transfer from Federal Grant blank for 2026; Reserves $4,098,000; Revenue adjustment blank for 2026; In Lieu $435,864; Interest on Idle Funds $7,500,000; Neighborhood Revitalization Rebate $0.
Expenditures: department subtotal $155,666,965 + Cash Reserve $47,841,191 + Miscellaneous $523,000 = total $204,031,156 (exact). Tax Required $115,985,224 + 1.4% delinquent compensation $1,623,793 = ad valorem $117,609,017.
| Department | 2026 amount |
|---|---|
| Department of Corrections | $39,855,216 |
| Sheriff | $26,540,589 |
| Parks & Recreation | $19,211,896 |
| Public Works | $10,306,628 |
| District Attorney | $8,782,720 |
| General Administration | $8,651,247 |
| Allocations | $8,275,036 |
| Debt Service (departmental line inside the General Fund, not the outstanding-debt statement) | $6,856,154 |
| Information Technology | $5,150,936 |
| Health Department | $3,553,098 |
| District Court | $3,161,737 |
| Appraiser | $2,426,496 |
| Elections Commissioner | $2,312,195 |
| Community Corrections | $1,610,874 |
| Facilities Management | $1,389,966 |
| County Clerk | $1,030,684 |
| County Counselor | $994,562 |
| Human Resources | $726,778 |
| Audit Finance | $709,915 |
| Medical Examiner | $707,840 |
| Emergency Management | $661,734 |
| Board of County Commissioners | $643,477 |
| Planning | $537,201 |
| Noxious Weeds | $455,674 |
| Register of Deeds | $383,354 |
| Treasurer | $730,958 |
| Other | $0 |
| Department subtotal | $155,666,965 |
Source: Shawnee County 2026 adopted budget, General Fund pages (printed pp. 6/6a).
Funds — adopted 2026
Every fund line from the certificate. Authorities sum exactly to $240,007,805; ad valorem $117,609,017 + $92,802 = $117,701,819; rates 48.872 + 0.039 = 48.911 — all three reconcile exactly.
| Fund | 2026 authority | 2025 ad valorem | Final rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | $204,031,156 | $117,609,017 | 48.872 |
| Special Liability | $582,209 | $92,802 | 0.039 |
| Transient Guest Tax | $300,000 | — | — |
| Special Alcohol & Drug Prog | $60,000 | — | — |
| 911 Telephone | $2,528,731 | — | — |
| Solid Waste | $20,004,311 | — | — |
| Public Building Commission | $12,000,966 | — | — |
| Certificates of Participation | $16,500 | — | — |
| Coronavirus Relief Fund | $483,932 | — | — |
| Total, all funds | $240,007,805 | $117,701,819 | 48.911 |
Source: Shawnee County 2026 adopted budget, certificate p. 1.
Other funds — detail
911 Telephone (printed p. 9): January 1 cash $928,731 + 911 Fees $1,600,000 = resources $2,528,731; expenditures Services and Fees $1,400,000 + Debt Service $500,000 + Cash Reserve $628,731 = $2,528,731, matching the certificate.
Solid Waste (printed p. 9): January 1 cash $13,755,515 + receipts $18,523,725 (Charges $17,804,236; Interest $688,424; Miscellaneous $31,065) = resources $32,279,240; expenditures $20,004,311 (Personnel $9,531,531; Services and Fees $5,186,670; Supplies and Materials $1,506,090; Bad Debt $71,000; Capital Outlay $2,269,000; Transfer to General Fund $320,020; Transfer to Retirement $0; Cash Reserve $1,000,000; Miscellaneous $120,000); December 31 cash $12,274,929. Resources exceed expenditures by the printed ending balance — not a discrepancy.
Coronavirus Relief (printed p. 11): January 1 cash $273,932 + receipts $210,000 (Interest Revenue $200,000; Interest on Idle $10,000; Grant $0) = resources $483,932; expenditures $483,932 (Personnel $258,932; Transfer out to County Projects $225,000), matching the certificate. A blank second fund table on the same page (all 2026 figures 0) was not attributed to any fund and is not reported as a fund. Non-General fund pages other than those cross-checked here come from the certificate table.
Source: Shawnee County 2026 adopted budget, fund pages (printed pp. 9, 11).
Debt
Statement of Indebtedness (printed p. 4), outstanding January 1, 2025: general obligation $12,151,000 (2013 $505,000; 2015A $1,675,000; 2015C $385,000; 2016A $4,805,000; 2016B $440,000; 2016D $1,355,000; 2018 $705,000; 2019 $1,665,000; 2023 $616,000 — exact); revenue (PBC) $34,710,000 (2018 PBC $17,990,000; 2022 PBC $16,720,000); other $7,280,043 (KDHE $301,376; KDOT $2,550,000; KDHE $4,428,667); total indebtedness $54,141,043 (exact). Due in 2026: interest $1,777,860 ($268,635 + $1,449,100 + $60,125) and principal $7,326,334 ($2,835,000 + $3,360,000 + $1,131,334) — both exact.
Lease-purchases / certificates of participation (p. 5): principal January 1, 2025 total $16,800,692 (2015 COP P&R/DOC Kitchen $10,990,000; 2017 Refunding COP $2,240,000; 2012 COP 911/VanBuren Bldg $1,195,000; Fleet-Enterprise $568,885; P&R Mowers $461,221; PR Golf Carts $898,784; SH Aircraft Fleet $396,759; P&R Golf Mowers $30,913; SVEC Forklifts $19,130); payments due in 2026 total $3,115,753 (exact).
Debt scope note — not an error: the hearing-notice debt summary (p. 25) shows January 1 totals of 2023 $86,150,787; 2024 $76,842,856; 2025 $70,941,735. The 2025 hearing-notice figure equals the statement total plus lease-purchase principal: $54,141,043 + $16,800,692 = $70,941,735. The two totals differ in scope (statement total excludes lease-purchases; the hearing-notice summary includes them), so both are reported with this explanation rather than reconciled into one number.
Proposed vs. final — read the labels
The hearing notice (Topeka Metro News, August 25, 2025; meeting September 8, 2025, 9:00 a.m., Shawnee County Commission Office, 707 SE Quincy, Topeka, KS 66603) is a proposal, not the adoption. Proposed: authority $237,949,806; ad valorem $118,200,708; proposed rate 49.164 mills; less transfers $350,000; net expenditure $237,599,806; assessed valuation in the proposed column $2,404,254,778; revenue-neutral rate 46.211; proposed General authority $204,173,157, ad valorem $118,107,906, rate 49.125.
Final (certificate p. 1 — the adopted figures): authority $240,007,805; ad valorem $117,701,819; final rate 48.911 mills (General 48.872 + Special Liability 0.039). The difference is proposal (earlier valuation) vs. final (November 1, 2025 valuation $2,406,507,578). Only the certificate figures are presented as adopted anywhere on this page.
Source: Shawnee County 2026 adopted budget, hearing notice p. 25 and certificate p. 1.
Sources & notes
- Only source used: Shawnee County adopted budget for 2026 (county PDF via the Shawnee County Clerk budgets page). Shawnee County Clerk budgets page. Figures were read visually from the budget PDF because the file is an image-only scan; page numbers cited are PDF-viewer pages, and printed page numbers diverge after the General Fund (911/Solid Waste printed p. 9 = PDF p. 15; Coronavirus Relief printed p. 11 = PDF p. 17; hearing notice PDF p. 25; resolution PDF p. 27).
- Sum checks: certificate authorities exact ($240,007,805); certificate ad valorem exact ($117,609,017 + $92,802 = $117,701,819); certificate rates exact (48.872 + 0.039 = 48.911); General Fund resources exact ($47,841,191 + $40,204,741 = $88,045,932); General Fund expenditures exact ($155,666,965 + $47,841,191 + $523,000 = $204,031,156); General Fund tax walk exact ($115,985,224 + $1,623,793 = $117,609,017); department lines exact ($155,666,965); debt exact ($54,141,043) and lease-purchase principal exact ($16,800,692); debt scope identity exact ($54,141,043 + $16,800,692 = $70,941,735); 911, Solid Waste, and Coronavirus Relief fund walks exact.
- What is not claimed: no secondary-source total is presented as an adopted figure; the p. 17 blank second fund table (all 2026 figures 0) is not reported as a fund; Resolution 2025-69 (Sewer District #2) concerns a separate district, not the county budget, and is not used; Resolution 2025-68 authorizes exceeding the revenue-neutral rate but does not state the final levy.
- Jurisdiction palette: no verified Shawnee County palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a county color.