Overview
Smith Center’s 2025 budget sets total authority at $6,118,990 including the Recreation fund ($6,074,540 for the city proper) on $1,008,167 of 2024 ad valorem tax ($974,342 city-only). The General Fund is budgeted at $1,804,145 of authority on $646,848 of ad valorem tax; the Water fund, at $2,251,079, is the city’s largest single fund. The city carries no general-obligation bonds; its revenue-bond debt outstanding at January 1, 2024 was $2,541,577.
Source: City of Smith Center 2025 City Final budget form (PDF).
At a glance — adopted budget 2025
Budget walk — adopted 2025
General Fund 2025 detail: general government $834,040; police $289,500; fire $109,150; street $424,655; park $24,000; swimming pool $62,800; street lighting $40,000 — subtotal $1,784,145 — plus a $20,000 sidewalk project, for total General Fund expenditures of $1,804,145, exactly matching the certificate’s General Fund authority. The 2025 column shows $602,972 of General Fund receipts other than ad valorem tax (which is shown as “xxxx” in the proposed column by form design) against $573,043 of January 1 unencumbered cash, for $1,176,015 of resources available before the ad valorem levy.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| General Fund authority, 2025 | $1,804,145 |
| General Fund ad valorem tax (2024 levy) | $646,848 |
| General Fund tax required | $628,130 |
| Delinquent compensation (3.0%) | $18,718 |
| General Fund actual expenditures, 2023 | $1,188,301 |
| General Fund estimated expenditures, 2024 | $1,211,000 |
Funds — adopted 2025
Budget authority and 2024 ad valorem tax from the certificate table. Debt Service has no authority or levy in this form (blank).
| Fund | 2025 authority | 2024 ad valorem tax |
|---|---|---|
| General | $1,804,145 | $646,848 |
| Library | $81,000 | $66,376 |
| Industrial Development | $48,760 | $11,305 |
| Employee Benefit | $347,500 | $249,813 |
| Special Highway | $152,672 | — |
| Special Parks & Recreation | $44,152 | — |
| Waste Disposal | $564,912 | — |
| Economic Development | $552,751 | — |
| Airport | $140,724 | — |
| Golf Course | $86,845 | — |
| Water | $2,251,079 | — |
| Recreation | $44,450 | $33,825 |
| Totals including Recreation | $6,118,990 | $1,008,167 |
Outstanding indebtedness at January 1, 2024: revenue bonds $2,541,577 (Kansas Public Water Supply $2,130,646; Kansas Water Pollution $410,931); general-obligation bonds $0; 2018 fire-truck lease-purchase balance $103,694. Transfers budgeted for 2025 total $240,000, including $100,000 from Waste Disposal to the Equipment Reserve and $130,000 from Water to the Water Improvement fund.
Source: City of Smith Center 2025 certificate and indebtedness statements.
Sources & notes
- Source used: City of Smith Center, Kansas, 2025 Adopted Budget, “City Final” form (assisted by Mapes & Miller LLP, Phillipsburg), posted at SmithCenterKS.com. Read the budget form (PDF).
- Sum checks: certificate authorities sum exactly to $6,074,540 city-only and $6,118,990 including Recreation; ad valorem sums exactly to $974,342 city-only and $1,008,167 including Recreation. General Fund detail sums exactly to $1,804,145 including the sidewalk project.
- Adoption-vote caveat, stated exactly: the inventory flagged that the adoption vote itself was not separately verified. No separate council vote record was located for this build. The posted form’s certificate states the budget was duly approved and adopted after the hearing, but its signature and attest lines appear blank in the posted copy. Readers should treat the adoption as certificate-stated, not minutes-confirmed.
- Identity: this is Smith Center, Kansas, the seat of Smith County, Kansas.
- City palette: no verified Smith Center palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a city color.