Overview
Wichita adopted a $776.6 million budget for 2026 — $776,583,990 of expenditure authority across all city funds, net of interfund transactions and excluding fiduciary funds and grants — up $35.4 million over the 2025 revised budget. The General Fund is balanced at $342,816,264, with a projected $50.2 million reserve. The mill levy fell 0.5 mills to 32.316, the first mill-levy decrease in an adopted Wichita budget in over 30 years, on 8.7% assessed-valuation growth.
Source: Wichita 2026 adopted budget: City Manager’s Policy Message (Aug 26, 2025).
At a glance — adopted budget 2026
Budget walk — adopted 2026
The General Fund long-term financial plan in the adopted budget:
| General Fund | 2025 revised | 2026 adopted | 2027 projected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | $328,991,167 | $342,816,264 | $351,327,568 |
| Expenditures | $328,416,373 | $342,816,264 | $351,327,568 |
| Net gain / (loss) | $574,794 | $0 | $0 |
Increase check: $776,583,990 − $741,161,831 = $35,422,159, matching the message’s “$35.4 million” increase. The levy funds the General Fund and the Debt Service Fund; the split presented with the proposed budget was 25.316 mills General Fund and 7.000 mills Debt Service, summing to the adopted 32.316 total. Interest earnings are projected to fall from a $33.8 million peak in 2024 to $28.9 million in 2026, which the message flags as the key revenue headwind against valuation growth.
Departments — City Manager’s Office, adopted 2026
The adopted budget’s City Manager’s Office section (the inventory’s source document) totals $19,024,488 for 2026. This is one department’s section, not the city total — the city total is $776,583,990 above.
| Division | Fund source | 2026 adopted |
|---|---|---|
| Administration | General Fund | $2,679,184 |
| Strategic Communications | General Fund | $1,264,548 |
| Office of Community Services | General Fund | $588,155 |
| Office of Community Services | Grant Assistance Fund | $385,000 |
| Community Development | Economic Development Subfund | $1,673,686 |
| Cultural Arts | General Fund | $7,444,693 |
| Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center | Century II Fund | $4,989,222 |
| Total, City Manager’s Office | $19,024,488 |
Division sum check: $2,679,184 + $1,264,548 + $588,155 + $385,000 + $1,673,686 + $7,444,693 + $4,989,222 = $19,024,488 exactly.
Source: Wichita 2026 adopted budget, City Manager’s Office section.
Sources & notes
- Sources used: (1) City of Wichita 2026 Adopted Budget, City Manager’s Policy Message, August 26, 2025 (citywide totals, mill levy, reserves), read via the City’s golfwichita.com DocumentCenter mirror of the same adopted-budget document. Read the message (PDF). (2) City of Wichita 2026 Adopted Budget, City Manager’s Office section, via wichita.gov. Read the section (PDF).
- Sum checks: $776,583,990 − $741,161,831 = $35,422,159 (“$35.4 million”); General Fund 2026 revenues = expenditures = $342,816,264; City Manager’s Office divisions sum exactly to $19,024,488.
- Identity: this is Wichita, Kansas, the seat of Sedgwick County.
- City palette: no verified Wichita palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a city color.