Overview
The Unified Government adopted a structurally imbalanced 2026 budget in its major funds: planned spending exceeds anticipated revenue in every one of the five major funds, drawing down fund balances. The City General Fund — the larger of the two general funds — was budgeted at $191.6 million in revenue against $192.8 million in expenses, a net change of −$1,122,232, leaving a projected year-end fund balance of $38,973,089 (20% of budgeted expenditures, above the Commission's 17% minimum but below its 25% goal). The County General Fund was budgeted at $93.3 million in revenue against $94.1 million in expenses, a net change of −$867,480, leaving a projected year-end balance of only $5,798,203 — 6% of budgeted expenditures, well below the 17% policy floor. The report notes the City General Fund budget includes about $10.6 million of "Annual Appropriation for Star Bonds" revenue with an offsetting debt-service expense for the 1999 Speedway Star Bonds and Taxable TIF bonds, a net-zero item required by the bonds' Guaranteed Annual Appropriation Clause; the bonds are paid from a state-held fund expected to fully pay them off in 2027, after which the item drops out of the budget. Total outstanding debt at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was $667.7 million, with $60.5 million of principal and interest payments due in 2026.
Source: Unified Government First Quarter 2026 Financial Report; adoption date and proposed-budget context: County Administrator presents 2026 proposed budget (August 7, 2025).
At a glance — adopted 2026
Source: Unified Government First Quarter 2026 Financial Report.
Major funds — adopted 2026
All five major funds were adopted with spending above revenue. The combined revenue ($367.35 million) and expense ($376.1 million) rows are sums of the rounded figures as stated; the resulting −$8.75 million differs by about $0.09 million from the sum of the stated net changes (about −$8.84 million) because the Dedicated Sales Tax and Sanitary Sewer net changes are published only as approximations ("approximately ($3.3 million)" and "approximately ($3.2 million)"). The fund-balance percentages are as stated in the report. Commission policy requires a 17% fund balance with a 25% goal, roughly three months of operating expenses.
| Fund | Revenue | Expenses | Net change | Year-end fund balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City General Fund | $191.6M | $192.8M | −$1,122,232 | $38,973,089 (20%) |
| County General Fund | $93.3M | $94.1M | −$867,480 | $5,798,203 (6%) |
| Parks Consolidated Fund | $9.3M | $9.6M | −$345,895 | $3,123,450 (32%) |
| Dedicated Sales Tax Fund | $14.95M | $18.2M | ~−$3.3M | $1.8M (10%) |
| Sanitary Sewer Fund | $58.2M | $61.4M | ~−$3.2M | $37.6M (61%) |
| Five major funds combined (approximate) | $367.35M | $376.1M | ~−$8.8M | — |
Fund notes, as stated in the report. City General Fund: the three main revenue sources are property taxes, sales and use taxes, and Board of Public Utilities PILOTs; the budget also includes about $10.6 million of Star Bond appropriation revenue offset by debt-service expense (net zero at adoption). County General Fund: the largest revenue source is real property taxes; sales tax is budgeted at $9.6 million. Parks Consolidated Fund: funded mainly by the county property tax for county parks plus a transfer from the City General Fund for city parks; the planned deficit spends excess fund balance on one-time expenses. Dedicated Sales Tax Fund: a 3/8-cent city sales tax expiring June 30, 2030, split between city public safety (fire and police only) and neighborhood infrastructure; of its $18.2 million of expenses, $8.8 million is annual operating expense, so the $1.8 million balance is 20% of operating expenses excluding capital. Sanitary Sewer Fund: an enterprise fund paid by ratepayers, restricted to operating and maintaining the system; its balance is typically high because cash funds capital projects in lieu of issuing debt when possible.
Source discrepancies, disclosed: the report's County General Fund narrative states revenue of $93.3 million, but its revenue detail paragraph refers to "the adopted budget of $93.2 million"; the Parks Consolidated narrative states $9.3 million of revenue, but its revenue detail paragraph refers to an adopted budget of $9.2 million. The narrative figures ($93.3M, $9.3M) are used in the table above, and the $0.1 million differences are within the rounding of the combined totals.
Source: Unified Government First Quarter 2026 Financial Report, major-fund sections.
First-quarter 2026 check-in
The same report gives unaudited first-quarter actuals (January–March 2026, cash basis for expenditures and transfers, excluding encumbrances) against the adopted budget. City General Fund: revenues $58.6 million (31% of budget), including real property taxes $24.2 million (58%) and sales taxes $16.9 million (27%); expenses $40.7 million (21%), including personnel $29.7 million (21% of budget). County General Fund: revenues $46.2 million (50% of budget), including real property taxes $37.4 million (58%) and sales tax $2.6 million (27% of the $9.6 million budget); expenses $22.6 million (24%), including personnel $14.9 million (23%). Parks Consolidated: revenues $3.4 million (36%); expenses $2.5 million (26%). Dedicated Sales Tax: revenues $3.8 million (26%); expenses $7.1 million (39%). Sanitary Sewer: revenues $13.8 million (24%); expenses $14.7 million (24%). The report notes this is the first year hiring is limited to budgeted positions rather than historical personnel spending trends, and that personnel costs had exceeded budget at year-end for several consecutive years; the Sheriff's Office jail overtime is flagged as the most unpredictable personnel cost.
Source: Unified Government First Quarter 2026 Financial Report, budget-to-actuals sections.
Debt & cash — Q1 2026
Total outstanding debt for 2026 as of the first quarter was $667.7 million, including the State Revolving Loan Fund and capital leases. For 2026, annual debt payments for principal and interest total $60.5 million from applicable funds. During the first quarter, $71.6 million of new debt was added for sanitary sewer and storm sewer projects; the report's parenthetical split for that addition ($33.8 million principal / $28.9 million interest issued in March 2026) sums to $62.7 million, not $71.6 million — the $71.6 million total is used here and the split discrepancy is disclosed rather than resolved by guesswork. A further bond issuance was anticipated in the second quarter for 2026 budgeted items (property-tax-backed general obligation bonds and ratepayer-funded sewer bonds). General obligation debt is governed by Kansas statutes limiting total municipal debt issuance to no more than 30% of the county's assessed value as certified the preceding August 25; the report states the Unified Government's general obligation debt is below that statutory cap. The Unified Government uses general obligation bonds for the city and the county, Public Building Commission bonds for city and county buildings, state revolving funds, sanitary sewer general obligation bonds (repaid with sewer revenue), and stormwater general obligation bonds (repaid with stormwater revenue).
| Cash & investments, March 31, 2026 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Operating cash | $244,033,000 |
| Employee health self-insurance | $25,322,000 |
| Certificates of deposit | $35,000,000 |
| Agency / U.S. Treasury | $73,481,372 |
| Total cash & investments | $377,836,372 |
Primary investments by type: cash 71%, certificates of deposit 9%, Treasuries 19% (as stated; the three shares sum to 99% as published, a rounding difference). Tax distributions to taxing districts occur in January, March, June, September, and October; two of the five distributions were completed in the first quarter, which affects the cash balance.
Sources & notes
- Sources used: (1) Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, First Quarter 2026 Financial Report (January–March 2026, Finance and Budget Departments, May 2026) — adopted 2026 budget figures, first-quarter actuals, debt, and cash Read the report. (2) Unified Government news article, "County Administrator David Johnston Presents 2026 Proposed Budget" (August 7, 2025) — Commission Budget Adoption Date August 28, 2025; proposed 2-mill increase; maximum mill levy including an additional 3 mills under Resolution 58-25 Read the article. The Unified Government Budget Department page lists the "2025 Amended 2026 Budget" book (179 MB) Budget Department page; the adopted figures on this page are taken from the quarterly report's restatement of the adopted budget, not from a line-by-line extraction of that 179 MB book.
- Sum checks: five-fund revenue $191.6M + $93.3M + $9.3M + $14.95M + $58.2M = $367.35M; expenses $192.8M + $94.1M + $9.6M + $18.2M + $61.4M = $376.1M; cash $244,033,000 + $25,322,000 + $35,000,000 + $73,481,372 = $377,836,372, matching the printed total exactly. Net-change sums differ by about $0.09M for the rounding reasons stated in the funds section.
- What is NOT on this page: no adopted mill levy (not stated in the quarterly report); no all-funds total budget (the quarterly report covers the five major funds, and no all-funds total from the budget book is claimed); no 2027 budget figures (a 2027 adoption reported in local news was deliberately not used). The 2026 budget figures here are adopted, not proposed — the proposed-presentation figures from August 2025 are used only for the adoption timeline and mill-levy context above.
- Identity: this single page covers both the Wyandotte County government and the City of Kansas City, Kansas government, which operate as the Unified Government. Kansas City, Kansas is the county seat of Wyandotte County. Unified Government offices: 701 N. 7th Street, Kansas City, KS 66101, (913) 573-5311.
- Jurisdiction palette: no verified palette was on file for this jurisdiction, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a jurisdiction color.