TOPEKA (KSNT) – Local leaders approved the budget for Shawnee County Thursday following debate over rising costs and the use of reserve cash.
Shawnee County commissioners voted in favor of passing the 2027 budget during a meeting on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 17. Commissioners voted 2-1 to approve the over $162 million budget.
Jennifer Sauer, director of audit finance with Shawnee County, headed the budget presentation during the commission meeting. She explained that a loss of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds originally disbursed in 2021 is contributing to current budgeting issues.
“Our revenue trends are lower, our interest is forecasted to be less next year for a couple of reasons, ” said Jennifer Sauer, director of audit finance. “One, the interest rate that we were… had been experiencing in 2024 and in 2025, we were already seeing the decline in [2025], it is continuing to go down due to the interest rate as well as we had balances in our accounts over the last three years for the ARPA money that we had received from the federal government. Those expenditures were almost 100% spent at the end of last year, they will be 100% spent at the end of [2026]. So, in [2027] there will be no ARPA money left in our bank account for us to be earning interest off of.”
Sauer said that cost increases driven by prescriptions and medical claims are also contributing to budget increases.
“It’s just the industry itself is, I think industry-wide we are seeing increased health insurance costs for everyone,” Sauer said. “And as employees are the largest part of our budget, that has a drastic effect on us.”
Commissioners approved the use of $1 million in reserve funds to reduce the proposed budget, lowering the estimated mill levy from 52.09 mills to 51.68 mills. Shawnee County spokeswoman Amanda Monhollon said in a press release that the final mill levy remains subject to assessed valuation figures.
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Commissioner Kevin Cook cautioned against the county tapping into the reserve fund, expressing concern that this could only cause larger issues in the future. He said conversations may need to be held regarding reduction of force with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office, reducing services offered by Shawnee County Parks and Recreation along with possible layoffs to reduce the mill levy.
“If we continue to borrow from the reserves, doesn’t that just continue to dig us a bigger and bigger hole every year to try and catch up to that budget?” Cook said.
Sauer said the final budget of around $162 million is 5% higher than the 2026 budget of around $156 million. You can watch the full commission meeting by heading to YouTube.
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