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TONGANOXIE NEWSLETTER
Fall 2025
City of Tonganoxie, Kansas
The City of Tonganoxie’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Adopted Budget communicates the City’s immediate and long-term plan for continuing to deliver high-quality city services at a reasonable expense to Tonganoxie residents and visitors. The Tonganoxie City Council approved the budget with an anticipated 1.265 reduction (3.1% reduction in tax rate) in the combined total mill levy for the City and City Library services. Over the past 5 years the City total mill levy has been reduced by 5.779 mills, or 16%. The Tonganoxie City property tax dollar illustration depicted below demonstrates the allocation of funds paid as property taxes in 2026 by property owners in the City of Tonganoxie. Of note, the changes in this division of revenue in 2026 from the prior year include the elimination of State of KS (about $0.01 from every $1 of tax paid) property tax proceeds and addition of the same to the School District’s share of revenue. In addition to continuing to provide tax rate reduction during a period of growth in valuation, the City targeted three other key priorities: legacy infrastructure projects, key equipment and prioritizing employee benefits and retention, and community support initiatives. Significant City capital projects funded in part or in full within the 2026 budget include the 14 Street Corridor Improvements design phase, Front Street Improvements, Gallagher Park stage construction, continuation of phase 1 of the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Project, and additional street maintenance and sanitary sewer maintenance programs. In addition, the City advanced plans to collaborate with the Tonganoxie Recreation Commission to aid in the financing and completion of an extensive renovation of the Chieftain Park playground amenities. All these projects are planned while continuing to meet the City’s existing debt service obligations for previous infrastructure investments and minimizing future debt issuances. th City employees and the equipment they utilize enable the provision of many critical services for the community. Some initiatives funded in the 2026 budget include a merit opportunity for City employees, purchasing two dump truck replacements in the Public Works Department, mowing and snow removal equipment purchases, replacing one patrol vehicle and several conducted energy weapons in the Police Department, Fire Department operational budget enhancements, and IT equipment to support citywide services, including at the Water Park. Other programs include adding a generator at the Fire Station facility and improving the Water Park slides. City Council lowers tax levy for 2026 Budget
Initiatives funded in 2026 included $5,000 in financial support grants for four community organizations to support public events and programming, $12,500 in funding for the Tongie Days and Mayor’s Tree Lighting community events, and continued support for the Leavenworth County Development Corporation which promotes the City’s interests in a share of its work advancing economic development in Leavenworth County.
Distribution of $1 in Property Tax collected in the City of Tonganoxie Tax District FY 2026
www.tonganoxie.org
The Tonganoxie Police Department is working closely with City staff to develop regulations that limit the use of electric bikes, commonly referred to as e-bikes, e-cycles, or e-mini bikes. This specifically pertains to operation on City roadways. While we recognize that many of our youth enjoy riding them, we have received numerous complaints from the community. This pertains to unlicensed juveniles operating these vehicles on public streets and failing to follow the rules of the road. Allowing e-bikes on sidewalks is not a solution, as this creates new conflicts with pedestrian traffic. Although licensed drivers may benefit from e-bikes as an affordable, convenient, and environmentally friendly mode of transportation, unlicensed juvenile riders present significant safety risks to themselves and others. This issue is not unique to Tonganoxie. Communities across the Kansas City metropolitan area are facing similar concerns. Many e-bikes are capable of reaching speeds between 20–28 mph, yet they are often operated by riders who are unlicensed, untrained, and without protective gear. Motorists on city roadways do not expect to encounter juveniles traveling at such speeds, particularly those without formal traffic safety education. Recently, the Tonganoxie Police Department responded to an accident in which a juvenile on an e-bike collided with a motor vehicle. Fortunately, no serious injuries occurred in that incident; however, other nearby cities have reported crashes involving juveniles that resulted in critical injuries. Compounding the problem, Kansas state law does not clearly define e-bike classifications, licensing requirements, or helmet use. This legal gray area makes it difficult for law enforcement to consistently enforce roadway safety standards. For these reasons, the Tonganoxie Police Department will be asking City Council to consider new regulations on e-bike use within City limits to protect both riders and the broader community. Growing concerns with use of E-bikes Front St improvements to start Earlier this year, the City Council approved budget authority to move forward with a rebuild of Front St, from Ridge St and Tonganoxie DR, as depicted below. The project site is an existing roadway with far less than sufficient condition and design of storm water infrastructure, missing pedestrian sidewalks, and a roadway surface and base that deteriorate quickly due to conditions present at the site. The proposed scope of work for this project includes reconstruction of Front Street, 31 foot wide to include ±2" milling, ±6" asphalt placed on existing asphalt/subgrade, curb and gutter, sidewalk (one side of the street) and storm sewer. Staff is especially excited to finally have a project that closes the sidewalk gap for the South side of US 24/40's East-West pedestrian connectivity. At the time of this newsletter’s production, the project is out for bid. While staff had hoped to complete the project this year, the construction schedule will begin early 2026, so as to shorten the construction period, and minimizing the impact to the businesses located along Front St. As a contractor is selected, staff will work with them to ensure appropriate signage, so that patrons of impacted businesses will be able to navigate safely.
Should Tonganoxie Create a Library District? One of the best community amenities in the City of Tonganoxie is our Public Library, newly constructed in 2020. The construction debt service is being paid annually from a portion of the voter approved 2017 sales tax initiative. The Operations and Employee benefits costs are funded by property taxes, which the City collects and then just serves as a pass through to the Library. The property taxes are assessed only to City of Tonganoxie residents, which reside in the City’s Tax District. This is different from the Basehor and Linwood libraries, which are part of a library “district”, which extends beyond the City limits. The map to the top right highlights the difference in geographic footprint of a “city” vs. “district” library; you can imagine the difference (significant increase) in assessed value of those areas, and how that relates to the ability to generate property taxes. Increased assessed values mean you need less mill levy to collect similar revenue; less mill levy is less taxes.
Tonganoxie “City” Library
Basehor Library “District”
Linwood Library “District”
The map to the lower right highlights what a Tonganoxie library district could look like if Township Tax Districts were added, just like the Basehor and Linwood libraries have already done. These Townships already pay a library mill, but it goes to an organization called Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS). NEKLS serves a very important role, however there is disproportionate amount of revenue collected in these area Townships versus what NEKLS gives in grants and services to our local library. This disparity, along with the success of the other Districts, has the City Council evaluating the possible change for our library. While this would likely mean a slight increase to Township taxpayers (but with all revenues staying local), it could be a significant tax decrease for City taxpayers. Ultimately, for Tonganoxie, designated as a City of the second class in Kansas, this type of change would need to be a voter referendum, and include both City and Township voters. The City Council, along with the Tonganoxie Library Board, will continue to evaluate this option.
Possible Tonganoxie “District”?
The Tonganoxie Fire Department (TFD) is thrilled to announce that an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has been awarded to TFD in the amount of $193,843.81, which will be combined with a local match of $9,692.19 for the purchase of new Air-Pak equipment. Air-Pak refers to several distinct pieces of equipment, most commonly a firefighter’s self-contained breathing apparatus. Firefighters today face challenges like never before, that’s why it is critical to have equipment that evolves with the changing landscape of the job. This significant award will help the City avoid issuing debt to make such a large purchase. This grant, combined with previous grants, marks over $255,000 in grants in the last few years, all while TFD was able to earn an Fire ISO Rating of 2 for the community. For this specific grant, TFD would like to acknowledge and thank the Tonganoxie Police Department, who were kind enough to donate a credit they had with grant writers at Lexipol, which TFD was able to use for assitance in writing and submitting the AFG grant; teamwork at it’s best. Tonganoxie City Fire Department wins $193,000 grant
Utility Rate Study underway
The City of Tonganoxie 2025 Adopted Budget included funding allocated towards provision of an in- depth review and analysis of the City’s water & sanitary sewer utilities’ respective rate structure. The City's most recent water and sewer utility rate structure report was the result of a comprehensive rate analysis completed in 2019 by Carl Brown, President of GettingGreatRates.com. The analysis completed in 2019 was procured and prepared under the oversight of the Kansas Rural Water Association (KRWA) RATES Program, which offers an industry-standard, discounted approach to completing complex rate analysis in a fashion designed for smaller to medium-sized communities in Kansas. The report format was designed to provide the City Council with the information necessary to operate under a cost-of-service model, which is an approach designed to assign costs (service charges) to different utility users (customers) at the respective levels of service demanded by each user. The report was completed in early May 2019, presented to the City Council, and has been utilized in the preparation of the City’s annual budget each year since 2020. City staff reached out to Carl Brown and staff with KRWA to confirm if his company continues to offer discounted cost analyses under the oversight of the Kansas Rural Water Association (KRWA) RATES Program and received affirmative responses. Because the City’s current utility rate model is developed under the methodology established as a result of the in-depth analysis completed in 2019 and the provision of a reduced cost proposal was provided under the KRWA RATES program City staff recommend that the City Council move forward with a proposal by Carl Brown. A utility rate study is a comprehensive financial planning process that analyzes a utility's future expenses and revenue needs to set fair and sustainable rates for its services, ensuring long-term financial viability and covering the costs of operations, maintenance, and infrastructure. The study involves projecting costs, calculating the cost of service for different customer classes, and designing a rate structure that reflects these costs while also considering community values like affordability and conservation.
Upcoming Events
Spooktacular , October 24 , 6-8pm, Downtown/4 ST th th General Election Day , November 4th Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting, November 22 , parade @ 5pm, Tree Lighting @ 5:45pm, downtown/Library nd
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