Neosho County Commissioners stated that they were intending to exceed the revenue neutral rate for 2026 during Tuesday’s meeting.
Commissioners voted to schedule both budget and revenue neutral rate hearings ahead of their Sept. 9 meeting, at 1 p.m.
The Commission moved to exceed the revenue neutral rate at 51.107 mills. The 2025 RNR was 47.065, according to a Municipal Budget and Revenue Neutral Rate Summary Report given to the Kansas Department of Administration.
“This is just preliminary,” Commissioner Gail Klaassen said. “That is the most that we can exceed; that doesn’t mean that that will be our final budget.”
Klaassen said over the next few months the commission will be trying to get that down, and not have to exceed the RNR.
“At this point, with what has been proposed by all the department heads and outside entities, we felt like we needed to at least have that option to do that,” Klaassen said.
In other business, commissioners heard updates from Road and Bridge Director Mike Brown. A payment request from the Special Bridge Account to Bridges Inc. on the Elk Road Neosho River Bridge project was approved in the amount of $464,311.42.
Brown also presented commissioners with potential solutions to address complaints made in previous meetings by Carol Smith, on 40th Road.
Brown said attempting to divert the waterflow could cause problems in the future.
“It’s concerning,” Brown said.
Brown also suggested having
an engineer look at the situation. “We’re going to have problems
if we send all that water
to the east,” Brown said.
Brown said that what should have been a simple solution has been made complicated.
Commissioners agreed to have Jerad Heckman of Foley Equipment back to further discuss the purchase of new graters, which Brown said were important.
The next meeting will take place on July 29. Agendas can be viewed at neoshocountyks. org. Meetings are also live-streamed on the Neosho County Commission YouTube Channel.
