Sedgwick County is in good financial shape, according to a comprehensive financial report from the county's division of finance and an independent auditor.
In 2022, county revenues exceed expenditures by about $2 million.
The treasurer's office has done well in collecting property tax, around 98.2% of the amount due from taxpayers in 2022. The report says general obligation debt has been decreasing the last 10 years. In addition, 33 cents of liability was covered by a dollar of assets, meaning the county is in good condition to pay off its long-term debt.
One concern the report expressed was the county's increasing reliance on property tax to fund operations.
Prior to the presentation, the financial team at the county received the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting for the 2021 audit.
Also at Wednesday's meeting, we learned the County's Developmental Disability Organization will soon combine with the County's Department of Aging. The new organization will be called the Department of Aging and Disabilities. The county says the move will not add more layers of management.
The county will also submit grant applications for two large projects coming soon. The first is in the amount of $1.6 million from the Kansas Governor's Grants Program for Local Safety and Security Equipment (LSSE). This grant would help the county encrypt radio traffic with sensitive data.
The second grant in the amount of nearly $9.8 million would help construct the new Emergency Preparedness Center. That facility would be constructed at Meridian and MacArthur on land the county purchased last week.
