The De Soto City Council lowered its property tax rate for the fifth year in a row — a reduction of .83 mills, or 6%, for 2026 — though residents won’t see much change in what they’re paying for the city’s portion of property tax due to rising property values.
The goal with the 0.83 mill levy reduction, from 13.77 mills in 2025 to 12.94 mills in 2026, is to keep homeowners’ property tax bills for next year about the same as 2025 because of the increase in valuations, said City Administrator Mike Brungardt.
The city council unanimously approved its 2026 budget on Sept. 18.
Much of the city’s ability to lower taxes and make infrastructure improvements are results of the Panasonic facility’s economic activities — producing batteries and bringing workers into the community.
The breakdown: How will this affect your tax bill?
For 2026, De Soto will reduce the city’s property tax rate to 12.94 mills. The property tax rate, sometimes referred to as the mill levy rate, dictates how much a property owner pays in taxes to the city based on the assessed value of their property.
According to real estate statistics maintained by the Johnson County Appraiser’s Office, De Soto’s average residential property value is $391,193, up 6.27% in 2025 from 2024.
To calculate what your actual tax bill to the city will be, multiply the value of your home by .115 (the residential assessment rate). From there, take that number and divide it by 1,000. Then, multiply the result by the adopted mill levy rate of 12.94 mills.
For the average home in De Soto, that means about $582.13 in property taxes owed to the city in 2026.
For comparison, in 2024, the city’s average homeowner paid about $582.93 in property taxes to De Soto.
Gene Senesac, who has filed to run for Johnson County Commission chair next year, spoke during the public hearing to exceed the revenue neutral rate, the first of two hearings on the budget. He said he appreciates De Soto’s efforts to keep property taxes flat with rising valuations. However, Senesac worries about the future of the economy and rising costs.
“I think we’ve got some trying times ahead of us,” Senesac said. “I think it’s challenging for everyone, and I just want to make mention that I think for the benefit of the citizens, you just keep taking a hard look at things.”
More on the budget
The city approved an expenditure budget of $28.5 million for 2026, up from the expected $21.7 million in 2025. New costs include:
- Seven full-time positions: city clerk, custodian, plans examiner, community events coordinator, sewer plant operator and two water plant operators.
- An additional $100,000 to support the De Soto Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council, bringing the city’s funding contribution up to $190,000.
- Expanded water and sewer budgets to match increased demand. The water system covers nearly all of the city, Brungardt said.
De Soto unveiled the completed updates to its 80-year-old water treatment plant in late September. The $43 million project, fully funded by Panasonic, allows the city to meet industrial needs while still providing for the long-term expected commercial and residential growth in the area.
“We went from a capacity of about 2 million gallons a day up to 8 [million], and that’s in anticipation of the Panasonic facility starting production, which they’ve done now,” Brungardt said. “We know we’re going to have service demands there, that we’re going to be selling twice as much water next year, potentially, as we sold last year.”
The city is also looking at nearly $27.5 million in capital improvements for next year. Panasonic plans to fund about $17 million of these improvements, while the city will cover roughly $10 million.
Panasonic’s effect on the budget is also seen in retail sales — the dollar amount sold month to month — which have roughly doubled since 2023.
“That’s a direct result of having 3,000 construction workers on site every day,” Brungardt said. “Before and after work, the restaurants are full, the gas stations are full. We see that (effect of Panasonic) with retail uses, but also Evergy.
“Evergy has been out here building hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure,” he added. “Interestingly enough, Evergy pays sales tax on all the materials that they use to build that infrastructure. The power poles, the lines, the transformers, everything — they pay sales tax on that.”
