One northeast Johnson County city is raising taxes in 2026.
The Westwood City Council on Thursday unanimously approved its 2026 budget that includes a property tax rate increase.
The 4-mill bump will bring the city’s rate mill levy, or property tax, rate next year to 25.199.
City officials say that though the budget is balanced in 2026, the 4-mill increase is necessary to help fill future gaps in major infrastructure projects, particularly road and streetlight repairs.
At a time when many Johnson County residents are complaining about rising property taxes due to still-increasing valuations, most local cities have opted to hold steady or modestly cut their municipal property tax rates, at least slowing down the rate of increase residents are paying for the city portion of their annual tax bills.
Westwood, along with the city of Mission, is one of the only Johnson County cities to weigh an actual property tax rate increase for 2026. (Mission will consider adopting its final 2026 budget later this week.)
More than that, a few elected officials in Westwood link the gap in revenues for future projects to the failed Karbank project.
“There’s tradeoffs”
Mayor David Waters and councilmembers Jason Hannaman and Jeff Harris all blame the failed Karbank project as the reason behind the mill levy rate increase.
The Karbank project was effectively killed in April when voters rejected the sale of Joe D. Dennis Park to make way for an office-retail development.
That plan also would’ve resulted in the city owning the old Westwood View Elementary School property to turn into a park. Now, the city is partnering with Hunt Midwest to purchase the school property. Hunt Midwest proposes bringing a multi-family development to that site.
In a message from the mayor, issued on Sept. 1, Waters said the city is looking at about a $2 million shortfall for its capital improvement projects in 2026 alone. That increases to a $5.3 million deficit by 2028.
Waters said, in his Sept. 1 message, that the Karbank development would have generated upwards of 7 mills — about $375,000 — in property taxes in the first year alone.
The city saw that revenue as a way to help fund certain street projects — which are part of the capital improvement plan — surrounding the former school property.
As a way to address the shortfall, the city looked to a mill levy rate increase. The city is also dipping into its reserves in 2026, City Administrator Leslie Herring told the city council on Thursday.
Hannaman and Harris shared sentiments similar to that of Waters’ letter during Thursday’s city council meeting.
For Hannaman, he said the property tax increase “really isn’t enough to solve the problem.” More than that, he said he acknowledges that there are tradeoffs between development, city services and taxes.
“You can’t say no to development and also not want higher taxes,” Hannaman said. “You can’t say you don’t want higher taxes, but say you’re not willing to cut any services. There’s tradeoffs.”
Residents weigh in
No residents spoke in favor of the property tax rate increase last week.
Jim Donovan, a Westwood resident, suggested the city review department expenses to cut down on the budget.
Another resident, Katie Muck, said a proposal to increase the property tax rate by 4 mills needs resident input and collaboration.
Muck said the issue goes beyond the city’s budget as it might come down to, in some cases, residents choosing between paying their property taxes or their bills.
Chris Burns asked whether the city looked at a combination of a sales tax and property tax increase.
Burns said, like Hannaman, Harris and Waters, that the property tax increase is “the fallout” the city is dealing with following the public’s April vote that killed the Karbank project.
Burns went as far to say Westwood Hills residents should “stay out” of Westwood, as some of the vote “no” group actually live in Westwood Hills.
“Karbank could’ve been a good thing,” Burns said. “I understand there’s other pros and cons to that particular option, but it’s affecting all of us now with this property tax.”
How much will residents pay in 2026 property taxes to Westwood?
The 2026 mill levy rate in Westwood is set, by the city, at 25.199 mills. According to real estate statistics maintained by the Johnson County Appraiser’s Office, Westwood’s average residential property value is $453,288, a roughly 13.3% increase from last year.
Westwood homeowners can use the following formula to calculate how much they will pay the city in property taxes in 2026:
Multiply your home value by the residential assessment rate in Johnson County, which is .115. Take that number, divide it by 1,000 and multiply the outcome by the city’s property tax rate in mills.
The average homeowner in Westwood will pay $1,313 to the city in property taxes in 2026 under the new mill levy rate.
If the city held the property tax rate flat for 2026 at 21.199 mills, then the average Westwood homeowner would pay $1,105 in city property taxes next year. This year, the average Westwood homeowner paid roughly $975 in city property taxes.
Reminder: The entirety of a homeowner’s property tax bill also includes rates set by other jurisdictions such as the county, school districts and fire departments.
A look at the 2026 budget
The city of Westwood’s 2026 budget features major revenues totaling almost $3.5 million, with a projected $1.3 million in property tax revenues.
With property taxes accounting for roughly 40% of the city’s 2026 revenues, sales taxes follow closely behind at 30% of total revenues.
With a property tax increase and a dip into the city’s reserves, Westwood is looking at spending roughly $3.85 million on its major expenses. The city’s reserves fund balance will be at a projected 20% in 2026, compared to the forecasted 32% for 2025.
The city spends most of its general fund revenues on employees, with $2.1 million going to salaries and benefits. That is 66% of the city’s general fund expenditures.
Keep reading local government news: Overland Park OKs nearly $500M budget, holds property tax rate flat — How it impacts residents
