By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The 2026 budget for the City of Hays did not exceed its revenue-neutral rate as originally planned after a last-minute adjustment in the budget figures presented Thursday by Collin Bielser, deputy city manager.
"The governing body has chosen to remain revenue neutral for the budget year 2026," said Bielser.
"Budgeting a year out can be difficult. ...What happened in 2025, a project took longer than we thought and we ended up issuing temporary notes instead of permanent financing which is a lower interest rate, plus we received a good credit rating which lowered the interest rates further.
"Because of those lowered interest rates and the timing, we were able to lower the mill levy for 2026," he said.
A savings of $194,808 was added to the budget.
The mill levy for 2026 is 24.32 mills. This will be the 17th consecutive year Hays' mill levy is at 25 mills or less.
During the revenue-neutral hearing, two candidates for the Hays City Commission, David Vilaysing and David Koshiol, praised the commissioners for not exceeding the revenue-neutral rate.
There were no public comments during the budget public hearing.
Ellis County and USD 489 governing bodies both approved mill levy increases in their 2026 budgets.
"You (staff) brought us a constrained budget which is what we asked for," said Alaina Cunningham, city commissioner.
"We get accused of patting ourselves on the back for the things that we do," said Mayor Sandy Jacobs. "I just want to make it clear to this community that we're patting our staff and department heads on the back. I don't think anybody really understands how good they are."
Nuisance Abatements
Also approved by commissioners were three general nuisance abatements, which allows the city to clean up the properties and charge the property owners if no improvements are made within 10 days.
The abatements are for
• 515 E. 11th
• 1716 Douglas Drive
• 231 E. 12th
The property owners on Douglas Drive and East 12th have also been cited for inoperable vehicles.