07/13/2026
MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMISSION TO CONSIDER EXCEEDING REVENUE NEUTRAL RATE; PROJECTED TAX INCREASE COULD REACH 15.1%
INDEPENDENCE — The release of the Montgomery County Commission agenda for Monday morning’s meeting reveals the commission’s plan to raise property taxes by as much as 15 percent for 2027.
At Monday’s meeting, which will begin at 9 a.m., in the Montgomery County Judicial Center basement, commissioners are expected to address their plans to exceed the Revene Neutral Rate by more than 6.00 mills for the 2027 budget cycle.
Currently, Montgomery County taxpayers are assessed a tax rate of 39.948 mills for county services. If commissioners proceed with their plans to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate, commissioners could assess a tax rate of no more than 46.00 mills for the 2027 budget cycle The 2027 budget cycle begins Jan. 1, 2027 but would be reflected in the property tax statements that are due on Dec. 20, 2026.
That projected 6.052-mill increase equates to a 15.1 percent increase in additional taxes for county services, payroll and programs. This does not include taxes that are collected for other entities, such as city governments, school districts, community colleges, library districts, townships or Extension district.
The only matter to be decided at Monday’s meeting is whether they plan to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate for 2027. If adopted, a budgetary timeline is the triggered whereby the commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, Aug. 31 to hear the public’s concerns and questions about the budget plan.
Monday’s announcement of exceeding the Revenue Neutral Rate will not involve the release of budgetary details for 2027. The actual budgetary details will be released prior to that Aug. 31 public hearing.
According to actual Notice of Intent to Exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate document that is contained in Monday’s commission meeting packet, the amount of property tax revenue to be derived from a tax rate of 46.00 mills is $19,592,557.
For comparison, the amount of tax revenue derived from the 39.948 mills now being assessed in the 2026 budget cycle is $16,894,417.
What is a Revenue Neutral Rate, or RNR? It is the tax rate — which is expressed in terms of mills — that generates the same amount of property tax revenue as the previous year, based on the current year's assessed property values. If a governing body choses to stay with in its Revenue Neutral Rate, the amount of collected taxes will not increase.
Therefore, as the name applies, the amount of tax revenue will largely be the same — or neutral — from the previous budget cycle.
What how is a mill measured? One mill is $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.
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On a related note, commissioner are expected to make a decision regarding exceeding the Revenue Neutral Rate for the Montgomery County Rural Fire District No. 1.
The rural fire district’s projected tax rate for the 2027 budget cycle is 2.767 mills — a slight increase from the 2.739 mills that is assessed in the 2026 budget cycle.
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Monday's commission meeting will be streamed at www.mgcountyks.org. The Montgomery County Chronicle also will provide an update from the meeting, with full reporting coming in the July16 issue.
