Merriam residents are likely to see a sharp increase in their municipal tax rate next year. The city is considering an increase of 3.736 mills for its 2025 mill levy — or local tax — rate. That would bring the city’s municipal mill levy to 26.665 mills overall, according to early budget presentations from city staff. That relatively sharp increase comes after a “clerical error” on budget forms last year submitted to the county and state unintentionally slashed Merriam’s 2024 property tax rate by more than four mills, from 27.665 mills down to 22.929 mills the year before. Before that mistake, the Merriam City Council had approved lowering the 2024 property tax rate by 0.25 mills to 27.415 mills, the first proposed change to the mill levy the city had approved in more than a decade. But the error made it a bigger change than expected, actually cutting the 2024 mill levy rate by 4.48 mills, a much more dramatic decrease than the city intended. Still, the proposed tax increase for next year will leave the city’s mill levy rate below the level it was at before last year’s unexpectedly large cut.
Source: Johnson County Post
