City manager previews $800 million operating budget, COPS grant and zoning rule changes ahead of July meetings

The city manager told the Wichita City Council on Friday that the city manager's recommended operating budget will be about $800 million, up from roughly $770 million last year, and will be presented to the council at the July 14 meeting ahead of an adoption vote planned for Aug. 25. The manager framed the proposal as the start of a deliberative process and said department directors helped assemble the recommendation.

The overview is intended to kick off formal budget work: the manager said staff will deliver a bound CIP and a fuller operational budget document and that a message to employees will accompany the July 14 presentation. "Interestingly, you consider it a good thing or a bad thing, but this year, we should have a $800,000,000 operating budget," the city manager said, noting that the figure reflects growing revenues and continuing service needs.

Why it matters: the recommended budget sets spending priorities for the fiscal year and will guide council debate through summer workshops and the August adoption. The manager said the budget timeline accounts for potential new grant-funded positions and long-term commitments that would affect year‑four sustainability.

Policy and grant items on the near-term agenda include a federal COPS grant request and proposed changes to council procedures related to zoning. The manager said the city intends to apply for the COPS Hiring Program with a request that could cover up to 50 new police positions; the grant requires a local match that phases up over the three‑year funded period for each hired position and includes administrative flexibility that allows funding to be initiated for a position when that position is filled. Captain Aaron Moses clarified the grant funding structure is position‑specific and that the grant includes a 36‑month funded period for each position within an overall 60‑month program, which gives the city flexibility to phase hires.

Council members pressed on long‑term costs. One member said the SAFER grant experience for fire hires illustrated the sustainability question: if the city receives federal funds to add positions now, how will it fund those positions in later local budget years? The city manager said that remains a policy decision the council will consider as the budget process proceeds.

Zoning and procedural changes: staff described two changes proposed to Policy No. 9. One would clarify that council members may contact applicants to ask questions during consideration. The other would route zoning cases to the consent agenda when the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) and the District Advisory Board (DAB) both recommend approval and protests do not meet the 20% protest threshold. During discussion of a District 5 case, staff said 50 protests were received and a map shown during the review displayed a protest rate of about 42 percent, exceeding the 20 percent threshold that would require supermajority approval.

What’s next: the city manager will present the recommended budget to council on July 14; adoption is scheduled for Aug. 25. Related items for the July 21 meeting include council‑initiated proposals to raise certain purchase order/change‑order thresholds and to consider aligning city campaign contribution limits with state thresholds.

Sources: Remarks by the city manager (speaker 2), staff (speaker 5) and Captain Aaron Moses (speaker 4) during the council agenda review. No formal votes or ordinances were recorded during this session.